Tesla released a new blog post defending its impact on California and says that it now employs 47,000 people in the state.
California has been critical to Tesla’s success over the last 20 years.
The state has helped Tesla in its time of need and its strong climate initiatives and EV incentives have made it the biggest market for electric vehicles in the US and, therefore, Tesla’s biggest market.
However, the love story between Tesla and California ended somewhat abruptly in 2020. Early measures to curb the spread of Covid 19 resulted in Tesla having to close its Fremont factory, which angered CEO Elon Musk to the point of threatening to move Tesla from California.
The automaker always maintained that it is still heavily investing in California and walked back threats made by Musk to even move Fremont factory at one point.
But the behavior of Musk over the last year resulted in Tesla’s popularity in what is still its most important US market plummeting.
Since Tesla’s move to Texas, the CEO has made it clear that he is now Republican and even encouraged people to vote Republican during the last election – a rare thing for a tech CEO to officially take a side like that.
This didn’t help Tesla’s case in blue states, like California. On top of it, Musk called the Democratic party “the party of hate” and he regularly makes negative comments on the left on his popular Twitter page.
In an apparent damage control effort, Tesla released a rare blog post defending its impact on the state of California.
In the post, the company listed all its primary operations in the state:
Tesla’s footprint in California is made up of Megapack production and vehicle castings in Lathrop, hardware and software engineering in Palo Alto, vehicle and battery manufacturing in Fremont, battery development and testing in San Diego and vehicle design in Hawthorne.
Tesla listed some of its economic impacts in the state of California based on IHS research:
Tesla-supported California jobs (direct and indirect) exceeded 80,000 in 2021. Over 43,000 of these stemmed from $1.6 billion in expenditures with California suppliers.
For every 100 direct Tesla jobs, 50 more were supported in the supply chain and 68 by follow-on consumer activity.
From 2018 to 2021, Tesla paid an average of $1 billion in federal, state and local taxes annually, with approximately $400 million going toward state and local taxes in 2021.
Tesla’s average contribution to the gross state product (GSP) rose by 42% between 2018-2021, while the state’s GSP grew by 16%.
Wages from Tesla and Tesla-connected jobs resulted in $16.6 billion in economic activity, or $44.4 million injected into California’s economy each day.
Tesla confirmed that it now has 47,000 employees in California:
In 2022, we grew to 47,000 employees (direct employment) in California, and our production footprint continued to increase as our 2 millionth vehicle rolled off the lines in Fremont. Since 2016, we have made over $5 billion in capital investments in our facilities. We are confident that these trends will continue and that 2023 will be an even bigger year for Tesla in California.
That’s just a little less than half of its global workforce still being located in California.
Electrek’s Take
Despite Tesla not having an official PR department anymore, I’ve seen an effort lately for the automaker to have more of its own communications directly with the public lately and not just through Elon Musk’s Twitter.
Since dissolving Tesla’s PR department, Musk made it so everything goes through him and that has become a problem lately as he increasingly antagonizes part of the population in the US.
When you lead a company that sells products and services to consumers, it’s just bad business to become publicly political like Musk has been doing over the last year.
It looks like Tesla is trying to have its own voice again with being more active on social media and now some blog posts like this one.
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Archer Aviation has announced partnerships in the Miami metropolitan area to establish a new air taxi network to support travelers around several key areas in Southern Florida, including local airports.
As you probably alrready know at this point. Archer Aviation ($ACHR) is a California-based developer of eVTOL and eCTOL aircraft that it continues to work toward implementing into commercial air taxi rides in the future. The plans for its network of sustainable aircraft have expanded to cities like New York and Chicago, as well as other countries like Japan and the United Arab Emirates.
In California, south of its headquarters, Archer intends to take to the skies above Los Angeles with a proposed air taxi network announced in August 2024. Building upon that network, Archer shared earlier this year that it had become the exclusive air taxi provider of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
On the other southern coast of the United States, Archer is planning another exciting air taxi network that includes the option of quiet, sustainable air travel around Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and several other key landmarks.
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Source: Archer Aviation
Archer partners up to establish Miami air taxi network
Archer Aviation shared details of its new air taxi network plans for Miami in a press release early this morning. If and when it comes to friuition, the proposed air taxi network will be a result of several new partnerships established by Archer in the Miami metropolitan area.
Some of those partnerships include real estate company Related Ross, Apogee Golf Club, Hard Rock Stadium – where existing heliports will be configured for eVTOLs and/or new air taxi vertiports will be erected. Stephen Ross, CEO and Chairman of Related Ross and Owner of the Miami Dolphins:
Our partnership with Archer marks a pivotal step in expanding South Florida’s regional connectivity through cutting-edge technology. We are integrating Archer’s electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft into our flagship locations across South Florida, including the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Related Ross developments in West Palm Beach, and Apogee Club in Hobe Sound. We’re excited to embrace a forward-thinking vision that transforms how people and businesses move across the region.
According to Archer, the new air taxi network will connect passengers to populated areas around Miami Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach, offering 10 to 20 minute flights. Plans also include easier travel to major airports around Southern Florida, including Miami International Airport (MIA), Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL), and Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), plus several general aviation airports. Miami Mayor, Francis Suarez, also spoke:
Miami has never been afraid to bet on the future. We’re a city that attracts visionaries, embraces breakthrough technology, and turns bold ideas into real impact. For years, I’ve worked with Archer as they’ve advanced a vision for an air-taxi network that will elevate Miami’s position as a global capital for innovation and mobility. What they’re building isn’t just transformational transportation, it embodies the Miami mindset: we lead, we innovate, and we redefine what’s possible.
Archer did not share a timeline on when this air taxi network may be operational around Miami, but we’d wager it’s still at least a couple of years away given the need for additional eVTOl development and FAA certifications in order to begin commercial operations in the US.
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EnBW He Dreiht offshore wind farm (Photographer: Rolf Otzipka)
Germany’s largest offshore wind farm hit a big milestone: The first turbine at EnBW’s He Dreiht project has produced its first kilowatt-hour of electricity and sent it into the grid.
More turbines are expected to come online over the coming weeks. European energy provider EnBW has already installed 27 of the wind farm’s 64 turbines, all of which are scheduled to be commissioned by summer 2026.
Peter Heydecker, EnBW board member for Sustainable Generation Infrastructure, described the November 25 milestone as a “significant moment for EnBW.” With 960 megawatts (MW) of total capacity, He Dreiht is now Germany’s largest offshore wind farm.
Vestas supplied the 15 MW turbines, marking their world debut. Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern and Central Europe, said the giant turbine’s technology sets a new standard for offshore wind. “Its efficiency and performance enable a significant increase in energy yield per turbine.”
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Just one rotation of the 15 MW turbine’s rotor can power the equivalent of four households for a day. The hub stands 142 meters (466 feet) tall, and the rotor’s 236-meter (774-foot) diameter sweeps a 43,742-square-meter (10.8-acre) area — roughly the size of six football fields. To put the scale into perspective, EnBW’s first offshore project, Baltic 1 in 2010, used 2.3 MW turbines.
EnBW wrapped up the wind farm’s internal cabling in August. Those lines connect all the turbines and feed into a converter platform operated by transmission system operator TenneT. That’s where the power is collected, converted from AC to DC, and sent to shore through two high-voltage DC cables.
Once complete, He Dreiht will generate enough electricity to power about 1.1 million households. The project is being built without state funding and sits roughly 85 kilometers (53 miles) northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Heligoland. EnBW’s offshore office in Hamburg is coordinating the build.
A partner group made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP, and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9% of the project. Total investment comes in at around €2.4 billion.
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The Yangwang U8L is among the most expensive Chinese vehicles, starting at about $180,000. To prove it’s built for just about anything, BYD dropped a 2-ton tree on it, three times, and the ultra-luxury pretty much brushed it off.
BYD drops a tree on its ultra-luxury SUV during testing
BYD launched the Yangwang U8L in September, a long-wheelbase version of the U8 off-road SUV. The U8 was first introduced in September 2023 as the first vehicle from BYD’s ultra-luxury sub-brand, Yangwang.
Yangwang is a new energy vehicle (NEV) brand that sells high-end plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and 100% battery electric (BEV) vehicles as BYD expands into new segments.
The U8L is Yangwang’s fourth vehicle, following the U8, U9, and U7. It’s available in China with a quad-motor extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) system, delivering a CLTC range of 200 km (124 miles) on battery power alone.
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A 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine serves as a generator, delivering a combined CLTC range of 1,160 km (720 miles).
Measuring 5,400 mm in length, 2,049 mm in width, and 1,921 mm in height, the Yangwang U8L is even bigger than the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Range Rover Long Wheelbase.
BYD’s ultra-luxury SUV is priced from 1.28 million yuan ($180,000), making it one of the most expensive models from a Chinese brand.
It may look pretty, but the Yangwang U8L is built for far more than just good looks. Like the U8, the long-wheelbase version is equipped with advanced features such as emergency float mode, which allows it to float on water for up to 30 minutes, tank turns, crab walking, and more.
To prove its durability, BYD engineers put the luxury SUV through the paces, dropping a massive 2-ton tree on it, not once, but three times.
During the final drop, the company said the maximum impact energy reached 50.4 kJ, or about 37,200 lb-ft. After three consecutive drops, the Yangwang U8L barely even got a scratch. The body structure remained intact, the door still opened, the columns didn’t bend, and the vehicle could even drive like normal.
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