Sup. This is Plugged In, the perfect EV newsletter to read before doing your Saturday morning crossword. We’re like 1-Across: short, quick, and easy.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Ford Adds Tesla Charger Support

• Model Y: The World’s Best Selling Car

• A Self-Driving Vehicle for under $13k?

• Tesla Leak: FSD Complaint Data

FORD ADDS TESLA CHARGER SUPPORT

Ladies and gents, brace yourselves for some electrifying news that’s sure to send sparks flying in the EV universe. In a plot twist nobody saw coming, Ford is apparently going to become best buddies with Tesla. That’s right, starting next year, Ford’s shiny, eco-friendly posse – the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit – are going to be freeloading off of Tesla’s extensive Supercharger network. That means Ford's customers will have access to a whopping 12,000+ Superchargers, in addition to the 10,000 DC quick-charge stations they already have in their arsenal.

"This cozy new arrangement promises unprecedented access to charging for Ford EV drivers, more than doubling the number of fast-chargers available to them," said Jim Farley, Ford's president and CEO. Farley couldn’t help but gush about the EV charging bonanza Ford drivers are about to experience.

Here's how it'll work: Ford’s EVs will gain Supercharger access via a nifty little adapter and some software wizardry. FordPass or Ford Pro Intelligence will handle the activation and payment, making the whole thing as seamless as a baby's bottom.

From 2025 onwards, Ford plans to introduce EVs with the North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector built-in. The real kicker here? No more need for an adapter to crash the Supercharger party.

Tesla's senior director of charging infrastructure, Rebecca Tinucci, chimed in with, “We've spent a decade building our Supercharger network to give Tesla owners the freedom to roam the open road without fretting over where to juice up next. We’re stoked to extend that luxury to Ford drivers, and anyone else who gets on board with NACS.”

The moral of the story? If you're a Ford EV driver, prepare to say adios to your charging woes. With this ambitious partnership, it seems Ford and Tesla are rewriting the EV charging game.

MODEL Y: THE WORLD’S BEST-SELLING CAR IN Q1 2023

Well, buckle up auto-lovers, here's the 411 on the electric vehicle revolution. We're witnessing something of a David versus Goliath tale, except David here has a very sleek, electric slingshot in the form of a Tesla Model Y. That's right, for the first time ever, an EV has elbowed its way to the top of global sales. As if any other brand could pull off such a trick, it had to be Tesla, darling of the Silicon Valley elite.

Tesla CEO and resident techno-visionary, Elon Musk, confidently predicted back in 2022 that the Model Y would outsell every other new vehicle in the world by 2023. It seemed rather like a kid promising to build the biggest sandcastle, given the princely price tag of the Model Y. And yet, lo and behold, recent price slashes and Tesla's relentless push for global domination have made that ambitious forecast look less pie-in-the-sky.

In the popularity contest, last year's sweethearts were the Toyota Corolla and RAV4, leaving the Model Y as the proverbial third wheel. But Tesla still managed to ship a staggering 747,500 units of the Model Y, a colossal 91 percent increase from 2021. So now the underdog is catching up fast, like a greyhound chasing down a mechanical rabbit.

Now, this year's first quarter scoreboard presents a cheeky little twist. The Tesla Model Y sits atop the sales throne with 267,200 units sold, a fat 69 percent (nice) increase from the same time last year. The Corolla, meanwhile, despite being sold in more flavors than a Baskin-Robbins store (sedan, wagon, hatchback, you name it), finds itself slipping. Its sales tally of 256,400, including a 29 percent tumble in China and a 10 percent drop in the US, tells a story of a king ousted. Is this Toyota’s Kodak moment?

Despite a one-year age difference (Corolla debuted in 2018, Model Y in 2019), this could still go either way, like a thrilling final season of a binge-worthy series. For now, Tesla is riding the eco-conscious wave, offering up an SUV that's greener than Kermit the Frog's wardrobe. On the flip side, Corolla's global ubiquity makes it more resistant to possible geopolitical quarrels, like a trade clash episode between the US and China.

SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE FOR UNDER 13K

Roll up, roll up, folks! The circus of autonomous vehicles is in town and the star attraction is none other than Haomo.ai's newest marvel - the adorably named Little Magic Camel 3.0. The Beijing-based tech firm, snugly under the wing of auto giant Great Wall Motor, claims it has uncaged the world's cheapest self-driving delivery vehicle. And you won't believe the price tag – it’s under $12,750. Yes, you heard it right!

These guys are hoping to make it rain by capitalizing on the forecasted bonanza in automated deliveries. Some starry-eyed soothsayers are predicting this market could balloon to a dizzying $424.3 billion by 2030. That's a lot of driverless pizza deliveries.

Haomo is pretty bullish about a “large-scale” deployment in China by 2025, and they’re not losing sleep over the occasional hiccup seen elsewhere in the industry, like Nuro’s recent staffing woes and restructuring in the U.S..

This cutesy Camel comes loaded with sensor suites, including three solid-state lidars and seven high-definition cameras. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Ride dual chip, and gets its smarts from Haomo’s DriveGPT Xuehu Hairuo, an AI model trained on over 30 million miles of driving data. No biggie.

It might not break any land speed records, with its top speed being "low," but it can cover most urban roads in China and comes with a claimed range of 87 miles. Despite its compact dimensions - think shorter and narrower than a Smart car - this mini delivery bot can swallow a whopping 70.6 cubic feet of cargo, which can be stretched to 105.9 if needed.

All eyes are now on the Little Magic Camel 3.0, as the previous versions have been rather hot sellers. They've racked up over 170,000 orders and have been put to work in various scenarios from supermarket deliveries to airport patrols and more.

As Haomo’s Chairman, Zhang Kai, put it, “Automated delivery has a large market space, complex scenarios and diverse needs.” And while he admits they've got a long way to go, Haomo's game for the challenge. So, let the autonomous delivery games begin!

TESLA LEAK: FSD COMPLAINT DATA

Hold onto your steering wheels folks, for we have a riveting revelation that might make you rethink your romance with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) tech. In a juicy twist, a Tesla whistleblower, who clearly has had it up to here with company policies, has just gifted German outlet Handelsblatt a digital treasure trove of 100GB of data. And guess what’s inside? Thousands of complaints from customers across the globe, all painting a worrying picture of FSD's safety.

From 2015 to March 2022, it appears that Tesla owners haven't exactly had a smooth ride, with over 2,400 instances of their Teslas playing fast and loose with the accelerator pedal and 1,500 braking blunders. And get this, 139 reports of the vehicle randomly deciding it's time to slam on the brakes, plus 383 incidents of phantom stops due to false collision warnings.

Handelsblatt has whipped up some narratives of the vehicular dramas Tesla owners experienced. There are tales of cars developing a mind of their own to “suddenly brake or accelerate abruptly.” While some quick-thinking drivers managed to wrestle control back from their Teslas, others ended up getting intimate with ditches, walls, or oncoming vehicles. Not exactly the driving experience Elon promised, is it?

The trove of data also reveals that Tesla seems to have a penchant for secrecy when it comes to its vehicle data. Handelsblatt describes internal policies that are essentially 'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil'. These include clauses that indicate reports are for "internal use only", information is only to be shared "verbally with the customer", and all data should be kept locked away unless expressly permitted to be released. And God forbid if a lawyer comes into the picture, that's to be recorded immediately.

To be fair, this isn't the first time that Tesla's FSD has come under fire. Despite all the bells and whistles like autosteering, auto parking, automatic lane changes, and more, the tech has had its share of critics. Yet, Elon Musk and company thought it best to make FSD beta available to all in November last year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began sniffing around Tesla's FSD software after Elon's tweet about giving users the option to turn off "steering wheel nag." Not long after, they tagged the tech as a crash risk, leading to Tesla recalling a staggering 362,758 FSD-equipped cars and putting a pause on new FSD installations. Ouch!

THE JUICE 🔋

Zeekr 001’s 1032km battery gets tested. First highway range test of the CATL Qilin battery shows a range of 864km under heavy load. Impressive

Electrify America responds to the news of Ford adding Tesla charger support. The future battle of Tesla vs CCS1 charging standards.

Waymo gets publicly flogged. A supervisors meeting gets heated.

Nissan Ariya vs Toyota bZ4X. Japanese Mid-Size SUV’s battle it out.

PLUGGED IN WEEKLY MEME

That's a wrap for today. Charge your batteries & see ya tomorrow! If you want more, be sure to follow our Twitter (@PluggedInEmail)

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.Tesl