What We’re Reading

• EVs predicted to make up 52% of all new vehicles sold by 2030, thanks to tax credits (Repairer Driven News, September 22, 2022)

  Bloomberg New Energy Finance has updated its predictions for domestic EV sales, taking into account the expected impact of the new federal tax incentives. “BloombergNEF had previously predicted that EV sales by 2030 would be about 43% of the total U.S. market, but raised that figure to 52% after the enactment of the” Inflation Reduction Act. If realized, this increase will bring the U.S. more in line with countries like China, where EVs currently account for 25% of new car sales. Bloomberg expects increased sales to happen gradually, with the greatest growth happening toward the end of the decade.

  California continues to enact measures in anticipation of EV sales growth, with Governor Newsom signing the EV Charging Reliability Transparency Act just last week. The Act recognizes that “[i]ncreasing consumer confidence in electric vehicle convenience and accessibility depends on robust, publicly available charging stations, and is designed to improve access to chargers particularly in underserved communities. Also last week, the Biden administration announced that it “has approved 35 EV infrastructure plans across the U.S. under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program.”

• Can Tesla Maintain Its Big Lead As Other Brands’ EV Sales Surge? (InsideEVs, September 20, 2022)

  While Bloomberg and others focus on anticipated growth in EV sales over the next decade, current statistics show that EV sales already are surging. Not surprisingly, EVs accounted for 4.9 percent of new U.S car registrations in July of this year, compared with 2.6 percent a year ago. What may be more surprising, especially given Tesla’s prominence, is that a total of “22 brands account for” those registrations. 

  While Tesla indisputably remains in the lead, “since the beginning of 2021, other carmakers have launched about 15 new EVs, with eight of those coming to market in 2022 alone.” Ford and Hyundai Motor Group currently hold second and third place behind Tesla, with both seeing around 30,000 new EV registrations between January and July.

• Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta: FSD Beta 10.69 Latest Observations (CleanTechnica, September 25, 2022)

  The author, an eighty-something-year-old technology enthusiast, recently regained access to FSD Beta after he was “kicked off” the system for excessive (five) disengagements. Here, he provides his detailed observations about the latest software updates, including:

  -        FSD Beta is “much more invasive” than standard Autopilot. “The camera above the rear-view mirror is looking at your face,” and the system will provide a warning if you look away from the road for more than 15 seconds. Five disengagements and access is removed.

  -        FSD Beta has some “jerky” steering issues, particularly on backroad streets and in parking lots—“this jerky behavior happens while making sharp turns at very low speeds”—and also hard brakes at stop signs and traffic lights.

  -        On the other hand, with FSD Beta, the car will “auto-steer on single lane roads with no yellow center lines,” make tight turns at slow speeds, and “successfully navigate rotaries.”

  For more reactions to FSD Beta, check out the comments section, which is likely to grow as Tesla allows more users to access the Beta features.