Tesla

Elon’s missing ingredient: the human and political challenges of Tesla’s supply of Cobalt

Posted on by fdelabalze

In the Fall of 2017, as Tesla prepares its ambitious rollout of the Model 3, the reality of mass market electric vehicles (EVs) seems closer than ever. To tackle climate change –and pollution—many countries (e.g., France, UK, India, Norway, China) have adopted bans on fossil fuel cars in the coming decades1. Although these policies changes are promising for EVs, the sudden rush for the metals used in lithium-based batteries is, paradoxically, threatening the viability of Tesla’s supply chain and its dream to deliver a mass market EV car. The sourcing and supply of Cobalt –a crucial component of Tesla’s batteries—is a particular area of concern and could stop Elon's dream in its track.

How to Rent Your Neighbor’s Tesla with Getaround

Posted on by MayC Huang

Getaround is the self-proclaimed “Airbnb of cars”. Development of smartphones and location-based technology has driven development of the sharing economy. New peer-to-peer car rental services threaten a market dominated by the big three (Avis, Enterprise, and Hertz) and threaten car manufacturers in the longer term[1].