Austin, Texas, will be the site of a very large Tesla factory, and CEO Elon Musk confirmed why some Model 3s will be getting different battery cells. VW talks timing on ID.4. And an electric version of the Land Rover Defender is headed to the U.S.—in vintage form, that is. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced yesterday afternoon—on top of the company reporting another profitable quarter—that Tesla has chosen the area around Austin, Texas, for an upcoming factory that will build the Cybertruck, the Semi, and Model 3 and Model Y for some of North America.
Musk also clarified that the use of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells in some Model 3 sedans built in China will help free up more of the company’s more energy-dense nickel-cobalt-aluminum cells for use in the Semi. Model 3s with the LFP cells will return close to a 300-mile range, too, he claimed.
In non-Tesla news, Volkswagen has confirmed that its ID.4 electric crossover is looking on-time for first U.S. deliveries in late 2020 and U.S. production in 2022—although for the latter, it’s concerned about a battery-supplier dispute.
The UK firm Twisted Automotive has announced that it will offer a limited number of its Land Rover Defender 90 electric conversions for the U.S. Think of it as somewhere between the many distinctive one-off vintage-vehicle conversions we’ve covered and something like the Bollinger B1, perhaps.
And over at our partner site Motor Authority, there are spy photos of the prototype Mercedes-Benz EQE crossover that will be larger than the EQC already sold in Europe.
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