In the spirit of the “Recharge Wrap-up” we used to do, “Short Circuit” is a new weekly roundup of the green news that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks. Whether it’s geeky, niche, a bit far afield or just good weekend reading, you’ll find it here.
Tesla drivers reported waiting in line at the Supercharger for hours as a result of eclipse traffic. With a lot of people driving long distances to the same general locations at the same time, Supercharger stations exceeded capacity. People reported waiting in line for four hours. Check out the line of Teslas at one station in the video above, and read more at Inside EVs.
> Related: Watch Tesla Model X P100D drag race Lamborghini Aventador SV
A new startup with former Tesla employees is making EV battery packs.Romeo Power, based in California, says its battery packs are the most energy dense in the world. It also says the batteries are lighter, longer lasting and quicker to recharge than Tesla’s. Read more from Forbes.
The Colorado Department of Transportation will use an Autonomous Impact Prevention Vehicle (AIPV) to protect road workers. It’s a truck that’s designed to absorb the impact from other cars swerving off the highway, acting as a safety barrier for construction crews. It means fewer people will be put in harm’s way driving the crash vehicle, as the AIPVs will simply follow a human-driven lead vehicle. Read more from Government Technology.
> Related: Autonomous Garbage Truck
Karma Automotive made a very pretty eclipse video starring its Revero plug-in hybrid. Each Karma Revero wears a hand-painted badge on its nose, inspired by the image of an eclipse. As such, Karma took Reveros to three separate locations along the path of totality to take footage of the phenomenon, featuring the car prominently in the video, of course. Check it out at Karma’s website.
> Related: Fisker to unveil its all-electric EMotion at CES in January
Mercedes-Benz will unveil an electric compact car at the Frankfurt Motor Show. In addition to its AMG Project Onehybrid hypercar and GLC F-Cell EQ Power, Mercedes-Benz will unveil an all-electric city car concept under its EQ sub-brand. We’ll be on hand at the event, and will get you details when they’re available. Read more from Daimler.
> Related: 1,180-hp Ariel electric sports car is real, goes on sale in 2020
Tesla’s own music streaming service is making its way into software updates. A Tesla “tinkerer” discovered the TTunes code in Telsa’s most recent over-the-air update. Tesla’s current streaming service in North America is powered by Slacker Radio, while European customers get service through Spotify. It’s not clear when Tesla will launch TTunes, or whatever it ends up being called. Read more at Electrek.
Porsche‘s World Endurance Champion Neel Jani will race for Faraday Future Dragon Racing in the Formula E Championship. Neel, a 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, will make his Formula E racing debut in the series’ fourth season. He’ll replace AudiDTM driver and Le Mans winner Loic Duval. Read more at Motorsport.
> Related: Faraday Future could pull out of Formula E to save cash
Germany has agreed upon legal regulations for the ethics of driverless cars. They define how autonomous vehicles should make choices in situations where someone could get hurt. The cars must do all they can to prevent or minimize human injury or death, even if that means hitting property or animals. They aren’t allowed to make such decisions based on a person’s age, sex or physical condition. Read more from Reuters.
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