10 things eft’s been reading this week

Living in Electric Dreams?

This week we are asking whether Elon Musk is living is electric dreams? Whilst clearly the trend is for more and better electric cars that incorporate increasing amounts of AI, is the tech whizz kid going to be able to keep up? The $35,000 Model 3 appears to be pie in the sky as pricing soars and productions stalls, and all the while big players become more prominent in Tesla’s target market as trigger-happy investors circle menacingly. In this week’s 10 things we look at Tesla, the electric car market and keeping tabs on your supply chain.

Elon’s investment into electric cars makes sense in growth terms, as stock of electrics cars rose at a year-on-year rate of 57% from 2016 to 2017. However, he might have got in too early as that represents only 3.1 million cars.Electric Car Stock Ramping Up at a Fast Pace. [Statista]

Meanwhile the problems keep building up, like this … Tesla seeks to dismiss securities fraud lawsuit: US court document. [CNBC]

And this … Tesla to slash thousands of jobs in profitability drive. [BBC]

Furthermore, the rivals are getting ready to push a whole lot harder and closer to his market segment. Sorry, it’s Taycan: Porsche names its first electric car [Motoring Research]

It’s not just the electric side either, as self-driving is becoming more and more critical. GM and Fiat Chrysler’s deal is a hefty chunk of change. General Motors and Fiat Chrysler unveil self-driving deals.  [BBC]

Instead, maybe the real money in this boom is in the battery market, with battery demand in China alone expected to quadruple in the next four years. Musk Challengers Turn Into Billionaires as China Battery Giant Soars. [Bloomberg]

China isn’t the only tech pioneer in Asia-Pacific when it comes to transport as Singapore seeks to build the most detailed and realistic outline for driverless tech yet. Singapore Knows the Future of Driverless Tech. [Bloomberg]

Phew! That’s electric and driverless vehicles covered for another week I’d say. Elsewhere Walmart takes on Amazon’s Prime, but can a $50 a month service succeed against the behemoth? Walmart’s new personal shopping service Jetblack launches in New York. [TechCrunch]

Here’s a one-stop shop paper to help you understand blockchain for transport and logistics. Blockchain Disruption in Transport: Are You Decentralised Yet?[Catapult Transport Systems in Partnership with the University of Sheffield]

And blockchain might help with the ethical issues behind supply chains, with Amazon and Apple supplier Foxconn getting caught breaking labour laws. Amazon Profits from Secretly Oppressing its Supplier’s Workers: An Investigative Report on Hengyang Foxconn. [China Labor Watch]

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