Tesla launches new electric truck, taking aim at lucrative pickup market - CBC.ca

Tesla's highly anticipated unveiling of its futuristic pickup truck suffered a setback after its "armoured glass" windows shattered during a demonstration.

During the tightly choreographed unveiling of the Cybertruck to cheering fans on Thursday, Tesla boss Elon Musk had taken a stab at the design, power and durability of mainstream trucks, only to be shaken when his boast about his new truck's windows backfired.

With a starting price of $39,900 US, the Cybertruck's futuristic, angular body in gun-metal grey resembles an armoured vehicle and takes aim at the heart of Detroit automakers' profits.

Musk singled out the Ford F-150, the top-selling vehicle in the United States, to highlight the capabilities of the Cybertruck, showing an edited video of the two trucks in a back-to-back "tug-of-war" in which the Cybertruck takes off, dragging the F-150 behind it shortly after both trucks accelerate from starting position.

To show off the robust design of the new pickup, Musk enlisted his head of design, Franz von Holzhausen, to take a sledgehammer to the side of the vehicle, whose exterior will be made from the same stainless steel used in the Starship rocket developed by Musk's SpaceX aerospace company.

The crowd cheered when it bounced off the surface without leaving a mark.

But the truck's windows were not as fortunate, cracking like spiderwebs when von Holzhausen threw metal balls at them.

The blunder overshadowed the launch, which was live-streamed from Los Angeles and made #cybertruck a trending word on Twitter.

"Oh my … well, maybe that was a little too hard," Musk said, looking with surprise at the cracked driver's side window.

Still, he allowed von Holzhausen another throw to the rear passenger window, only to see that crack as well.

"It didn't go through, so that's a plus side" he said, adding: "Room for improvement."

A demonstration of the strength of the vehicle's 'armoured glass' windows backfired on Musk when the windows cracked after his head of design, Franz von Holzhausen, pelted them with metal balls. (Ringo H.W. Chiu/The Associated Press)

Reactions on Twitter varied including some advice on product launch and planning.

"Never demonstrate something in a live audience, that you haven't tried repeatedly backstage," wrote @DrBenH, while @JustinParayno wrote "I see it as a positive because @elonmusk's decision to test it live hopefully will cause @Tesla to be more cautious and make sure the sold Trucks will not crack."

Others were more optimistic.

"I personally don't care that the glass shattered any other vehicle's glass would have broken down completely," wrote @Kev112301, while @erikwray posted "There will be hiccups and they'll get worked out. The #Tesla cars are amazing and only get better over time."

Will it make money at that price?

Ahead of the launch, analysts speculated on the profitability of the Tesla offering.

"Making an electric pickup truck that sells in the same price range as an F-150 and making it profitable will be tough," said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at Auto Forecast Solutions.

The Cybertruck will be priced starting at $39,000 US. (Ringo H.W. Chiu/The Associated Press)

Ford and larger rival General Motors Co. are gearing up to challenge Tesla more directly with new offerings like the Ford Mustang Mach E electric SUV as well as electric pickups.

Electric pickups and SUVs could help Ford and GM generate the significant EV sales they will need to meet tougher emission standards and EV mandates in California and other states. The Trump administration is moving to roll back those standards, but electric trucks are a hedge if California prevails.

Pricier trucks also offer carmakers a better chance to generate profit from their electric battery investments, Fiorani said.

GM announces date for its electric truck

General Motors also announced that its electric truck will go on sale in the fall of 2021.

"General Motors understands truck buyers and ... people who are new coming into the truck market," Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra said at an investor conference in New York on Thursday. "It will be a very capable truck, I'm pretty excited about it."

The No. 1 U.S. automaker has so far given few details on its planned line of electric pickup trucks.

Reuters reported last month that GM plans to build a new family of premium electric pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant beginning in late 2021, possibly reviving the imposing Hummer brand on some of them.

Until now, the automaker had not given a date for when its first electric pickup truck would hit the market.

Pickup trucks are one of the most profitable vehicle segments in the world. The U.S. market is dominated by GM, Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV

Ford also intends to sell an electric F-series pickup truck in late 2021, sources familiar with the plans have said.

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November 22, 2019 at 09:23PM

Kenney's message to Quebec as it faces propane shortage: 'They’re called pipelines' - Calgary Herald

Premier Jason Kenney chats with Quebec Premier Francois Legault on June 12, 2019, at the Legault's office in Quebec City. Jacques Boissinot / THE CANADIAN PRESS

As Quebec’s premier says his province is just days away from running out of propane due to the ongoing strike at Canadian National Railway, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says there is a simple solution: pipelines.

On Thursday, Quebec Premier François Legault said his province only had four days before its propane supply would run out, creating an “emergency” situation for hospitals, farms and nursing homes.

Legault urged Ottawa to “accelerate negotiations” between CN Railway and the union representing its 3,200 conductors, train and yard workers, and to pass back-to-work legislation if necessary. Around 85 per cent of Quebec’s propane reserve is supplied by rail.

“Here’s my message for Premier Legault: We have technology that could guarantee you constant, stable access to propane and other fuels,” Kenney said Thursday from Texas during a Facebook Live chat.

“They’re called pipelines.”

Kenney said he had a “simple message” for the government of Quebec if it’s concerned, “especially in a cold Quebec winter,” about reliable access to propane and other fuels.

“Help us build additional pipeline capacity,” he said.

“We have the third-largest energy reserves on earth here in Canada. We’re happy that 40 per cent of Quebec’s oil is purchased from Alberta now, but we could significantly increase that so you wouldn’t have to depend on storage. You could actually ship it in by pipeline. We think our friends in Quebec should understand obviously the danger, potential danger, of rail shipments.”

Kenney added he hoped the rail strike would end as soon as possible, calling it damaging to Alberta farmers and the energy sector.

Legault told reporters in Quebec City that the province has already begun rationing its remaining propane reserve of 12 million litres and was trying to find trucks to bring more of the fuel into the province. Daily usage, which typically totals six million litres, has been cut to 2.5 million litres.

The reserve will go to hospitals and retirement homes first, as well as farmers who depend on propane to dry grains and heat facilities.

“What I’m saying is we cannot afford a strike for many days,” Legault said. “So I think we have to be open to a special law. So I am asking the opposition parties in Ottawa to support Mr. Trudeau if we cannot conclude an agreement with the union soon.”

Talks with CN representatives were ongoing, Teamsters spokesperson Christopher Monette said Thursday afternoon. But “no progress” had been made on any of the union’s concerns about long hours and dangerous working conditions due to fatigue, he said.

Petroleum producers, miners, chemical firms and steelmakers are among those who have warned of severe supply-chain disruption and economic damage should the strike carry on.

Related

—With files from the Financial Post

shudes@postmedia.com
Twitter: @SammyHudes

Nenshi meets with Trudeau; PM says he's open to 'improving' Bill...

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November 23, 2019 at 12:03AM

'No substantive progress' in talks as CN Rail workers strike enters fourth day - CTV News

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press
Published Friday, November 22, 2019 2:40AM EST
Last Updated Friday, November 22, 2019 12:42PM EST

MONTREAL -- The strike at the country's biggest railway has entered its fourth day with no resolution in sight as round-the-clock negotiations continue under the watch of federal mediators.

The Teamsters union said Friday that "no substantive progress has been made" since 3,200 workers hit the picket lines early Tuesday morning.

The union claims Quebec's propane shortage "appears to be largely manufactured" by Canadian National Railway Co. amid rising pressure from industry and Prairie premiers to reconvene Parliament ahead of schedule and pass back-to-work legislation.

Premier Francois Legault said Thursday that the province is days away from running out of propane, which heats hospitals and nursing homes and fuels operations in agriculture and mining.

Tensions rose between CN Rail and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference as progress stalled in Montreal late in the week.

The union framed CN's decision to transport freight other than propane as "a business decision." The Montreal-based railroad operator continues to run some trains using locomotive engineers and supervisors, who remain on the job.

CN Rail rejected the union's claim that the strike concerns workplace health and safety, suggesting instead that it revolves around worker compensation.

"While the current average salary of a Canadian conductor is $114,000 plus benefits, including a defined benefits pension plan, the union is seeking wage and benefit improvements beyond those negotiated this year with Unifor and another bargaining unit of the TCRC," CN said in a release.

CN said it has offered to enter into binding arbitration, with a neutral arbitrator chosen by the parties or appointed by the federal government.

A prolonged disruption to CN Rail -- a critical artery for imported consumer goods and a key export channel for commodities ranging from grain to fertilizer and forestry products -- could dent the country's economy.

The strike could cost the Canadian economy @up to $2.2 billion if it lasts through the end of the month, and up to $3.1 billion if it continues until Dec. 5, according to TD senior economist Brian DePratto.

A nine-day strike at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. in 2012 drove a nearly seven-per-cent drop in the goods sector that month, DePratto said. Federal back-to-work legislation ended the labour disruption.

"Should this strike drag on, it would clearly be disruptive to the Canadian economy and to the company in question," said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC Capital Markets.

"An extended strike risks seeing a near flattening in economic activity to finish the year," he said in an email, noting fourth-quarter GDP growth had been expected to hit one per cent.

Nearly two-thirds of propane travels along the tracks at some point -- in Quebec, about 85 per cent arrives by rail -- with the rest shipped by truck, according to the Canadian Propane Association.

As of Sept. 30, CN had shipped in 2019 some $11.33 billion in total freight along its 22,000 kilometres of track, which stretches from Vancouver to Halifax to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

-- with files from Stephanie Taylor

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 21, 2019.

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November 23, 2019 at 12:42AM

China's Xi says Beijing wants a trade deal — but is not afraid to 'fight back' - CNBC

Chinese President Xi Jinping

Aris Messinis | Pool | Reuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that Beijing wants to work for a trade deal with the United States but is not afraid to "fight back."

Reinforcing the upbeat tone adopted by China in recent days, Xi told a visiting U.S. business delegation that China holds a 'positive attitude' toward the trade talks.

"As we always said we don't want to start the trade war but we are not afraid," Xi said. "When necessary we will fight back but we have been working actively to try not to have a trade war."

"We want to work for a Phase 1 agreement on the basis of mutual respect and equality," Xi told the group.

The delegation from Bloomberg's New Economy Forum, a conference held in Beijing this week, included former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, former U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman and other dignitaries.

During the meeting at Beijing's ornate Great Hall of the People, Xi reiterated to the group China's stance that a deal requires "mutual respect and equality."

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that China's lead negotiator in the talks, Vice Premier Liu He, invited his U.S. counterparts to Beijing for more talks, suggesting hopes for progress.

The latest flareup in trade tensions came after President Donald Trump imposed punitive tariffs last year on billions of dollars' worth of Chinese exports to the U.S., seeking to ramp up pressure for changes in Chinese trade and investment policies.

China has retaliated with tariff hikes of its own. After gradual escalations of sanctions and halting progress in trade talks this year, the two sides are working toward what they say will be a preliminary agreement to pave the way for tackling more complex issues.

However, the prospects even for such a "Phase 1" deal are uncertain. China has said it wants a promise from the U.S. side to gradually reduce the tariffs already in place. It's unclear if the U.S. side would be willing to do that.

Meanwhile, Trump agreed to hold off on raising tariffs further last month pending the negotiations. But the U.S. side still is due to hike tariffs on $160 billion worth of imports from China next month.

That increase would boost prices on smartphones, laptops and many common household goods, right before Christmas.

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November 22, 2019 at 04:29PM

Pelosi signs Hong Kong bill and sends it to Trump to become law - BNNBloomberg.ca

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent Donald Trump legislation supporting Hong Kong protesters, and the president is expected to sign the bill into law despite Chinese warnings of retaliation.

“For us, this is a really a very, very proud day,” Pelosi said at a small ceremony to enroll the bill, which passed unanimously in the Senate and with support from all but one Republican in the House.

Trump plans to sign the bill, according to a person familiar with the matter, even as his administration tries to finalize the first phase of a long-awaited trade deal with China. Even though the Chinese Foreign Ministry warned of “strong countermeasures” in response to the legislation, Vice Premier Liu He on Wednesday told participants in a private dinner in Beijing he was “cautiously optimistic” about reaching a trade agreement with the U.S., according to people who attended.

Pelosi acknowledged the economic risks of angering the world’s largest emerging market, but she said if the U.S. doesn’t “speak up for human rights in China because of commercial issues, we lose all moral authority to speak about human rights anywhere in the world.”

--With assistance from Shawn Donnan.

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November 22, 2019 at 12:28AM

'Armor glass' smashes in Tesla truck demo fail - BBC News - BBC News

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2019-11-22 13:02:17Z
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Tesla Cybertruck first ride: inside the electric pickup - The Verge

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2019-11-22 12:11:47Z
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