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Ferrari F12 TdF, Tesla Autopilot, Fiat Leadership Change | Autoblog Minute

Ferrari unleashes the F12 TdF, Model S owners get an exciting announcement from Tesla, and Fiat North America undergoes a leadership change. Senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of the Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Ferrari Fiat Tesla Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video ferrari f12 tdf

Tesla trying to keep Model X demand low for now

When running a business, having to throttle the hype for a new product isn't such a terrible problem to have. That's exactly was Tesla is doing with its Model X SUV, which is slated to go on sale next year. During a quarterly earnings call (transcript available here), Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained that Tesla is currently steering customers away from the upcoming electric ute. "If somebody comes in who wants to buy the X, we try to convince them to buy the S." – Elon Musk "There are no cars available for a test drive," says Musk. "There is no information about the cars in our stores because we're only selling the S. In fact, if somebody comes in who wants to buy the X, we try to convince them to buy the S. So we anti-sell it." Sure, but why not get out in front of the Model X release, and encourage people to adopt early? According to Musk, Tesla can create demand for the Model X "at will." He just doesn't want customers twiddling their thumbs while they wait for their new car to become available. Musk says that in China, the only grievances were customers who were "upset about waiting too long for their car. So it's like, boy, we better not stoke demand in that situation." So it sounds like confidence is high over at Tesla concerning the Model X (perhaps Mr. Musk wouldn't mind sharing the patent for his magic demand wand). Customers, just make sure to temper your desire for the electric SUV for now, or you might just end up behind the wheel of a Model S sedan.

Akerson calls for GM tech to stymie Tesla

Electric vehicle maker Tesla has had some good days lately as sales of the Model S have exceeded expectations as much as the company's profits, thanks in no small part to innovative thinking that has resulted in mass sales of ZEV credits to other manufacturers, free charging stations, 90-second battery swaps and manufacturer-owned dealerships. All of this has the attention of General Motors, who views Tesla as a disruptive force to the auto industry and as a threat to the 104-year-old automaker.
Case in point: GM recognizes that Tesla must be doing something right if it can sell more of its $69,900 Model S sedans than the $39,145 Volt. So what is GM doing about it? Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson assigned a small team to study Tesla so the company won't be caught off guard in the future. In an interview with Bloomberg, Steve Girsky, GM vice chairman, said, "History is littered with big companies that ignored innovation that was coming their way because you didn't know where you could be disrupted."
GM was one of those big companies at one point, and it hasn't quite broken that mold. It has struggled to move on from the old, inefficient practices of its past, leading Akerson to chide employees at a recent conference in Houston because so many in-house patents had failed to be commercialized and implemented in GM designs. This, of course, resulted in a huge research-and-development budget that was wasteful. But Akerson knows that GM must rely on innovation and a tight focus on technologies that customers want if it is to be profitable and survive in the long term.