Hyundai’s luxury brand, Genesis, sold more EVs in the US last year than Lexus and Lucid. Genesis’ EV sales nearly quadrupled in the US in 2023 as the luxury brand expands its presence.
The brand is quickly expanding in the US as new models roll out. Genesis EVs were available in 33 states as of October, more than double that of early 2023.
Genesis launched its first all-electric vehicle, the GV60, in the US in May 2022. It has since added the Electrified GV70 SUV and Electrified G80. The GV70 was the first EV built by Genesis (Hyundai) in the US, rolling off the assembly line almost a year ago.
The brand’s commitment is paying off. Genesis saw the highest percent sales gain among Hyundai Motor brands (including Hyundai and Kia).
Genesis sold 6,403 EVs in 2023, according to data from Cox Automotive. That’s up 283% from the 1,671 handed over in 2022.
Left to right: Genesis GV60, Electrified GV70, and Electrified G80 (source: Genesis)
The Genesis GV60 led the way with 3,400 models sold, followed by the Electrified GV70 (1,674) and Electrified G80 (1,329), all with at least triple-digit YOY growth.
Genesis claimed 0.5% of the market in 2023, with a 0.6% share in Q4. In the last three months of the year, Genesis sold 2,042 EVs, nearly as many as Porsche in the US with 2,358. However, Porsche only has one all-electric vehicle, the Taycan.
Genesis GV60 electric SUV (Source: Genesis)
Hyundai Motor (including Kia and Genesis) committed to adopting Tesla’s NACS, which will enable wider charging access (and likely drive EV adoption).
The new 2024 Genesis Electrified G80 gained a cheaper Advanced trim that’s $5,380 less than last year’s model. The new trim brought the starting price down to $75,570. Genesis also dropped the price on the Prestige trim to $80,320, $630 less than the 2023 model.
Amid worldwide protests against Tesla due to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the company, hackers have released a website with address and contact information of thousands of Tesla owners. And the same hackers say that the only way to get off the list is to prove that you’ve sold your car.
This meddling is predictably not working out great so far for Tesla, the business which produced the vast majority of Musk’s wealth and which he is still, somehow, the titular leader of.
All of this has resulted in a huge drop in Tesla popularity, and along with that has come a drop in sales and the aforementioned protests, many of which are being exercised by Tesla owners and EV fans who are dismayed that the electric car company’s leadership has taken such an anti-EV turn.
There are passive protests like Tesla owners debadging their cars, and then the active ones like those who are exercising their First Amendment right to picket outside of Tesla stores.
Musk and the government he’s a part of have responded to these protests in their expected manner: by spreading misinformation with the intent of silencing the protesters’ free speech – a fundamental right which Musk has long shown disdain for.
And then, beyond that, there are… let’s say less accepted forms of protest happening in the US and elsewhere.
Today, we’re seeing a whole new type of protest – in the form of a hacker group which got access to Tesla account data and posted it all online, exposing thousands of Tesla owners’ information on the web.
Tesla owners’ information posted on protest site
The website includes a map and a snarky message stating the site’s intent – claiming that it’s a social media site for Tesla owners, rather than a protest site. But it also says that it encourages “creative expressions of protest that you can execute from the comfort of your own home.” Though, the site also uses a molotov cocktail as a cursor replacement.
Here is the text on the site (the name of the site has been redacted here, because while the information doesn’t seem particularly harmful on its own, given that most of it is public, I’d still rather not be responsible for leading people towards it):
XXXXX is the ultimate hub for enthusiasts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)! Our innovative platform allows users to explore an interactive map of DOGE landmarks.
But that’s not all! We also cater to Tesla Motors owners, providing a comprehensive resource to locate nearby service centers, showrooms, and charging stations—all at their fingertips.
Leveraging our cutting-edge artificial intelligence algorithms, XXXXX goes a step further by connecting like-minded Tesla owners with one another, facilitating a vibrant community through shared contact information.
Join us as we revolutionize the way DOGE fans and Tesla owners connect and explore!
Is XXXXX a protest platform?
If you’re on the hunt for a Tesla to unleash your artistic flair with a spray can, just step outside—no map needed! At XXXXX, we believe in empowering creative expressions of protest that you can execute from the comfort of your own home.
XXXXX neither endorses nor condemns any actions.
Before you embark on any adventure, we highly recommend checking out the No Trace Project.
I want my information removed.
Absolutely! Just provide us with proof that you’ve sold your Tesla.
Email XXXXX. We only accept scanned documents in JPG and PNG formats.
The way that the information was leaked is not immediately apparent, nor does the group make any claims as to how it got the information. It may or may not have even come from Tesla itself, since it includes somewhat random pieces of information for each owner.
The information is categorized under different icons, with designations for Tesla stores, Superchargers, Tesla owners’ cars, and then additional people of interest – which seem to largely be known residence of staffers working at Elon Musk’s bungling government department.
A quick check of the information suggests that it is not complete – there are many Tesla owners who are not listed on the site. And most of the information seems to just be addresses, phone numbers, business names and the like – much of which is already public information. Though there are also some email addresses and social media handles associated with certain entries, which may not be public information.
Also, Tesla locations are listed – such as Superchargers and Tesla stores. These are wholly public information and can be found on Tesla’s website.
Further, some outlets have confirmed that some of the information is inaccurate.
But, if any given Tesla owner is on the list, the site offers a remedy: merely email them with a scanned document proving you sold your car, and you will be removed. We haven’t tried this out to see if it will work or not, but if any owners do, feel free to reach out to us.
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A new era of 3D printing “microfactories” is helping to turn waste plastics into “highly competitive” products fit for use in the construction industry, according to Veena Sahajwalla, professor and founding director of UNSW Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) Centre.
Speaking to CNBC’s Mandy Drury at Schneider Electric’s Sydney Innovation Summit on Monday in Australia, Sahajwalla said manufacturers had to direct their thinking around sustainability toward profitability.
“It’s not about saying, well I’m making it because its green. Actually, that should be the last thing. The first thing has to be profitability, does it work? Is it showing the right performance?” she said.
That thinking has pushed SMaRT to build plastic filaments made from 100% waste plastics, sourced from “all kinds of old printers.”
They are built in hyper-localized, heavily automated “microfactories” to produce personalized products.
“If this [waste-made plastic] can now be fed into a 3D printer, can you actually print a whole range of products?” she said.
One such product already made are “clamps” — or blocks — used in building and construction projects.
“Imagine all the building and construction projects where you need plants and imagine if you had to wait a long time to source these parts and components,” said Sahajwalla.
The large outlay on plants during construction projects means companies often purchase them secondhand.
SMaRT’s 3D-printed alternative, built in a Sydney microfactory using plastic filaments made from older, plastic waste, could ultimately lower costs, says Sahajwalla.
“You could literally talk to your local microfactory and say, can I make this at a comparative price and the right kind of performance?”
“This is where microfactory technologies have come in. To really close the gap to between what is seen as a waste on one hand and on the other hand make something that is high performance, high tech and competitively closing the gap.”
Hydrogen revolution?
Autonomous trucks and buses, powered by clean hydrogen-based energy, are on the cusp of hitting the roads, thanks to a technology still in its infancy.
Scott Brown, managing director of pure hydrogen, told CNBC that his firm now has a hydrogen-powered garbage truck in the city of Adelaide emitting “no diesel pollution, which can be detrimental to your health if you breathe it in,” as well as less noise pollution waking residents up during the morning garbage run.
He predicts a drop in fuel cell prices in the coming 10 to 15 years.
Car manufacturers Honda, Toyota and Hyundai have already adopted more fuel cell engineering.
Fuel cells refer to the use of hydrogen or other fuels to produce clean electricity.
“There’s not a lot of material involved. It looks like a PC and you put it into — in our case — a truck or a bus,” Brown said.
Because of its increasingly cost-effective production, fuel cell prices have come down “about 50% in the last three years,” he added.
Brown predicts that clean energy battery cell prices will “fall dramatically” in the coming decade as Chinese companies adopt more hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Even though many linked it to Tesla’s Robotaxi effort, it was specifically for the right to operate an internal fleet of vehicles with drivers to offer a ride-hailing service.
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Tesla had already disclosed that it was offering such a service to its employees in the Bay Area.
Now, the CPUC has confirmed that it has approved Tesla’s application (via Reuters):
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said it approved Tesla’s application for a transportation charter-party carrier permit (TCP), a license typically associated with chauffeur-operated services, allowing the company to own and control a fleet of vehicles and transport employees on pre-arranged trips.
After Tesla’s stock crashed 5% today, the automaker’s stock went up 1.3% in aftermarket trading on the news.
The speculation is that this is in anticipation of Tesla launching its “robotaxi service”, but a CPUC spokesperson confirmed that the permit doesn’t allow Tesla to do that and that the automaker has yet to apply for a permit that would enable such a service.
However, we suspected that this would not be “unsupervised self-driving’ in customer vehicles like Tesla has been promising since 2016, but an internal fleet with teleoperation support in a geo-fenced area for ride-hailing services, much like Waymo has been doing for years.
With the focus on Austin in June, Tesla stopped talking about California, which was announced to happen at the same time as Texas last year.
Currently, the prediction market Polymarket puts the odds of Tesla launching robotaxis in California in 2025 at 29%:
Electrek’s Take
As I previously stated, I believe Tesla will use this permit to expand its existing ride-hailing test program in California to non-employees.
It will use that to iron out the ride-hailing system while it continues to work on its self-driving system, which is obviously the hard part to solve.
That said, I wouldn’t be completely shocked if Tesla launched a “robotaxi” in California this year. It just won’t be what Tesla has been promising for years: customer vehicles built since 2016 would be capable of self-driving at a robotaxi-level (4-5 SAE levels).
Instead, it will be an internal fleet with teleoperation support in a geo-fenced area, much like Waymo has been offering in California, Arizona, and Texas for years.
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