Runtime: 8:15
0:31 Musk Considers Taking Tesla Private
1:23 Most Chinese EV Startups Will Fail
1:59 Ford Unveils New SUV In China
2:30 Ford Rolls Out Exoskeleton Tech Globally
3:45 GM Pickups Rack Up Test Miles
4:29 GM Adds OTA Updates to Full-Size Pickups
5:12 Why Valve Stems Need Protection from Hackers
6:03 Shared Mobility Will Help with Recycling
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On today’s show…Elon Musk considers taking Tesla private…Ford introduces an all-new SUV in China…and GM’s new full-size pickups are the most tested models, the company has ever produced. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry. I’m Jonathan Bergman, filling in for John and Sean today.
MUSK CONSIDERS TAKING TESLA PRIVATE
If nothing else, Elon Musk certainly makes the automotive industry a lot more interesting to watch. Yesterday on Twitter, where else of course, Musk tweeted that he would take Tesla private and that he had the funding to do it. Speculation immediately jumped to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, to Chinese banks, or to the Chinese tech company TenCent, which already owns part of Tesla. Musk set a target stock price of $420 a share in his tweet, and shares shot up on the news. Trading was briefly halted, but when it resumed the stock flirted with $380 a share until the markets closed. Several weeks ago, Musk warned anyone who was shorting Tesla stock that their short positions were going to explode. And man did he deliver. Every single short position plummeted on the news.
MOST CHINESE EV STARTUPS WILL FAIL
Sales of electric vehicles are booming in China and the country is home to hundreds of EV startups hoping to establish themselves as real players in the market. But according to one investment firm, most of these startups will fail. NIO Capital says due to the significant investment required for EV technology, only 1% of startups will actually survive. And adds it’s cautious to invest in these companies, preferring joint projects between startups and traditional carmakers because they combine innovation with real manufacturing capabilities.
FORD UNVEILS NEW SUV IN CHINA
And speaking of China, Ford plans to introduce 50 new models in the country by 2025. And it just unveiled one of those vehicles, a mid-size SUV, called the Territory. The company developed it with its joint venture partner, Jiangling Motors Corporation. Customers can choose between, a gasoline engine, a 48V hybrid or a plug-in hybrid to power the vehicle but it didn’t provide more details about those powertrains. The Territory goes on sale early next year in China.
FORD ROLLS OUT EXOSKELETON TECH GLOBALLY
And in other Ford news, last November we reported the company was testing exoskeletons that would help line workers at some of its U.S. plants. Now the project is becoming a reality. In 15 plants globally, workers who perform overhead tasks will have access to an upper body exoskeleton that helps reduce stress and fatigue. Called the EksoVest, it fits any worker that’s five-foot-two inches to six-foot-four and it provides lift assistance from 5 to 15 pounds per arm. The EksoVest, which was developed in a partnership with Ekso Bionics is used in every North American Ford Plant. The EksoVest is also used in plants in the Asia-Pacific region, South America and Europe.
Still to come…GM adds over-the-air updates to the Silverado without having to create a new electronic architecture for the truck.
GM PICKUPS RACK UP TEST MILES
GM’s new full-size pickups, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, are the most tested vehicles the company has ever produced. They have already racked up 3 million road-test miles, and 31 million miles in computer simulation and on test stands. Tim Herrick, the executive chief engineer for the program, estimates there were about 10,000 General Motors employees working on the program, with about 7,000 of them working on it full time. Our Autoline estimate is that the salary cost alone for this truck was a $1 billion a year. Tim Herrick jokes that he told Mary Barra and Mark Reuss that if they gave him enough money he could make the truck fly.
GM ADDS OTA UPDATES TO FULL-SIZE PICKUPS
One of the new capabilities on this truck is that it can now do over-the-air updates, or OTAs, to use the industry jargon. Some of the updates it’s capable of doing include changing the software on the body module, improving the radio calibration, and even changing the sequence of how different electronic modules “wake up” when you start the engine. GM was able to add these OTA capabilities by modifying the existing electronic architecture on the truck, not by coming up with a new architecture, though it sure sounds like GM is working on a new one. An increasing concern for all automakers is cyber security, and a new electronic architecture could be hardened to better protect against hackers.
WHY VALVE STEMS NEED PROTECTION FROM HACKERS
Here’s one example of how vehicles have to be hardened today. As part of the towing package offered on the Silverado, you can get valve stems for the tires on the trailer you’re towing that will broadcast the tire pressure and temperature to a display on the dashboard. It’s a radio frequency that carries the information. But that signal could also become a point of entry for a hacker. And that’s the world we live in today. You have to hardened the information coming from valve stems on the trailer you’re towing.
Coming up next, how shared mobility will help recycling vehicle interiors.
SHARED MOBILITY WILL HELP WITH RECYCLING
It can be a huge pain in the butt disassembling the interior of a car. But with shared mobility expected to become more and more popular, interiors will wear out much faster in those vehicles. That’s why automakers and suppliers are working on making it easier to swap out interior components. And on last week’s Autoline After Hours, Jeff Stout from Yanfeng Automotive Interiors, said it will also help with recycling.
(The AAH preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
You can watch that entire discussion right now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
And speaking of After Hours, there won’t be a new show this week but John and Gary will be back next Thursday, August 16th, with some of the best insider discussions in the automotive industry.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.
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John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.