Tesla Archives | Moss and Fog

Architecture

Tesla’s LA Drive-In Diner Will be “Grease Meets The Jetsons with Supercharging”

September 1, 2023 Architecture

Tesla’s enigmatic leader is making headlines for lots of questionable reasons these days. But the upcoming Tesla drive-in diner is something we can get behind. The sleek, space-age design feels strangely unique, even in a city like Los Angeles, which features just about every type of architecture you can think of.

Featuring electric car supercharging, a full diner, and screens showing movie clips (perfect for the time it takes to charge up), the location on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood will surely be a hit.

With permits approved, we can expect this Jetson’s style drive-in to take shape quickly.

“Our Tesla futuristic diner (Grease meets The Jetsons with Supercharging) in LA should be ready later this year.”

-Tesla’s CEO

The drive-in will feature supercharging spots, diner food, and movie clips that play on rotation.

These renderings will certainly evolve as the drive-in gets closer to completion.

Animals

Tesla’s Million Dollar Battery

July 28, 2021 Animals

You’d be forgiven for thinking a million dollar battery was crazy, especially when comparing this new Megapack to a pack of AA batteries from the store.

Tesla’s Megapack is a commercial and utility sized battery, capable of holding 3 MWh of energy in one unit. For reference, that’s enough electricity to power almost a thousand average homes.

When connected into large groups, the batteries become hugely powerful energy storage systems, helping entire cities keep the lights on, especially for power sources like solar and wind, that are usually only operable during the day.

Starting at just over $1,000,000, the batteries are actually quite cost effective, and provide clean backup power, especially in light of record heat waves, storms, and the like.

Learn more from Tesla’s website.

“We took everything we know about battery technology to enable the world’s largest energy projects. A 1 Gigawatt hour (GWh) project provides record energy capacity—enough to power every home in San Francisco for 6 hours.”

“Every Megapack arrives pre-assembled and pre-tested in one enclosure from our Gigafactory—including battery modules, bi-directional inverters, a thermal management system, an AC main breaker and controls. No assembly is required, all you need to do is connect Megapack’s AC output to your site wiring.”

Automotive

Concept for Tesla Electric Bicycle Presents an Intriguing Design

November 30, 2020 Automotive

Electric bicycles, or electric-assist bikes are skyrocketing in popularity right now, with sales doubling and tripling since the global pandemic started. People are abandoning public transit options like trains and busses for these new, increasingly affordable electric bike options.

The biggest electric car maker, Tesla, has yet to get in the electric bike game, but there’s a strong case for them entering the market. They have battery expertise, their brand recognition is huge, and they’d be able to further expand their electric vehicle footprint if they made bikes.

Designer Kendall Toerner hasn’t waited for a Tesla bike to arrive, instead creating a compelling concept design for a ‘Model B’ bicycle, with a streamlined, futuristic design.

Using a similar array of cameras, radar, and sensors the way that Tesla cars do, Toerner’s concept proposes a much safer and connected version of the bicycle than is available today.

The only thing we find sorely lacking on this concept – pedals! A bicycle without pedals is just a motorbike. Give us the option to pedal the bicycle, not just have it drive us around.

Either way, an intriguing design, hopefully one we might see in the future. Via Yanko Design:

Architecture

Tesla’s Wild Cybertruck Already Has 200,000 Pre-Orders

November 25, 2019 Architecture

Divisive, definitely. Brutal, surely. Unlike anything else on the road, undeniably.

Elon Musk pitched the Cybertruck as something more powerful and useful than a Ford F-150, while being more affordable. While it won’t hit the roads until late 2021, the specs look like they’ll be truly impressive, with a 14,000 pound towing capacity, and up to 500-mile all-electric range.

The truck’s ultra-hard stainless steel body is supposedly bulletproof, and the cabin should fit six people comfortably.

Compared against today’s best selling trucks, it looks completely different, all hard angles and sharp corners, but full of cutting-edge technology.

While we aren’t the biggest truck fans, we are huge proponents of electric vehicles, and we’re thrilled to see that dirty, polluting diesel trucks like the Dodge Ram now have some compelling competition. Even more impressive, the Cybertruck starts at $39,800, far lower than many people initially imagined, considering this vehicle doesn’t use any fuel, and doesn’t need any oil changes.

As of this post, there are an estimated 200,000 pre-orders for the truck, which is scheduled to go into production toward the end of 2021. That proves that even with a wild, futuristic design, there’s a lot of interest in an all-electric truck. ⚡️

Automotive

Lightyear One Solar Electric Car

June 27, 2019 Automotive

The Lightyear One is a new electric car, many years in the making, and sporting a unique trick: the roof and hood of the car are covered with five square meters of solar cells. This additional energy capture brings the car’s total range to 450 miles, the most of any electric car to date. (Tesla’s upcoming Roadster promises over 600 miles). Born from a team that competed in the World Solar Challenge in Australia, the car is their very first model.

The solar cells are beneath safety glass, meaning you won’t have to worry about them be damaged or broken. Inside is a clean, modern interior, with all of the amenities you’d expect from a sleek electric car. They don’t provide all of the car’s power, meaning you’ll still need to plug in. But the addition of solar means extra range, and street cred of being able to take energy directly from the sun overhead.

Preorders for the first 500 Lightyear Ones are going on now, with a reservation price of €119,000 (around $135,000). That’s significantly higher than Tesla’s base price, and more than the base of Porsche’s forthcoming Taycan. We’ll be curious to see if this remains a niche offering, or if Lightyear might join the ranks of up and coming electric automakers. Via The Verge:

Animals

Tesla’s Dog Mode Keeps Cabin Comfortable and Safe for Pets

February 15, 2019 Animals

Irresponsible pet owners have left their dogs in parked cars with the windows up on hot days, creating incredibly hot and unsafe environments, and many pets have died in the process.

It’s become such an issue, that some states allow for passersby to shatter car windows to rescue said pets, without fearing legal retribution. They’re known as Good Samaritan laws, and they shouldn’t need to exist in the first place.

Luckily, electric car maker Tesla just rolled out a feature for their cars called Dog Mode, that senses an animal in the car, and keeps a safe and comfortable temperature inside, regardless of the outside temperature. Along with adjusting the climate control, a big notice on the center screen alerts concerned citizens that the owner is gone, yet the car is keeping the pooches safe. No smashed windows needed.

We love Tesla’s ability to update and improve their car’s features over time, and this feature was actually submitted as a feature request to Elon Musk directly, check out the tweet below.

Keep your dog comfortable in your car while letting people passing by know they don’t need to worry with Dog Mode. In addition to keeping the climate control on, the touchscreen will display the current cabin temperature. To enable Dog Mode, tap the fan icon at the bottom of the touchscreen when your car is parked. Set Keep Climate On to DOG, make adjustments within temperature limits, then leave knowing your pet will stay comfortable. Dog Mode will stay on after you leave your car. If you your battery reaches less than 20% charge, you will receive a notification on your mobile app.

Automotive

Jag’s First Electric Car is a Sleek Crossover

March 2, 2018 Automotive

The road to an electric future has been paved by a number of fits and starts. Companies that put out timid, meager efforts, and then abandon them. Changing political landscapes, and slow moving battery technology seemed to put the electric dream on the proverbial highway shoulder. But finally, it seems as though the momentum toward electrification is picking up speed. The latest example is Jaguar’s all-new I-Pace, a sleek crossover aimed at the Tesla Model X, and those wanting a fast, premium car that has a high seating position, and ample seating. With a 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds, it’s a super quick car, if not as wildly fast as Tesla’s offerings. Expect starting prices to be form $80,000 and up. Via The Verge:

The production model basically matches the specs Jaguar originally set out to achieve with the I-Pace concept. A 90 kWh battery will give it an estimated 240 miles of range, which is more than enough for day-to-day driving. If and when you wind up running low on charge, Jaguar says the batteries can go from zero to 80 percent in just 40 minutes at 100kW DC fast charging stations. (A similar charge on a Level 2 home charger will take about 10 hours, according to Jaguar.)

With regards to performance, the dual motors — one on each axle — combine to give the I-Pace 394 horsepower, which gets it from 0–60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds, Jaguar says. The company is promising a smooth ride, too, as active air suspension comes standard. Jaguar’s driver assistance features will be included as well.

Automotive

An Electric Screen on Wheels

January 8, 2018 Automotive

Tesla’s interior design has set automotive standards for putting big screens into cars, creating the sci-fi experience that we probably thought about as children. Other automakers are playing catch up, some of them compensating perhaps a bit too much, trying to cram a ridiculous number of screens and cameras onboard. Take the new Byton SUV, a Chinese startup debuting this week at CES 2018. The relatively handsome SUV is positively festooned with cameras and enormous display screens. It makes for impressive photos, but we’re concerned it would be a total visual overload while going down the road, and just speaks to the excess that automakers feel they must equip their cars with. In fact, Byton isn’t even referring to their SUV as a car at all. Their website calls it “Your next generation smart device.”

With no automotive experience to speak of, Byton definitely feels like one of those companies that might be a total flash in the pan. But with markets finally starting to embrace electric vehicles, it’ll be interesting to see if Chinese companies can create a car that will succeed outside it’s borders. Via Wired:

From the outside, the Byton looks like a pretty normal midsize SUV, except for the lack of door handles and rearview mirrors.

With a projected starting price of $45,000, the Byton SUV is claimed to have over 300 miles of electric range.

In fact, Byton isn’t even referring to their SUV as a car at all. Their website calls it “Your next generation smart device.”

Byton SUV moss and fog — The Byton SUB concept has so many screens and cameras, we wonder if you’d spend any time looking out the windows at all.

byton-moss-and-fog-8 — An ominous dashboard camera peering at it’s occupants. Why?

Byton electric SUV Moss and Fog — An overhead view of the admittedly futuristic looking Byton electric SUV

Automotive

London Street Lamps Retrofitted to Charge Electric Cars

June 22, 2017 Automotive

Electric cars are coming, believe it or not. Automakers might be dragging their feet, and consumers might be slow to adopt, but make no mistake: electric is the future, and the sooner we adopt it, the better. Think about how much less pollution our cities will have. How much quieter roadways will be. How efficient our trucks and cars could get.

London is helping accelerate that effort with help from a project by Ubitricity, who is retrofitting lamp posts to be charging stations for electric cars. The lamps have been converted to LEDs, freeing up much of the electricity the lamps previously used. Now, versus having to find designated charging stations, drivers will be able to plug in their cars right on city streets, giving them more flexibility, greater range, and overall, driving more adoption of electric cars.

Each cord has it’s own built-in electric meter, and the electricity is billed remotely to that user, so that the costs aren’t passed on to others. A very clever solution to urban car charging, something we hope grows in popularity. Via DesignBoom:

Architecture

Tesla’s New Truck

May 2, 2017 Architecture

Tesla’s stock is on a tear right now. It is market fever? Or is the company’s exciting pipeline of products spurring the rise? Well, a tease from Elon Musk at last Friday’s TED talk is sure to ruffle electric feathers further. With a dramatic teaser image of the upcoming Tesla semi truck, we can begin to imagine the electric future of the big rig. And it’s coming none too early, with problems of efficiency and emissions. We can picture an all-electric semi truck driving down our roads in a much quieter, cleaner, and more efficient fashion. The semi truck’s cargo capacity would be perfect for battery storage, and the long-haul nature of trucking is great for Tesla’s autonomous future. Via Electrek: