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Tesla’s recent Q1 earnings call was full of ups and downs, from the revelation that its net income dropped by 55 per cent to $1.1 billion to the announcement that it was, after all, going to pursue plans to build cheaper electric cars. But Elon Musk also chose the opportunity to tease screenshots of his self-driving ride-hailing app, which he hopes will one day rival the series offered by Uber and Waymo. Some of the screenshots revealed during the announcement looked eerily similar to the Uber interface. But there are key differences – one menu revealed a "summon" feature, which looks as if it’s only applicable to fully autonomous self-driving vehicles. (Image credit: Tesla) Other screens showed the ability to adjust the temperature inside the cabin, select the music and volume, as well as change the seating angle and position. The company said: "We have been investing in the hardware and software ecosystems necessary to achieve vehicle autonomy and a ride-hailing service," according to Electrek. "We are currently working on ride-hailing functionality that will be available in the future. We believe the Tesla software experience is best-in-class across all our products, and plan to seamlessly layer ride-hailing into the Tesla App," it added. Read between the lines and it looks as if Tesla is suggesting the ride-hailing functionality will become part of the current Tesla app, as opposed to a standalone piece of software. However, the company is yet to achieve fully unsupervised self-driving, meaning these teaser screenshots are very much merely a proof of concept for now. Blue sky thinking (Image credit: Tesla) While it is encouraging that Tesla is giving us an insight into its future plans, it is highly unlikely we will see fully driverless taxis from the marque any time soon. Despite it promising massive improvements to the technology with the recent FSD v12 software updates, Tesla is yet to gain permission from the appropriate authorities to run and test completely self-driving vehicles on public roads. What’s more, the current Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Autopilot tech continues to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. This week, a 56-year-old Tesla driver in Washington was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide after hitting a 28-year-old motorcyclist with his 2022 Model S, which he was driving with Autopilot activated at the time, while allegedly distracted by his phone. Tesla's Q1 earnings call revealed both a drop in revenue and net income, which is likely why announcements surrounding AI, autonomous ride-hailing and its plans to press on with more affordable electric vehicles were sprinkled in to the announcements in an attempt to sweeten things with investors. You might also like Tesla slashes the price of its best-selling vehicles around the globe as it looks to combat a slump in salesTesla’s Autopilot system is coming under fire again for its safety record – here’s whyTesla just halved the cost of its autonomous driving tech in a bid to improve it View the full article

Tesla appears to be battling a recent dip in sales by slashing the price of some of its most popular models. Starting in the US late Friday, where it cut the price of the Model Y, Model X and the older Model S, the EV maker soon rolled out discounts to China and then Germany. According to The Guardian, the cuts reduced the starting price for a Model Y to $42,990 (around £34,850 / AU$66,700), and to $72,990 (£59,100 / AU$113,350) for a Model S and $77,990 (£63,200 / AU$121,100) for a Model X in the US. This represents a saving of circa $2,000 (£1,600 / AU$3,100). Meanwhile in China, the recently refreshed Model 3 was reduced by 14,000 yuan (about $1,930 /£1,560 / AU$3,000) to 231,900 yuan ($32,000 / £30,000 / AU$49,700), Tesla’s official website showed. The same model was also the subject of discounts in Germany, where it dropped to €40,990 (£35,400 / $43,670 / AU$67,825) from an original price of €42,990 (£37,130 / $45,785 / AU$71,130). Fighting fires on several fronts, Tesla has been at the centre of a price war that has been fueled by cheaper electric vehicles from China, many of which are rapidly making in-roads to markets previously ruled by the Californian company. (Image credit: CarNewsChina/BYD) What's more, Elon Musk caused confusion by stating that he was switching his attention to driverless Robotaxis, likely to the detriment of Tesla’s more affordable Model 2, which would have made it more competitive with the likes of BYD, its closest rival. The slashing of Tesla prices continued in other countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, while the company also stated it was reducing the subscription cost of its membership scheme that allows access to its Supercharger network in the UK, according to Autocar. Membership allows owners of non-Tesla EVs to access the vast network of charging stations at a more affordable rate per kW, and it previously costs £10.99 (around $13.50 / AU$20) a month, but has since been lowered to £8.99 (around $11/ AU$17) to attract more users. The announcement of the price changes comes at a time when Tesla revealed it was cutting 10 per cent of its global workforce in a bid to save money and streamline its operation. As a result, Tesla shares fell below $150 this week, wiping almost $100 off the high it experienced in December last year. Analysis: EV competition is hitting hard (Image credit: Tesla) Elon Musk is not averse to slashing prices in order to heat up competition and cut swelling inventory, as he famously triggered a brutal EV price war in China last year when he dropped the asking price of some Teslas by almost 50 per cent when compared to their sticker price in the US. Bloomberg says that Musk risks kick-starting a new round of price cuts, as Li Auto Inc immediately responded to the Model 3 price drop by slashing the costs of its L7 five-seat SUV, even going so far as to honour the new price with recent customers and offering cash rebates to existing owners. Tesla appears to be pulling out all the stops to ensure it is bringing in more revenue after disappointing delivery figures for the start of the year. In the US, the company slashed the costs of its Full Self-Driving subscription by half in an attempt to rally new paying users and bolster an alternative revenue stream. It’s a bad look for Tesla, especially given that Musk is still asking shareholders to back his previously rejected $56bn pay packet, despite the brutal staff redundancies, price cuts and concerns over dodgy accelerator pedals in Cybertruck. Tesla is set to announce its Q1 earnings tomorrow, where Musk is likely to face a number of tough questions from disgruntled investors. You might also like Tesla just halved the cost of its autonomous driving tech in a bid to improve itPolestar's new smartphone looks like a step up from Android Auto and CarPlayTesla Cybertruck suffers new recall for a very scary problem View the full article

Mercedes-Benz has revealed an upgraded version of its luxury electric sedan, with more tech, an increased range and the reintroduction of the upright bonnet star all featuring in the upcoming EQS. The model, which has been under scrutiny for its shocking residual values, has been given the once-over to ensure it remains competitive, with the 55-inch MBUX Hyperscreen now coming as standard across the range. This gargantuan infotainment system sees three displays merge seamless across the dash, giving the interior the look and feel of a NASA control room. On the outside, there’s a darker grille cover and reworked headlights, as well as the upright star bonnet badge, which was famous for going missing on classic Mercedes vehicles of the 70s and 80s. (Image credit: Mercedes-Benz EQS) Perhaps more important to potential owners is the fact that new batteries have been fitted, which are almost 10kWh up on the previous 108.4kWh packs, delivering an additional 51-miles of range. Couple this with some aerodynamic tweaks to the bodywork and Merc reckons you can achieve more than 500 miles before it requires plugging in. That’s almost 100 miles more than the top spec Tesla Model S. Inside, the EQS is as opulent as it ever has been, with things like chrome ventilation outlets, Nappa leather cushions and the option of footrests and tilting massage seats in the rear. Oh, and you'll be able to enjoy Will.i.am's MBUX Sound Drive app, which turns every EV journey into a DJ experience where the vehicle remixes popular tunes. But what about those resale values? (Image credit: Mercedes-Benz EQS) Residual values - or the rate at which a new car depreciates - has long been an issue that has dogged electric vehicles, particularly those that inhabit the luxury car segment. We have long commented on the used car bargains that can be found when scouring the web for a low mileage Porsche Taycan, while Tesla's penchant for slashing its prices has seen the cost of second-hand models fall dramatically. So much so, that huge rental companies, such as Hertz, are removing Tesla from the fleet, as the lofty maintenance fees and poor resale values aren't good for business. The Mercedes-Benz EQS was singled-out in a recent study in the US, which claimed the vehicle lost nearly half its original value in a year. It seems harsh but a quick scout around the popular used car sales websites in the UK reveals that low-mileage 2022 models can be picked up for around £60,000 (around $75,000 / AU$115,500). Pricing is yet to be revealed for the updated EQS, but you can expect it to be around £120,000 (around $150,000 / AU$230,000). It doesn't take a mathematician to work out that it likely isn't the most lucrative investment. You might also like I tried Will.i.am’s MBUX Sound Drive in a Mercedes EQS – and it's the best EV music experience I've hadMercedes-Benz teases new AI-powered infotainment system that gives you an empathetic virtual assistant – and it could reinvent the passenger experienceBMW matches Mercedes-Benz with huge autonomous driving upgrade for 7 Series View the full article