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Seoul-headquartered PV solar-cell manufacturing giant Qcells today announced it will invest more than $2.5 billion to build a solar supply chain in Georgia – the largest-ever investment in clean energy manufacturing in the US to date.

The $2.5 billion investment will expand Qcells’ solar manufacturing plant in Dalton, Georgia, and build a new solar manufacturing plant in Cartersville, Georgia — creating the US’s first-ever complete solar supply chain.

Qcells is the only company in the U.S. to establish a fully integrated, silicon-based solar supply chain from raw material to finished panel.

In the first quarter of 2023, Qcells will break ground on a new facility in Bartow County, Georgia, that will manufacture 3.3 gigawatts (GW) of solar ingots, wafers, cells, and finished panels, respectively.

Qcells will also assemble an additional 2 GW of solar panels at its Dalton, Georgia, facility – the largest solar panel manufacturing plant in the Western Hemisphere. Qcells will hire an additional 510 people in Dalton, bringing Qcells’ total employment in Georgia to 4,000 and accumulated investment in the state to $2.8 billion. 

Qcells opened its first factory in Georgia in 2019 and hired 750 people to manufacture 1.7 GW of solar. In 2021, it announced it would add 1.4 GW to its manufacturing output and hire 535 more people.

The investment is expected to bring Qcells’ total solar panel production capacity in Georgia to 8.4 GW by 2024.

In August 2021, the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act, which was introduced by Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) became law. The law boosts manufacturing by providing tax credits for US manufacturers at every stage of the solar manufacturing supply chain.

Qcells CEO Justin Lee said in a statement:

We’ve worked closely with Senator Ossoff to get his solar manufacturing legislation signed into law, which helped make today’s historic investment possible. We look forward to continuing our close partnership with Senator Ossoff to create fully American-made and sustainable solar solutions, starting here in Georgia.

Electrek’s Take

This is a really big deal. Not only is it the largest investment in US clean energy manufacturing to date, a complete solar supply chain means that not one solar component will need to be imported. And for the US, that’s a first. Thank Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act for stimulating US domestic clean energy manufacturing.

Read more: Georgia gives US solar panel manufacturing a big boost with a new factory

Photo: Qcells


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Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s just dropped an electric ice cream truck: Meet the sweet new EV

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Rivian and Ben & Jerry's just dropped an electric ice cream truck: Meet the sweet new EV

Imagine seeing this as the next ice cream truck rolling through your neighborhood? Yep, Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s teamed up to create the electric ice cream truck we’ve been waiting for. The “Scoop Truck” will be hitting the road to hand out ice cream this week and honestly, it looks pretty sweet.

Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s unveil electric ice cream truck

What’s better than an ice cream truck? An electric one. The Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s mashup gives us a sneak peek at the ice cream truck of the future.

The “Scoop Truck” will officially debut at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, this week. Fans can stop by to get a first look at the electric truck (and maybe a sweet treat to go with it).

After that, the scoop trucks will hit the road, stopping at Rivian community events. You can also catch it at upcoming events in Vermont, Ben & Jerry’s home state.

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The electric scoop truck is based on Rivian’s Commercial Van, which was launched last month in the US. You may have seen the Rivian Electric Delivery Vans (EDVs) for Amazon roaming through your neighborhood. After ending its exclusivity agreement, Rivian is now open to other partnerships, like with Ben & Jerry’s.

Rivian-electric-ice-cream-truck
Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s electric ice cream truck (Source: Ben & Jerry’s)

Rivian said its Commercial Van “will allow for more events, more catering gigs, and dishing out more ice cream than ever” with up to 161 miles of range.

Sean Slattery, Ben & Jerry’s US integrated Marketing Project lead joked that “Rivian helped Ben & Jerry’s reduce our reliance on fossil fuels in a small way, while making things a little bit cooler… which, as an ice cream company, is extremely difficult to do.”

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Rivian Commercial Van (Source: Rivian)

Rivian’s electric van is available in two models: the Delivery 500 and 700, starting at $79,900 and $83,900, respectively. The smaller (Delivery 500) van is designed for getting around city streets, while the larger (Delivery 700) model includes extra space (652 cu ft) for more cargo and storage.

Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s are two companies fighting for a cleaner future, so the “sweet” partnership makes sense. What do you think of the electric ice cream truck? Let us know in the comments below.

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Elon Musk tries and fails to pump Tesla’s stock (TSLA)

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Elon Musk tries and fails to pump Tesla's stock (TSLA)

Elon Musk tried to pump Tesla’s stock (TSLA) by claiming a 10x increase in profits, but it failed. In fact, the stock is down 10% since Musk’s pump.

After an analyst posted a prediction that Tesla would increase its profits by 256%, Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded

It will require outstanding execution, but I think more like 1000% gain for Tesla in 5 years is possible.

The comment was quickly propagated by Elon fans and the community of “Tesla all-ins” as being a sign that Musk, who is quite busy with X and DOGE lately, still believes in Tesla.

And yet, Tesla’s stock is down 10% since Musk’s pump:

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There are a few factors at play here. Mostly, it’s just not a great pump and shows Musk is disconnectedness with Tesla and its shareholders.

Many of his fans took it as a “1000% or 10x increase in Tesla’s stock”, but the analyst Musk was responding to was talking about profits.

At the time of the tweet, Tesla was trading at 150x profits. With a P/E of 15, Tesla’s stock price already assumed a roughly 10x increase in profits over the next few years.

Therefore, Musk saying that with “outstanding execution,” he “thinks” Tesla could “possibly” achieve a “more like” 10x increase in profits in “5 years,” is just not the pump that his fans thought it was. In fact, it was basically him saying that Tesla is currently priced for perfect execution.

Despite the drop in the last two days, Tesla is still trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of ~130.

Electrek’s Take

I think this shows how disconnected Elon is from Tesla and its shareholders. They thought, and he probably did too, that this would be a great pump, but it’s simply not.

Especially not amid protests and boycotts against Tesla while the company already had demand issues.

They are clinging to the idea that the Model Y refresh will save the company and return it to growth, but I don’t see that happening right now.

I think that Elon distancing himself from Tesla would be the only thing that would help right now, and it doesn’t look like it will happen. So, the shareholders will have to push him out, which won’t happen until the stock price motivates them.

We are still quite a bit away from that, but I think it’s headed in that direction fast.

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Waymo One begins autonomous rides in Austin, Texas, exclusively through Uber [Video]

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Waymo One begins autonomous rides in Austin, Texas, exclusively through Uber [Video]

Starting today, the fully autonomous Waymo One ride service is available exclusively to customers in Austin, Texas through the Uber app. Today’s news builds upon Waymo’s existing partnership with Uber and is a milestone in the robotaxi startup’s expansion to new cities around the US.

As promised, robotaxi developer Waymo is expanding its Waymo One service to new US cities. While much of the world is still not completely sold on the plausibility of full-fledged robotaxi operations across major metropolitan areas, Waymo is trekking forward in its operations and has the data to prove it is, in fact, safer in many ways.

With the financial backing of parent company Alphabet Inc. (Google) and a $5.6 billion influx of cash secure in 2024, Waymo has been able to expand robotaxi operations in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix.

At the time of the Series C funding announcement mentioned above, the mobility company detailed plans to expand its Waymo-One rideshare services to new cities like Austin, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia in 2025 through an ongoing partnership with Uber.

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Today, Waymo has confirmed that fully-autonomous rides are now available in Austin through the Uber app. Be sure to check out the video from Waymo below.

Waymo Austin
Source: Waymo

Waymo One operational around 37 square miles of Austin

Waymo confirmed the start of fully autonomous robotaxi services in Austin today through a social media post. According to Waymo, Uber users who request an Uber X, Uber Comfort, Uber Green, or Uber Comfort Electric will have the opportunity to opt in and match with Waymo’s autonomous vehicles (when available).

Riders who are matched with a Waymo One-equipped EV, currently the Jaguar I-Pace (RIP), will be able to travel within a 37-square-mile footprint around much of Austin, including Hyde Park, Downtown, and Montopolis. Through the Uber app, riders will see options to unlock the Waymo One vehicle’s doors, open the trunk, and begin their ride once they are inside.

Today’s rollout stems from a multi-year partnership between Waymo and Uber. Austin is the first market where Uber is managing and dispatching Waymo vehicles, so it will be an important one to keep and eye on to see how everything runs and how the public responds.

As previously announced, the partnership with Uber also includes robotaxi expansions to the public in Atlanta, Georgia, later this year. As we reported in December 2024, Miami is also in the works for a 2026 rollout. While we await those expansions, here’s some footage of the Waymo One rollout in Austin.

Source: Waymo

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