Tesla placed a big bet back in 2020 when it announced that it was developing a new battery cell format. The 4680 battery, as it’s known, powers the Cybertruck and in the past, it made its way into a limited number of Model Y crossovers.

The cylindrical cell was touted as being more energy-dense than the 2170- and 1865-type units found in the Model Y and Model 3 and the Model S and Model X, respectively. It’s also supposed to be cheaper to manufacture and easier to assemble.

Recently, Tesla announced that it produced its 100 millionth 4680 cell. That’s a big achievement and a sign that the company managed to ramp up production of the proprietary cell significantly to reach an average manufacturing rate of 495,000 cells per day. That’s enough for 368 Cybertrucks.

However, the biggest battery maker in the world, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited, better known as CATL, believes that going down the cylindrical cell route is a dead end. CATL’s founder and head honcho, Robin Zeng, told Tesla CEO Elon Musk this to his face. The reaction was silence.

Zang, who spoke with Reuters, said he had told Tesla’s head honcho that his bet on the 4680 cylindrical battery “is going to fail and never be successful.”

"We had a very big debate, and I showed him," Zeng said. "He was silent. He doesn't know how to make a battery. It's about electrochemistry. He's good for the chips, the software, the hardware, the mechanical things."

But that’s not all. Zang also had some remarks about Musk’s tendency to set unrealistic timelines for upcoming products. "His problem is overpromising. I talked to him," Zeng said. "Maybe something needs five years. But he says two years. I definitely asked him why. He told me he wanted to push people."

With Metro Awakening, Vertigo Games delivers a gripping post-apocalyptic shooter that tells a successful prequel story over twelve chapters. No prior knowledge of the Metro books or games is required, making it easy to jump in.

The interaction with the world and the gadgets works really well. The handling of the weapons is convincing. Most of the fights are exciting, and the soundtrack is well arranged. Plus: There are plenty of scary moments thanks to the great play of light and shadow and the mutant enemies you'll confront.

Graphically, the Quest version performs quite well, without reaching the quality of Batman: Arhkam Shadow. For a visual comparison between the Quest 3 and PSVR 2 versions, take a look at the linked article.

However, I hesitate to give the game a full recommendation. The level design and the locations are not varied enough for me, especially in the later parts.

Other points of criticism include the sometimes predictable actions of the enemies, the unfair distribution of save points, and the fact that there are far too few creative puzzles. However, if you can overlook these flaws, you will be entertained for seven to nine hours at a good level.

Little Cities: Diorama is the first mixed reality version of the cozy city builder. Its creator Purple Yonder developed the Vision Pro version together with nDreams studio Near Light.

Gears & Goo is a tower defense game developed for Apple Vision Pro by Resolution Games (Demeo, Blaston, Racket Club).

In this video we take a look at the complete teardown and disassembly of a BYD Seal by Japanese publisher Nikkei BP. See first hand how the BYD Seal is put together and the efficiencies of BYD's vertical integration

General Motors is teaming up with Reliant Energy to offer free nighttime charging to some Chevy electric vehicle owners in Texas.

Chevy owners who enroll in Reliant’s EV charging plan will receive free nighttime charging through monthly bill credits that offset charges incurred between 11PM. and 6AM, the companies said. Customers must also designate an EV to receive the charging credit through GM Energy’s Smart Charging Portal. (GM Energy is the automaker’s home energy subsidiary, and Reliant is a subsidiary of NRG Energy.)

Global sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose 35% in October from the same month last year, led by a 54% jump in sales in China, market research firm Rho Motion said on Wednesday.

European sales rose just 0.8%, but were up in annual terms for the second straight month and the research firm expects a good end to the year in the region, data manager Charles Lester told Reuters.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The European auto sector is facing challenges including high production costs, managing the shift to EVs, and an influx of lower-cost vehicles from Chinese rivals.

Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen said in October it planned to shut at least three factories in Germany.

BY THE NUMBERS

Sales of EVs - whether fully electric or plug-in hybrids - reached 1.72 million worldwide in October, Rho Motion data showed.

Sales in China hit a record high 1.2 million vehicles.

In the United States and Canada, EV sales were up 11.4% to 0.16 million, while in Europe, they reached 0.26 million, up slightly on the year but down 14% from September.

In the rest of the world, sales increased 10.9%.

KEY QUOTES

"The Chinese EV market shows no signs of slowing down as it enters the final two strong automotive sales months of the year," Rho Motion said in a statement.

Lester said November and December tend to be seasonally strong months.

Carbon emission reduction goals set in the EU for next year could lead to price cuts as automakers look to boost EV sales to meet targets and avoid fines, he said.

CONTEXT

China's passenger vehicle sales jumped 11.2% in October year-on-year, data from China Passenger Car Association showed last week, led by domestic EV champion BYD.

2023 was an excellent year for VR games, and 2024 will even surpass it in terms of quality and especially quantity.

Since October, the number of releases has increased so much that even we are struggling to keep up. Our inboxes are overflowing with announcements of new VR games and updates to existing titles. At times, it feels like developers have been waiting two years or more to release their products at the same time.

The timing is no coincidence: The low-cost Meta Quest 3S was released in mid-October, and VR studios are naturally hoping for a bumper holiday season. Of course, it would be foolish not to take advantage of this unique opportunity.

There are currently rumors that game sales are not as strong as some established VR studios had hoped for with the launch of Quest 3S. Generally, two factors are being cited: the merging of the App Lab and the Quest Store, which has eliminated curation, and Meta's recommendation system, which is said to prioritize Horizon Worlds content over third-party titles that studios have been working on for years. Both of these factors could have led to lower visibility in the Horizon Store and therefore lower sales.

Another possible factor for the alleged decline in sales could be that Meta is currently throwing so many high-quality VR games at new customers for free that they have no reason to buy new VR games, which of course hurts the ecosystem.

Clone Drone in the Danger Zone (2021), the hit arena battler from indie studio Doborog, is bringing the game’s voxel slice-em-up action in a new VR-exclusive sequel next month, coming to Quest and PC VR headsets.

Called Clone Drone in the Hyperdome, the new single-player VR experience includes a thick slice of the series’ unique combat and action-based storyline, where players fight to the death against killer robots—which just so happen to be very frangible.

Doborog says in Clone Drone in the Hyperdome, players take on the role of Blink, a teleporting robot who is the newest ‘looprunner’ gladiator forced to compete in Crashloop, a deadly roguelike combat sport.

Rivian and the Volkswagen Group's joint venture now has a name and a launch date. Rivian and VW Group Technology, LLC—or, Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies, for short—kicks off Wednesday.

The EV startup and automotive juggernaut announced their intentions to make a deal in June. Now the tie-up is actually happening, and the companies have revealed some key details. One big one: Initially, Volkswagen said it would invest $5 billion into Rivian to leverage the startup's expertise in vehicle software and electrical architectures. Now that's up to $5.8 billion.

The venture will be jointly run by Rivian's Chief Software Officer, Wassym Bensaid, and Carsten Helbing, Volkswagen Group's CTO. They'll serve as co-CEOs. It'll be based in Palo Alto, California, to start. Three more sites are in development North America and Europe, the companies said on Tuesday.

Through the deal, Volkswagen's brands will benefit from the underlying technology Rivian has developed—namely, vehicle software and electrical architectures. That's something Volkswagen has struggled to build in-house for years. And it's increasingly important, as automakers look to create "software-defined vehicles" that offer satisfying user interfaces, seamless over-the-air updates and paid subscription features.

Together, Rivian and VW will develop "next-generation electrical architecture and best-in-class software technology for both companies’ future electric vehicles, covering all relevant vehicle segments, including subcompact cars," the companies said in a press release. Rivian's upcoming R2 will use technology from the joint venture. Volkswagen didn't specify any models, but since we know VW is working on an electric ID. Golf, that—and subsequent smaller cars—could make use of this technology.

Nov 12 (Reuters) - Nasdaq-listed electric vehicle maker VinFast said on Wednesday it will get a fresh round of funding worth 85 trillion dong ($3.35 billion) from its founder and its parent firm, Vingroup (VIC.HM) , opens new tab by 2026, when it expects to break even. VinFast began operations in 2019 and has been expanding aggressively into global markets, but the firm continues to report increasing losses as it grapples with softer demand and challenges in the sector.

Approximately 50 trillion dong ($1.97 billion) of the new funding is expected to come from VinFast's founder, tycoon Pham Nhat Vuong, according to a company statement. Vingroup, one of Vietnam's largest conglomerates, intends to lend up to $1.38 billion to VinFast by the end of 2026 through its activities, dividends, and possible divestment, which it said may be conducted at an acceptable price if necessary.

Additionally, Vingroup will convert all existing loans to VinFast Vietnam into preferred shares with dividend entitlements, it said. Vuong, who owns 97.9% of VinFast shares both directly and indirectly, gave assurances of his commitment to increase investment in the automotive unit during a general meeting in April. "VinFast remains committed to raising independent capital to meet its financial needs. The support from Vingroup and Vuong will be utilised only if these independent efforts fall short," VinFast said in the statement.

Jaguar has stopped selling new vehicles in its home country until at least 2026 as the luxury British automaker prepares to go all-electric.

Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India-based Tata Motors, won't be shipping any new vehicles to dealers in the UK — and current Jaguar models left in their inventories will be sold as pre-owned, a company spokesperson told Business Insider.

It's the first time that prospective UK buyers won't be able to choose a Jaguar — a preferred vehicle of the British royal family and UK prime ministers — since World War II, Bloomberg reported.

Meanwhile, US buyers won't have access to new Jags, either: US dealers will be able to sell what's left from the 2024 model year — and will then have to wait to get the new all-electric Jags, Car and Driver reported.

The company has said it plans to reveal more details later this year, but for now, its new EVs aren't expected to launch for more than a year — sometime in 2026, a Jaguar Land Rover spokesperson told the UK's Car Dealer Magazine.

bHaptics, the South Korea-based VR haptics creator, announced it’s launching a refreshed lineup of its most popular haptics hardware, which are said to support over 270 titles across Quest, PSVR 2, and PC VR headsets.

The company today announced pre-orders for three new accessories: TactSuit Pro, TactSuit Air and TactSleeve.

Pre-orders for all three are set to launch today, November 12th, and go until November 26th.

Tesla sells the most EVs, but if you don’t think it sells the best EVs, here are some alternative models that you could choose instead.

Tesla doesn’t have as big a lead over its competitors as it once did. Although its EVs are still among the best, competing automakers have caught up and have even surpassed Tesla in some areas.

Buying the best EV isn’t as simple as just loading up the Tesla site and ordering one anymore. You have to research and compare the Tesla model you’re looking at with its main rivals, which are increasing in numbers. We’ve lined up the main rivals for each Tesla model and highlighted their pros and cons to help you make the best car-buying decision.

Stellantis isn’t doing all that great this year. Sales are down, competition from China is brutal in Europe, layoffs are underway in the U.S. and revenue dropped nearly 30% in the third quarter of 2024. But the firm, which owns 14 iconic automotive brands including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, says it is still preparing for the future with one of the best long-distance EV platforms in the business.

To prove how good its STLA Medium platform is at covering extended stretches of open road, the manufacturer took one of its Peugeot E-3008 electric crossovers and drove it from Paris to Nice. That’s around 580 miles (932 km), which the Peugeot drove at a constant 80.7 mph (130 km/h), sticking to the speed limit on French highways. The outside temperature for the whole journey hovered around 68°F (20°C), which is close to optimal for a modern EV with a lithium-ion battery pack.

The car only needed two charging stops to get from Paris to Nice. For the first leg of the trip, the E-3008 stopped after 211 miles (340 km) after averaging 2.6 miles/kWh. The second time, it stopped after 227 miles (366 km) with an average electricity consumption of 3.34 miles/kWh. The final leg was also the shortest at 143 miles (231 km) during which the car achieved 3.07 miles/kWh.

Kia wants a bigger slice of Europe’s electric vehicle market. With the EV3 now available in Europe, Kia claims its new electric SUV sets a new benchmark with segment-leading range at an affordable price.

Kia announced on Monday that the EV3 has arrived in Europe. With a segment-leading range of up to 375 miles on a single charge, the compact electric SUV will compete with the best.

The EV3 is the company’s first dedicated compact electric SUV and is “ready for all European journeys and lifestyles.”

Kia said its new EV has undergone “extensive testing” in Europe under all road conditions, including highways, city streets, and winding roads.

The EV3 is one of the most efficient EVs on the market, with a range of up to 375 miles. In the city, with Kia’s i-Pedal technology and regenerative braking system, you can get up to 479 miles.

It can also fast charge (10% to 80%) in 29 minutes (58.3 kWh battery). The Kia EV3 is available in Europe with 58.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh battery packs. The larger battery (81.4 kWh) can fast charge in 31 minutes.

Kia fine-tuned the electric SUV for European customers to ensure maximum performance on Europe’s roads.

At 4,300 mm long, 1,850 mm wide, and 1,560 mm tall, the EV3 is about the size of the Volvo EX30 (4,233 mm length x 1,836 mm width x 1,550 mm x height). Volvo’s compact electric SUV is already one of the best-selling EVs in Europe, with a starting price of around £32,850 ($42,300

Cyborn, the team behind VR sci-fi adventure Hubris (2022), announced it’s releasing mixed reality city builder Wall Town Wonders on Quest 3 next week.

Coming November 21st to Quest 3 and Quest 3S, Wall Town Wonders promises to turn any room in your house into a magical miniature town.

Supporting hand-tracking, the mixed reality game lets you interact with tiny characters as you help them rebuild and customize their world, rightfully built across your real-world walls.

Wall Town Wonders also promises to bring “a peaceful environment where you can progress at your own speed,” which includes a variety of quests, mini-games, and hidden surprises.

The studio says it’s cued up post-launch seasonal content, letting you keep your little town fresh with new themes, events, and special decorations for the game’s 100 unique buildings, 40+ characters, and variety of skins and decorations already available at launch.

You can pre-order Wall Town Wonders on the Horizon Store for Quest 3 and Quest 3S at a 10 percent discount, which is regularly priced at $20.

"Do you think VR and AR have a lasting future, or is it a fleeting phenomenon?"

"Hello Marc

Virtual reality existed long before the current wave that started in 2012, and was used for simulation, visualization, design, research, and training. With the advent of low-cost, consumer-oriented VR headsets since 2016, these areas have grown, and I expect virtual reality to remain a fixture in these areas regardless of market developments in the coming years and decades.

The more interesting question you probably were aiming at is whether virtual reality will be able to establish itself in the consumer market in the long term, with so many media, gadgets and digital forms of entertainment vying for our attention.

As I wrote last week, the VR market is currently dominated by Meta. Meta Quest is the leading VR platform where most developers make their money. I believe that as long as these developers remain profitable and Meta stays in virtual reality, virtual reality will continue to exist and grow as a consumer-oriented entertainment and computing platform. But these are ifs.

Meta has made virtual reality relatively successful with aggressive investments and subsidies, distorting expectations and prices at the same time. If Meta took into account the cost of R&D and added a healthy margin, VR headsets like the Meta Quest 3S would easily cost twice as much or more. We don't know how much money Meta spends on the VR division alone, but it's safe to assume it's still a money-losing business. Until that changes and other manufacturers can turn consumer virtual reality into a profitable business, I remain cautious about making long-term predictions.

For now, those who benefit are the developers who make a good profit from VR games (and there are many, rest assured), and of course, we consumers who can get hardware and software at an incredible value ratio. However, we should be aware that Meta is essentially still investing in virtual reality and can also stop that investment with likely devastating consequences for the fledgling computing platform. What is true for virtual reality is even more true for augmented reality, which is much further away from true mass adoption and profitability.

Do I think VR and AR can become mainstream in the long term? Absolutely. But I can't say when that will be. As someone who has been a journalist in the industry for almost ten years and has followed the technological developments, I no longer think in terms of years, but decades. From that perspective, we may still be at the very beginning.

Kind regards,

Tomislav

If you’re one of the few remaining PSVR owners looking to use the original 2016 headset on PlayStation 5, you only have a few more days to request your free PS Camera adapter, as Sony is discontinuing the device later this month.

Sony released its PlayStation Camera Adapter for free in 2020 to help bridge the gap for PSVR users looking for a console upgrade to PS5, which notably didn’t offer full PSVR support out of the box.

The PlayStation 5 HD Camera that launched alongside PS5 can’t track the original PSVR headset or PS Move controllers spatially, requiring the additional adapter.

DIG VR delivers an entertaining light sim with a great sense of humor, and it's out this week on Quest. Read on for our full review.

Comedy is a tricky thing to do successfully in games. Away from the luxury of scripted cutscenes where timing is strictly controlled, pulling off effective laughs can be difficult in a user-controlled medium. You wouldn't expect hilarity from a power-digging light sim and yet DIG VR has some of the most relatable British humor I've ever seen in a VR game.

The number of EVs on the road is growing. Recent figures show the EV market share closing in on ten percent nationally. EV infrastructure — with the help of substantial government investment — is improving to meet the demand. The number of EV charging points in America increased by 29 percent nationwide in 2023. But is that increase happening quickly enough?

The picture becomes a bit murkier, looking at individual states. Different states have different needs for EV charging. An interesting metric for how successful states have been at providing EV infrastructure is to look at their EVs per charging point ratio. The more registered EVs a state has, the more public charging points it needs. And many states — even avowedly EV-friendly ones — may be far from where they need to be with EV charging infrastructure.

The HERE-SBD EV Index for 2024 scores states out of 25 for their EVs per charging point ratio. And it tells a slightly different story than the raw numbers. California, for instance, has by far the most EV charging points of any state. However, California also has the second-worst EVs to charging point score of any state, suggesting far more needs to be done.