This one is bound to upset the DSM purists still out there — meet the all-new Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, an all-electric crossover with over 370 miles of range that’s rolling out to European dealers as you read this. (!)

First unveiled last month, the all-new Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross EV is one of the first fruits of the Nissan- Mitsubishi- Renault alliance to wear the Mitsubishi badge and early production versions of the new SUV have already begun rolling out of Renault’s ElectriCity Douai Plant in Cuincy, France.

“Following the launch of the Outlander plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) and the Grandis hybrid EV (HEV), rolling out the all-new Eclipse Cross marks a crucial step in our electrification strategy in Europe,” said Takao Kato, president and chief executive officer of Mitsubishi Motors, at the vehicle’s debut. “Having developed the world’s first mass-produced BEV, Mitsubishi Motors has made it a mission to provide environmentally friendly vehicles and has been working toward achieving carbon neutrality. We will continue contributing to the realization of a decarbonized society by expanding our lineup of electrified vehicles, as well as addressing the diverse needs of our European customers.”

Smart Armor styling

Mitsubishi calls its latest Eclipse’ design language “Smart Armor,” and says that its design, “conveys robustness and security by incorporating powerful, armor-like design elements into an advanced and sophisticated smart EV design.”

Advertisement – scroll for more content

I don’t know about any of that, but the design is certainly a noticeable, modern update on the Outlander and Outlander Sport that have dominated the struggling Japanese car brand’s North American product line for the last decade. So, while it may not win any awards or make into a “future classics” coffee table book, the latest Eclipse would certainly look “new” in a modern American Whole Foods parking lot.

Modern outside, modern inside

Inside, the new Mitsubishi Eclipse EV offers a comforting mix of buttons and touchscreens angled, cockpit-style, towards the driver and finished in a color palette that will be familiar to any 1st-gen DSM driver, paired with the chunky steering wheel and diamond-quilted seats that drivers familiar with Mitsubishi’s more recent SUV- and crossover-heavy are used to.

Like the exterior, the new Eclipse EV’s probably won’t win any design awards, but it seems comfortable and practical enough and — I can’t state this enough — looks to be a noticeable improvement over the previous generation. The car’s tech, connectivity, and infotainment features, too, also seem thoroughly modern:

The all-new Eclipse Cross is equipped with a vertical 12.3-inch Smartphone-link Display Audio (SDA) system, offering the latest infotainment experience. As it is a vehicle with Google built-in1, drivers can use apps like Google Assistant and Google Maps the moment they step into the car and even download additional apps via Google Play. Simply saying “Hey Google” enables drivers to operate the air conditioner, search for destinations, make phone calls, and play music—all hands-free. Both Apple CarPlay®4 and Android AutoTM are supported with wireless connectivity, offering a seamless connection to smartphones. The audio system features a Harman Kardon premium sound system with five selectable listening modes to suit any mood or preference, delivering an immersive, high-quality sound experience. In addition, four drive modes, Personal, Eco, Comfort, and Sport can be selected at will through the SDA, depending on the driver’s preferences and driving conditions. The Mitsubishi Motors mobile app enables remote access to the vehicle, including locking and unlocking, charging, and checking the parking location, all from a smartphone, enhancing everyday convenience. The model supports Firmware-Over-The-Air (FOTA) wireless software update technology, enabling drivers to easily update to the latest software environment by simply following the instructions on the SDA screen.

The all-new Eclipse Cross features up to 20 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)5. Ultrasonic sensors, cameras, and forward radar constantly monitor the vehicle’s surroundings to support safe driving. With a range of advanced safety technologies, including the MI-PILOT2 same-lane driver assistance system for highways and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)2 system, it offers a safe and secure driving experience.

MITSUBISHI

The new Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross EV features an 87 kWh battery good for up to 600 km (~375 miles) of range on the European cycle. That battery sends electrons to a capable 160 kW (~215 hp) electric motor that delivers 300 Nm (220 lb-ft) of torque at 0 rpm. DC fast charging can happen at up to 150 kW of charging, which (by my math) works out to something like a 25 minute 10-80% charge time.

Spanish-language site Motorpasión was able to get their hands on a preproduction version of the new Mitsubishi Eclipse and gave it a pretty solid review. You can check that out here, but we’ll be holding back our review until Fred or Micah can get their hands on one. Stay tuned.

Electrek’s Take

I’ve alluded to this a few times in this article, but it’s worth saying again: the new Eclipse Cross EVs aren’t wining awards or setting any performance records here, but they’re perfectly adequate and zippy enough to more than keep up with modern traffic. And, frankly, that’s a refreshing change of pace from an automotive market that seems to be constantly chasing the cancerous mantra of, “bigger, faster, more.”

If Mitsubishi’s US dealers aren’t positively begging for the parent company to bring this new EV to North America, they have truly lost the plot.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Mitsubishi.

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

Tesla has engaged in a pattern of taking credit for the successes of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, even though the car still relies on an attentive driver, and yet blaming the driver rather than the software whenever things go badly.

But new moves towards allowing more distracted driving could make it harder for the company to blame drivers when its software fails.

Tesla has been marketing some version of its Autopilot or FSD software since 2013. Ever since then, the company has made bold pronouncements about how rapidly the software would improve, stating almost continually that fully autonomous driving would come within a year.

Autopilot and FSD have changed definitions over time, with basic Autopilot initially being an option and now being included on most vehicles, and with FSD being an additional cost on top of that, at varying prices (costing up to $15,000 at one point).

Advertisement – scroll for more content

In general, Autopilot has promised to be a driver’s aid, while FSD has promised to allow the car to fully drive itself with no human intervention when the software is finally ready.

That fully autonomous ability has yet to be delivered, but Tesla’s software does continue to improve.

At first Autopilot was merely active on highways, as soft of a “smart cruise control” system. It could hold the car in a lane and track the speed of vehicles ahead and match them.

Over time the systems have gained more capabilities, including being able to follow the car’s navigation system and take highway interchanges on its own. And throughout all this time, colloquially Teslas have very often been referred to as “self-driving cars.”

FSD can now operate not just on highways, but on surface streets. It is possible to do certain drives without a human touching the steering wheel – but a driver must always be in the driver’s seat and paying attention to the road (and Tesla will monitor you to make sure you’re doing so).

A quick primer on autonomous drive systems

This is because both Autopilot and FSD, and every software version of them that has so far been released, fall under the same high-level classification of autonomous drive systems. They’re all “Level 2” drive systems, according to the SAE levels of driving automation.

All driving automation systems are ranked from level 0-5. With level 0-2 systems, drivers are responsible for everything the car does. With a level 3 system, the car can be considered responsible at some times, and with level 4 or 5 systems, the car is always responsible.

There is one level 3 system available in the US, Mercedes DRIVE PILOT, which can be used in narrow circumstances to let the car drive for you. And autonomous driverless taxis like Waymo are level 4 systems, with no driver but the ability only to operate in certain situations or areas (Tesla’s Robotaxi is purportedly similar to Waymo, but due to the presence of a “safety monitor,” it is arguably level 2, since an operator is still in the vehicle, just not in the driver’s seat).

But Tesla’s promises about FSD would put it squarely into the “level 5” category. CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly stated that FSD will eventually be able to drive the car across the country with nobody in it, such that your car could be in New York and you could ask it to come pick you up in Los Angeles. That ability has not yet been delivered though, so we’re still in level 2 territory.

Tesla likes to crow about FSD’s improvements

Tesla proclaims quite often that its FSD system is better than human drivers, and that its level of safety is increasing over time.

It often releases data showing the number of miles between crashes, comparing miles driven by humans and miles driven by FSD. In Tesla’s released numbers, miles driven by FSD are safer than those driven by humans.

That’s not the whole story though, because the data is somewhat cherry picked. A real study on safety would attempt to rule out extraneous variables that could influence the results, and as of yet, Tesla has not conducted a robust study of that manner (in contrast, Waymo has released multiple studies conducted through outside entities).

There is also some difference between Tesla-provided numbers and third-party numbers, showing that Tesla’s “miles between interventions” is relatively low. This is thought of as a key indicator of how close a system is to being level 4-5 capable, as ideally a self-driving car should be able to go tens of thousands of miles without needing a human to come fix something.

Tesla did provide a new update on data at this week’s shareholder meeting, again showing that FSD miles result in far fewer accidents than other modes of driving. Though that update again doesn’t provide the robust data that a real study would, and indeed, Tesla’s own numbers show a reduction in safety over the course of this year.

And in fact, none of these numbers provided by Tesla ever describe just how safe FSD is on its own. All of them rely on the combined safety of both FSD and a human driver at the same time, as humans are required to be in the seat while operating the vehicle. When that human co-driver is moved to the passenger seat and called a safety monitor, safety numbers plummet.

So Tesla frames FSD data in a positive light, but what about when something bad happens?

Tesla blames drivers when its systems fail

When there’s an accident associated with its driver-assistance systems, Tesla will be the first to claim that it had nothing to do with it, and that the driver is at fault.

This is technically true. If FSD and Autopilot are level 2 systems, then the driver is responsible for everything the car is doing. And drivers must accept an agreement in the car before activating these systems acknowledging that they must pay attention to the road at all times and are responsible for what the car does even when the systems are activated.

So, for example, when a Florida driver on Autopilot drops his phone and blows through a stop sign, hitting a car which then hits two pedestrians, killing one, Tesla will claim “this driver was solely at fault.” In that case, a judge agreed that the driver was mostly at fault, but still assigned 33% of blame to Tesla, resulting in a $243 million judgment against the company.

Part of the reason that case was decided as it was was due to Musk’s constant statements about Autopilot and FSD’s abilities. After spending so many years talking up Tesla’s self-driving abilities, it is common for drivers and the general public to think that Tesla cars “drive themselves.” But Tesla said that those statements shouldn’t have been heard at the case at all, again wanting to make this failure about the driver, not about Autopilot.

The judgment was also influenced by Tesla’s withholding of data, which tracks with the company’s aforementioned refusal to submit its FSD data to robust outside scientific study.

Tesla has settled other similar cases before they went to trial, paying out large sums to keep discussion of Autopilot safety out of court. But it refused to settle the Florida case, which may have been a strategic mistake.

So we have a contradiction here: when Tesla’s systems do well, Tesla takes all the credit, even though there’s a driver in the driver’s seat. But when they do poorly, Tesla does what it can to obscure causes or to blame drivers (who, to be fair, are still tasked with operating the vehicle, despite Musk’s many hopeful statements about self-driving). It’s Schrödinger’s FSD: responsible when Tesla wants it to be, but not when Tesla doesn’t want it to be.

But that might change going forward.

Tesla’s move away from driver monitoring could open it up to more liability

So, Tesla has heretofore managed to dodge responsibility for many of FSD’s problems by alleging that the driver is responsible at all times. And it’s not wrong to point this out.

However, at this week’s shareholder meeting, Musk stated that Tesla may allow “texting and driving” within “a month or two.”

What he seemed to be referring to is Tesla’s in-car driver monitoring system, which tracks driver attention using a camera near the rear-view mirror. If the system notices that you’re looking away from the road for too long, it will warn you and then deactivate FSD and make you take over driving for yourself, to ensure you’re doing your job as a driver.

Musk said that the issue with this is that many people want to text and drive anyway, and so will turn off FSD so they can send a text, then turn it back on after the fact. Musk alleges that it would be safer for those drivers to text and drive with FSD on than having it off, so Tesla might as well go ahead and update the software to allow for this soon.

But an unintended consequence of this could be that future court cases could use Tesla’s overconfidence in this matter against the company, claiming that it wasn’t doing its job to ensure driver attention. Despite claiming that drivers are always in control of the vehicle, Musk has now told drivers that it’s okay to take their eyes off the road – and the car won’t do anything to stop you from doing so, either.

And as we saw in the Florida case, Musk’s public statements were a part of the case. So Musk’s now-overconfidence about letting drivers text and drive could certainly show up in a courtroom in the future.

The use of driver monitoring for court cases is also of specific interest to Musk, as in the past he has floated the idea that Tesla should spy on drivers with the in-car camera and use those recordings to prevail in Autopilot crash cases. Tesla’s lawyers shut this idea down at the time.

But now, moving forward, that doesn’t even matter. The CEO has stated that cars will be updated supposedly within a month or two to allow you to look away from the road. There would be no purpose to recording drivers for lack of attention, because Tesla will supposedly allow drivers to look away freely.

And even if drivers agree to always pay attention, if Tesla is giving them features that specifically encourage them not to, and those features are framed explicitly by the CEO to encourage illegal eyes-off-road activity, we think the company might have a much harder time playing its “Schrödinger’s FSD” game in court going forward.

The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

Solar panel giant Qcells announced today that it’s temporarily furloughing 1,000 US workers – 25% of its workforce – and reducing pay and shifts at its factories in northeast Georgia due to supply chain delays caused by US Customs.

Qcells furloughs 1,000 workers

The supply chain delays are hindering the company’s ability to import components to build its solar panels. This has resulted in Qcells’ two factories in Cartersville and Dalton being unable to operate at full capacity for several months.

Qcells spokeswoman Marta Stoepker shared the following statement in an exclusive with Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta:

The company says the furloughed workers, who were notified this afternoon, will retain full benefits and won’t be laid off. However, Qcells will no longer be using staffing agency employees in Georgia “at this time.”

Advertisement – scroll for more content

As Qcells introduced new supply chains to support its growing solar panel manufacturing facilities in Georgia, the company was recently forced to scale back production while our shipments into the US were delayed in the customs clearance process.

Although our supply chain operations are beginning to normalize, today we shared with our employees that HR actions must be taken to improve operational efficiency until production capacity returns to normal levels.

Stoepker said it expects to bring the furloughed workers back “in the coming weeks and months.” She continued:

Our commitment to building the entire solar supply chain in the United States remains. We will soon be back on track with the full force of our Georgia team delivering American-made energy to communities around the country.

Electrek’s Take

In January 2023, the Seoul-headquartered Qcells announced it would 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. That included expanding the Dalton solar factory and building a fully integrated solar supply chain factory in Cartersville, Georgia, that will manufacture solar ingots, wafers, cells, and finished panels.

It’s not quite there yet, because that takes time. In the meantime, it’s being penalized by Customs. The US government under Trump says it’s keen on boosting domestic manufacturing. Why would it work against a company that’s onshoring an entire solar supply chain, including recycling?

Dalton and Cartersville employ nearly 4,000 people. Its total output will reach 8.4 GW of solar production capacity per year, which is equivalent to nearly 46,000 panels per day – enough to power approximately 1.3 million homes annually.

It’s ludicrous that it has been forced to furlough a quarter of its workforce due to the ineptness of the Trump administration’s US Customs policies. This is right up there with the ICE arrests at Hyundai’s plant in Georgia. Bravo.

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

The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.