James Murdoch’s Tesla board position under threat amid ‘overboarded’ claims May 19, 2018 Media tycoon James Murdoch is facing calls to step down as a Tesla non-executive amid fears he is “overboarded”. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the world’s largest proxy adviser, is recommending shareholders vote against the reappointment of Murdoch – son of billionaire mogul Rupert – and fellow board member Antonio Gracias. In addition, ISS has sided [...]
New electric Mercedes-Benz aiming to give Tesla a run for its money as company invests €500m in Hambach plant May 18, 2018 Daimler, the owner of Mercedes-Benz, has announced that it plans to invest €500m (£437m) in its Hambach factory in France to move production of its upcoming electric compact Mercedes-Benz. By 2022, Mercedes-Benz plans to launch more than 10 new electric cars, from compact sized to SUVs, and that the Smart brand, also owned by Daimler [...]
Tesla enters deal with Australian miner Kidman Resources for three-year supply of lithium May 17, 2018 Electric car manufacturer Tesla has signed a deal with Australian mining company Kidman Resources to supply it with refined lithium hydroxide. The two companies announced today that they are entering into a three-year agreement for the supply of lithium hydroxide, a crucial metal in the production of lithium ion batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs). [...]
Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 Block-5 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral May 12, 2018 Elon Musk’s fledgling aerospace company SpaceX has bounced back from its failure to launch this week, successfully launching its Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral yesterday. The Falcon 9, which is designed to eventually send NASA astronauts into space, was due to launch the day before, but an auto-abort was triggered one minute before [...]
Elon Musk’s SpaceX calls off Falcon 9 rocket launch at the last minute – but will try again today May 11, 2018 Elon Musk’s SpaceX programme will today retry the launch of a new rocket it hopes to will eventually carry astronauts into space, after last night sensationally pulling plans seconds before lift-off. The updated Falcon 9 rocket was due to take off shortly before 11pm UK time. But an auto-abort was triggered one minute before the [...]
Editor’s Notes: Delusional EU chiefs need to wake up and see the warning lights May 11, 2018 Some institutions are so intransigent, so inflexible and so bloody-minded that their inability to change, even when faced with immense pressure, elicits a grudging respect. So it is with the European Union. As things stand, the EU is facing enormous challenges: the UK is leaving and will, over time, deprive the project of vital funds. [...]
Nasa has just launched its latest spacecraft to Mars, Insight, to measure ‘Marsquakes’ May 5, 2018 Nasa today launched a rocket headed to Mars with the Insight probe on board, in a mission to measure quakes on the red planet. The US space agency worked through the Californian fog at the Vandenberg Air Force Base to get the Atlas V rocket, which is carrying Nasa’s Insight probe, into the air at [...]
Tesla boss Elon Musk defends move to dodge analyst’s questions after brusque responses further share price falls May 4, 2018 Tesla boss Elon Musk has defended his decision to dodge questions posed to him by analysts after revealing a record $710m (£523m) loss, after his firm’s share price appeared to suffer as a result. More than $3.4bn was wiped off the value of the Californian car company after it posted results showing it had burned [...]
Testy Tesla boss Elon Musk sees $2bn wiped from car maker’s market capitalisation May 3, 2018 Tesla boss Elon Musk has paid a steep price for rebuking analysts asking about the company’s profit potential during a conference call – $2bn (£1.47bn) to be exact. The electric car manufacturer yesterday announced its first quarter result, which showed the company had posted its largest ever quarterly loss. To achieve profitability, Tesla will have [...]
Morning markets: FTSE tumbles after Wall Street wobbles and Asian shares slide May 3, 2018 The FTSE 100 slipped 0.3 per cent after the bell this morning, falling well below the 7550 levels it had reached earlier in the week, before rallying back towards 7540. Major European markets also fell in early trading with French CAC, Germany’s DAX and the Spanish IBEX all falling over 0.20 per cent. The FTSE’s [...]