Editor Blogs

January 2019

Sen. Mark Warner, Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has called Huawei a threat to national security.

DoJ Charges Huawei with IP Theft, Fraud, and Obstruction

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Last March, Huawei reaffirmed its commitment to the U.S. market. This might change their mind – on Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice charged the Chinese telecom giant with 10 indictments for IP theft, wire fraud, and obstruction of justice. “Today we are announcing that we are bringing criminal charges against telecommunications giant Huawei and its associates for nearl

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01/30/2019

Amazon to Test Out Autonomous Delivery Robots

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Amazon Prime Air might be stuck in legal limbo, but the e-commerce giant is exploring other ways to deliver parcels – like ground-based autonomous robots. The company’s fully electric Scout robot is about the size of a small cooler and rolls around neighborhoods at a walking pace. Amazon’s been testing t

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01/25/2019

Germany to Make Huge Investment in EV Battery Development

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

The biggest obstacle to wider EV and hybrid acceptance is “range anxiety,” and while infrastructure plays a key role there, battery density is fundamental. Germany is trying to solve that last problem by funding a research facility to teach domestic firms the basics of EV battery cells. As it stands, Asian conglomerates like Samsung, Pa

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01/23/2019

Florida Utility to Install 30 million solar panels by 2030

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Florida Power & Light Company has big plans for the Sunshine State. The utility provider announced their "30-by-30" program to install more than 30 million solar panels by 2030. If successful, the company claims “30-by-30” will be the largest installation of solar panels by a regulated utility i

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01/17/2019

A 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee similar to the one involved in the scandal.

Fiat Chrysler Pays $800 Million to Settle Emissions Scandal

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Well, at least this one didn’t involve monkeys.... Fiat Chrysler agreed to pay $800 million to settle an emissions testing scam involving nearly 104,000 Jeep sport utility vehicles and Ram pickup trucks. The affair was eerily similar to another recent case of corporate malfeasance. Last year, we covered

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01/11/2019

A 2014 Tesla S, similar to the one involved in the accident.

Family of Dead Teen Sues Tesla for Negligence, Bad Battery

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Tesla is in the news again for all the wrong reasons – the family of a teen who died in an accident is suing the electric automaker over a defective battery and alleged negligence. Back in May, Barrett Riley was speeding across the Seabreeze Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale at a brisk 116 mph when his 2014 Tesl

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01/09/2019

The Harley Livewire

CES 2019: Harley's Electric Bike Isn't for Traditional Fans

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Back in August, we discussed Harley-Davidson’s electric Livewire and the company’s bid to attract a new generation of riders – the subtext being that Harley’s traditional clientele won’t pull the company out of a four-year tailspin. At CES, Harley put the Livewire up for pre-order, and the hefty MSRP rei

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01/08/2019

GM Sells 200,000 EVs in Latest Chapter of Restructuring Saga

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

So Tesla wasn’t the only company to hit the EV tax credit threshold – GM reached the 200 K figure in the 4th quarter of 2018. Under 2009 federal legislation, automakers who sell 200,000 EVs trigger a 15-month tax credit phase-out – the rebate for Teslas drops from $7,500 to $3,750 in January, while GM

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01/07/2019

CES 2019: SmartWatch Can Recharge from the Sun or Body Heat

Matrix Industries

Matrix Industries' PowerWatch 2

CES 2019: SmartWatch Can Recharge from the Sun or Body Heat

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

At CES this week, Matrix Industries is showing off a smartwatch that never needs to be plugged in. The second-gen PowerWatch 2 can charge itself via the sun or body heat. Every Matrix PowerWatch includes a thermoelectric generator that harvests energy from body heat – most effective when you’re active and the

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01/07/2019

Tesla Overestimates Demand for the Model 3

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

We recently mentioned that Tesla offered to cover the difference if customers’ orders arrived too late to claim the full tax rebate. A source also confirmed the company still had over 3,000 Model 3 vehicles in stock domestically. So Elon Musk may have had a smidge of an ulterior motive when he tweeted the

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01/02/2019