1365: 05 Feb | Firefighters Battling Blaze At Tesla Fremont Factory - a podcast by EV News Daily

Show #1365

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Saturday 5th February. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.

BMW has been teasing its fullsize sedan with zero emissions for a while, and now the Mercedes EQS rival has returned. A clip published by the company’s “i” sub-brand on Instagram shows the 7er EV being tested in the snow.

For a brief moment, we can see the digital screen with the same graphics as the ones available in the iX. Needless to say, it can only mean the i7 will get the iDrive 8 infotainment with side-by-side screens. These will likely be housed within a slightly curved single piece of glass to mirror the SUV’s setup.

The driver’s display reveals BMW is testing the i7 at the Arctic Circle at -34 degrees Celsius (-29.2 degrees Fahrenheit)

With the 7 Series / i7 debuting before the end of the year

BMW i. Born Electric. on Instagram: "Before it can earn a place on the assembly line, it needs to put in a gold-star performance in tough arctic conditions. The first-ever BMW…"

Uber and Wallbox N.V. are expanding their partnership nationwide following a pilot program which provides Uber drivers a discounted package for a Wallbox Pulsar Plus charger, installation and the option to finance the package.

Just a few months after beginning their initial partnership in the Bay Area in October 2021, the companies are expanding their collaboration so that drivers across the U.S. will soon have access to Wallbox’s discounted EV charging package.

“Helping drivers go electric is a crucial part of our plan to get to zero-emissions by 2030 in the U.S.,” states Andrew Macdonald, Uber’s senior vice president of mobility and business operations. “This partnership with Wallbox helps drivers by making it more affordable and accessible to charge their EVs, and we’re excited to give more drivers the chance to take advantage of it.”

The partnership is being supported by an Uber program that makes drivers of fully electric vehicles (EV) eligible for a zero emissions incentive, so they can earn an extra $1 on every Uber trip (up to $4,000 annually).

A fire ignited outside the Tesla plant in Fremont where pallets of cardboard debris went up in flames, according to the Fremont Fire Department.

The fire led the Fremont department to request neighboring firefighters to help extinguish the blaze before the fire was knocked down.

In March 2021, molten aluminum and hydraulic fluid caused a fire in a construction site on the Tesla campus. There were no reports of injuries in that fire either.

Fremont Fire Department on Twitter: "Firefighters are at the scene of a 2-alarm fire at the Tesla Factory (45500 Fremont Blvd). The fire is outside and mainly comprised of packing materials (cardboard pallets). Mutual aid has been requested from Milpitas FD. No reports of injuries.  Photos from the 2-alarm outside fire at the Tesla Factory (45500 Fremont Blvd). The fire is knocked down. No reports of injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation."

"Update: The cause of the 2-alarm fire at the Tesla Factory (45500 Fremont Blvd) is under investigation. Crews are separating smoldering cardboard and dousing debris w/ foam. Mutual Aid was received from both @MilpitasFire & @AlamedaCoFire. All mutual aid units have been released."

A TESLA factory is on fire in California and firefighters are battling the massive blaze as shocking footage shows the facility amid the chaos.

In the video clip, plumes of smoke are seen rising into the sky as firefighters shoot water onto the blaze. The aerial footage shows firefighters standing on ladders, dozens of feet in the air, as they aim what appears to be endless amounts of water on the Tesla plant.

General Motors is staying the course on its installation of 3,500 electric vehicle charging stations at its work sites in the U.S. and Canada by 2025 — even as many of its white-collar employees work remote.

GM believed that allowing employees to charge EVs for free while on the job would encourage EV adoption as GM transitions to an all-EV lineup by 2035.

But the pandemic escalated and many salaried workers went home to work and have not returned as COVID rages on.

Many companies are taking a long-term view that people will return to office sites and  adoption of EVs will grow in future years — therefore the chargers will be used.

FLO, which is based in Quebec, started shipping chargers to GM last October. It has shipped 495 Level 2 chargers to date and 18 DC fast chargers to GM's facilities in Detroit, Warren and Flint as well as to GM facilities in other states

When GM said it would add 3,500 new electric vehicle charging stations across its facilities by 2025, it had about 918 chargers already installed across various GM campuses in North America. GM's research at the time, which was early 2020, said drivers are "six times more likely to drive an EV" if they can charge it at their workplace.

Some home builders say it is too soon to require new Illinois buildings to have designated parking spaces for electronic vehicle (EV) charging.

House Bill 3125, sponsored by Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, has advanced through the House Energy and Environment Committee. The bill would require newly constructed buildings to set aside a certain number of parking spaces with the capability to meet wiring requirements for electric vehicles.

Dean Graven, president of the Home Builders Association of Illinois, told The Center Square that it is too soon to require specific wiring for mandated EV chargers.

Graven said. Many different EV manufacturers are producing electric vehicles – all with distinctive charging requirements.

At this juncture, mandating that builders install wiring does not make sense, Graven said.

“We have no idea how many amps will be needed,” he said. “If we put something in, will it be enough? Will it be too much? They are going to have to have an electrician come back and change everything out again.”

The situation reminds Graven of the 1980s, when VHS and Betamax were duking it out to be the dominant video recorder. What will the car market look like in 10 or 15 years, he said? No one knows. Toyota, one of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the world, has said they are prioritizing hydrogen cell technology over electric, Graven said.

“Hydrogen is the one element in the universe that there is more of than anything else,” Graven said. “So, could that happen to us? We’re all EV, and then in 10 years, hydrogen comes along?”

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