Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded Monday through Thursday and again on Saturday. Subscribe to our podcast in Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they’re available.

Stories we discuss in this episode (with links):

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The post Quick Charge Podcast: January 6, 2021 appeared first on Global News Video.

Tesla is rumored to be behind a new large industrial building currently being completed near Seattle, Washington.

Tesla is going near Seattle?

Denver-based Black Creek Group is currently building a new industrial and logistics center in Lakewood, which is located about 40 minutes south of Seattle.

It consists of two large buildings: a 470,000 square-foot building and a 206,000 square-foot building.

Amazon confirmed that it got a lease for the bigger building and the rumor is that Tesla is the client behind the second building.

Puget Sound Business Journal reports:

“Denver-based Black Creek Group on Monday said it pre-leased a 470,000 square-foot building at its two-building Lakewood Logistics Center II campus to “a leading e-commerce provider,” and Amazon.com Inc. confirmed it is the tenant, saying the facility will employ hundreds of people. Real estate industry sources said Tesla Inc. is negotiating a lease for the other building, which is about 206,000 square feet. The center is at 14802 Spring St. SW.”

The buildings are currently being completed and Black Creek expects to hand them over to the new lessees in Q3 2021.

Tesla in Seattle

Tesla already has some operations in and around Seattle, Washington.

The company is operating 7 stores and service centers in the Seattle area and we previously reported that Tesla also has offices in the region to take advantage of the local talent, especially when it comes to video game engineers.

However, this new building is in an industrial area and considering it covers almost 5 acres of space, it is quite large for an office.

The new location is likely going to be used as a warehouse for logistical purposes or to produce parts.

It could also possibly used as a delivery center since Tesla has been going after large spaces for those in recent years, but it would be quite large for that.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.

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The post Tesla is rumored to take over large industrial building near Seattle appeared first on Global News Video.

Renowned French chef and restaurateur Albert Roux has died at the age of 85, his family has announced.

The Roux family said he had been unwell for some time before he died on Monday.

He was famous for opening Le Gavroche in London with his late brother Michel Roux, who died last year, in 1967. The restaurant became the first in the UK to receive a Michelin star.

Paying tribute in a statement on Instagram, his son, Michel Roux Jr said his love of life and passion for making people happy through his food would be greatly missed.

“He was a mentor for so many people in the hospitality industry, and a real inspiration to budding chefs, including me,” he said.

Food critic Jay Rayner led the tributes on Twitter, saying: “Albert Roux was an extraordinary man, who left a massive mark on the food story of his adopted country.

“The roll call of chefs who went through the kitchens of Le Gavroche alone, is a significant slab of a part of modern UK restaurant culture. RIP.”

TV chef James Martin described Roux as “a true titan of the food scene in this country”, while The Michelin Guide paid tribute to “a father of the UK restaurant industry”.

Albert Roux’s death comes 10 months after the death of his brother, Michel, in March 2020, at the age of 78.

The post ‘True titan’ chef and restaurateur Albert Roux dies aged 85 appeared first on Global News Video.

The music mogul said he would hopefully be “back home soon” after receiving medical treatment at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

He took to Instagram to post a message of thanks from his bed at the intensive care unit.

“I’m doing great and getting excellent care from my medical team,” he said. “I will be out of the hospital and back home soon.

“Shout out to all the great medical professionals at Cedars. One Love!!”

Celebrities including Missy Elliot and Snoop Dogg posted their get well messages to the 55-year old on social media.

Missy Elliot wrote: “Prayers up for Dr Dre and his family for healing and strength over his mind & body.”

Ice Cube added a plea to fans to “send your love and prayers to the homie Dr Dre.”

And Snoop Dogg said: “Get well Dr Dre. We need you cuz.”

Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, has produced hits for Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and more and won seven Grammys.

Born in Compton, he broke out on the music scene as a co-founding member of N.W.A., producing some of the group’s groundbreaking 1988 debut album, “Straight Outta Compton.”

Dre has been locked in a bitter divorce battle since the summer.

His estranged wife Nicole Young is asking for half of the rapper’s estimated $1 billion (£730 million) fortune. The pair have three children.

The post Rapper Dr Dre taken to hospital with brain aneurysm appeared first on Global News Video.

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded Monday through Thursday and again on Saturday. Subscribe to our podcast in Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they’re available.

Stories we discuss in this episode (with links):

Subscribe to the Electrek Daily Channel on Youtube so you never miss a day of news

Follow Mikey:

Twitter @Mikey_Electric

Listen & Subscribe:

Share your thoughts!

Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us in Apple Podcasts or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!

Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.

The post Quick Charge Podcast: January 5, 2021 appeared first on Global News Video.

Roberts’ death was first confirmed to several media outlets, including Sky News, by her publicist and friend, Mike Pingel, who said on Monday morning that she had died in hospital the previous day after collapsing at home in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve.

It seems there was a mix-up with the information he received, as on Monday evening UK time the star was said to be in poor health, but still alive.

However, Mr Pingel has now confirmed “with a heavy heart” that Roberts, 65, died just hours later, at about 9.30pm on Monday in LA (5.30am on Tuesday in the UK).

Her partner of 18 years, Lance O’Brien, told the Associated Press that he received a phone call from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who gave him the sad news.

“She was my soulmate, she was my best friend,” Mr O’Brien told the news agency.

Roberts’ cause of death was from a urinary tract infection which spread to her kidney, gallbladder, liver and then blood stream, Mr Pingel said.

The actress is best known for her turn as Bond girl Stacey Sutton, the granddaughter of a California oil tycoon, opposite Roger Moore in A View To A Kill in 1985.

She also played Midge Pinciotti in That ’70s Show, alongside Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, from 1998 to 2004, and became a Charlie’s Angel in 1980 with Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd, playing Julie Rogers in the final season of the hit series.

Roberts was an animal rights activist and in lieu of flowers, her family are asking for donations to be made in her name to the ASPCA charity in the US. She lived for her “animal babies”, which included two dogs, Muttley and Socks, a bird and Koi fish, Mr Pingel said.

Paying tribute in his initial statement, sent to Sky News, the publicist said: “I’m devastated, I’ve been friends with Tanya for over 20 years. She was full of boundless energy and we always had the best times.

“She was truly an Angel and I will miss her so so much.”

Tarri Markel, another of Roberts’ agents, also paid tribute, describing the star as “one of the kindest people I ever knew”.

She continued: “She was genuine, and very down to earth. She loved her friends and family, and adored her dogs. She was an avid hiker, and I’m sure could be seen frequently hiking the canyons with her puppy.

“She was as beautiful on the inside, as she was on the outside. Incredible heart! And someone I feel honoured to have known and called my friend.”

James Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli were among those to pay tribute when Roberts’ death was first announced, saying: “We are saddened to hear of the passing of Tanya.

“She was a very lovely person and shall always be remembered by Bond fans as Stacey Sutton in A View To A Kill. Our heart goes out to her family and friends.”

Roberts’ screen credits also included the titular role in Sheena, a female version of the Tarzan story, in 1984, and adventure film The Beastmaster in 1982.

Her death comes after those of several Bond stars in 2020, including Honor Blackman and Diana Rigg – aka Pussy Galore and Tracy Bond – along with the original 007 himself, Sean Connery.

The post Bond girl Tanya Roberts’ death confirmed a day after mistaken announcement appeared first on Global News Video.

Tesla Supercharger network

The Supercharger network is one of Tesla’s two charging networks along with the “Destination network.”

While the Destination network focuses on providing charging solutions at destinations, like hotels and restaurants, the Supercharger network enables long-distance driving with fast-charging stations positioned along major highways.

Many stations are also located in cities to enable EV ownership without charging at home.

With the release of Supercharger V3 in 2019, Tesla Superchargers can charge Tesla vehicles at up to 250 kW, which can add 1,000 miles per hour of charging.

However, the vehicles can only sustain that kind of power at lower states of charge, and most charging sessions will last 30 to 45 minutes.

Tesla recently announced that it deployed its 20,000th charger in the Supercharger network.

At the end of 2020, Tesla had over 20,000 charging stalls at over 2,100 Supercharging stations around the world.

Tesla Supercharger map

On its Find Us map, Tesla shows current Supercharger locations along with upcoming planned locations.

The map is updated every year, and it’s a good tool to better understand Tesla’s plan for the Supercharger network over a one- to two-year timeframe.

Tesla has now released its 2021 update to the map – adding many new stations in the process, as well as removing some that were previously shown as planned, and updating the timelines for many more stations.

It’s important to note that Tesla often puts a planned station on the map that never happens as each station is dependent on Tesla finding a property to deploy the station, making an agreement with the property owner, acquiring the right permits, and securing a connection with the local electric utility.

There are many things that can stall a particular Supercharger project, but in general, this map is representative of Tesla’s expansion plan for the Supercharger network.

The automaker appears to have added many planned stations in key markets where its fleet is growing, like in California, the Northeast, in China, and in some European markets.

The gray dots represent planned stations, while the red dots are Superchargers that are currently in operation:

Here in Quebec, Tesla has added several new planned Supercharger stations as the market continues to grow thanks to important EV incentives and cheap electricity.

The automaker is planning new stations around Montreal and Quebec City, but it is also enabling new traveling routes, including all the way to the Abitibi region.

Tesla also added a planned Supercharger in La Tuque, enabling people to travel to Lac Saint-Jean through La Mauricie:

When clicking on the pin, Tesla gives a rough timeline of Q3 2021, and the automaker now says that those timelines are going to be updated on a quarterly basis.

For some new market expansions, like in Eastern Europe for example, Tesla is not providing timelines, but new potential Supercharger locations are listed on the new map.

Check the map here and let us know what you think of the new locations and updated timelines for your local Supercharger network in the comment section below.

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The post Tesla unveils new map of upcoming Supercharger stations, adds stations, and updates timelines appeared first on Global News Video.

Harry Potter star Jessie Cave has revealed her newborn baby has contracted COVID-19.

The actress, who played Lavender Brown in the film adaptations of JK Rowling‘s hit books, gave birth to her son Tenn in October. His “traumatic” delivery left him in the neonatal unit, she said.

In a post on Instagram, she shared a photograph of the little boy in hospital, with a laptop showing Boris Johnson‘s Monday night address to the nation in the foreground of the shot.

Live COVID updates as lockdown begins

“I watched the news about lockdown from an isolated room in hospital,” Cave wrote. “Poor baby is covid positive.

“He’s okay and doing well but they are being vigilant and cautious, thankfully.

“This strain is super powerful and contagious so I do hope that people take extra care in the coming weeks.”

Cave told her 154,000 followers that she wished her family’s New Year was starting differently and that she “really didn’t want to be back in a hospital so soon after his traumatic birth”.

She went on to praise NHS staff, including her brother, an A&E doctor, and father, a GP.

“Once again I’m in awe of nurses and doctors,” the star said.

Tenn is now 9lbs 7oz, she added, “so he’s a stronger and bigger boy than he was when we were last in a hospital room (and the needle went into his hand with louder more powerful screams)”.

Cave, who is also a comedian and artist as well as an actress, and her partner, comedian Alfie Brown, are already parents to Donnie, five, and Margot, three.

After giving birth to Tenn, Cave told how he was born just 40 minutes after her waters broke, saying: “This has been a very different experience to my first two births… much more humbling, terrifying and out of my control.”

The post Harry Potter star reveals newborn baby has COVID-19 appeared first on Global News Video.

Workhorse Group, a company focusing on commercial sales of last-mile electric delivery vans, has received an order for 6,320 all-electric vans. The order comes from Pride Group Enterprises, a company which focuses on equipment sales, rental and leasing for the logistics industry.

While 6,320 doesn’t seem like an astounding number at first blush, it’s much larger than Workhorse’s planned production this year, which was around 1,800 units.

Deliveries for Pride Group’s order are scheduled to begin in July 2021 and run all the way through 2026.

Workhorse’s vans are “last mile” delivery vehicles, which means delivering from logistics centers to the package’s final destination. These put them in direct competition with Rivian’s Amazon delivery vans and other similar electric vehicles being developed now.

This is a big area of interest, because delivery vans are large, heavy vehicles that do a lot of starting and stopping and use a lot of fuel. This causes a lot of stress to gas engines, but electric motors shine in start-stop circumstances due to regenerative braking and lack of idling. They’re also high on low-end torque, helping move heavy vehicles from a stop.

But since last-mile vans have set routes with limited mileage every day, and return to a central logistics center where they can recharge at night, limited range doesn’t really affect them much at all.

Finally, electric last-mile transport should be a boon for residential and commercial areas, because it will reduce noise and pollution where people live. This could also open up additional options for logistics companies as the lack of noise and pollution will be less of a disturbance during off-hours.

Workhorse has had a rough time of it in the past. It’s been around for a few years but doesn’t have much to show for it. The company originally wanted to provide the replacement for USPS delivery trucks – which would be a huge contract – but the bid has stalled. USPS has pushed back its decision, so it’s still possible, but Workhorse will have to clear some hurdles first.

One of those hurdles is proving that it can deliver a large order of vehicles, which has been in question. Today’s order is an indication that at least one fleet purchaser believes Workhorse can deliver, and ensures they’ll at least have a few years worth of revenue in their future if they manage to get their trucks on the road.

Workhorse was previously developing a plug-in hybrid pickup truck, the Workhorse W-15, though put development of that truck on hold last year. Instead, the technology it has developed will be licensed by Lordstown Motors, which is developing an all-electric pickup, the Endurance.

Workhorse’s founder, Steve Burns, moved on to Lordstown Motors. Lordstown hopes its Endurance pickup will be the first electric pickup to market later this year. But this won’t be easy given upcoming competition from Rivian, Ford, GM and Tesla.

Read the full press release for today’s news on Workhorse’s site.

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The post Workhorse gets order for 6,320 electric delivery vans – it had planned to build 1,800 this year appeared first on Global News Video.

The Chennai, India-based electric motorbike startup appears to have drawn heavily upon the design of their previous iteration, the B3. That scooter was in turn largely based on their stunning B2 electric cruiser motorcycle unveiled in the summer of 2019.

Those previous models were originally slated for release in 2020.

But as we know, 2020 had different plans for many electric vehicle startups. The COVID-19 pandemic derailed the short and mid-term strategic planning for Blacksmith, delaying the company’s product releases.

But now Blacksmith says its ready to finally roll out vehicles in 2021 – and they’re putting your money where their mouth is by taking pre-orders on the new B4 and its delivery version, the B4+. Refundable deposits are now being accepted.

The Blacksmith B4 incorporates a neo-retro design and is powered by a 5 kW electric motor capable of bursts of 14.5 kW.

The electric scooter can reach a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph), though can also be limited to as low as 60 km/h (37 mph).

In an odd move, Blacksmith hasn’t released details on the actual capacity of the battery, only claiming that it should be sufficient for 120 km (75 miles) of range and can be recharged in four hours.

The B4 is designed to carry up to two riders and has a max load capacity of 200 kg (440 lb).

For those looking to replace a second rider with cargo, Blacksmith’s new B4+ electric scooter variant adds a large cargo box to the rear of the scooter. The company is positioning the B4+ as a courier or delivery electric scooter.

The full price of the B4 hasn’t been released, but the company’s B2 electric motorcycles was projected to enter the market in the US $4,000-$5,000 range, so the B4 should likely fall below that level.

Two-wheeled vehicles lead the way in India, and the government is actively pushing to replace the millions of gas-powered motorbikes on the roads with cleaner electric models.

Blacksmith isn’t the only Indian startup looking to break into the booming Indian electric motorbike market. In addition to several larger startups already delivering vehicles in the country, many other electric motorcycle companies are still in the race to production after revealing interesting prototypes.

Will the B4 ever make it past the rendering stage and onto the road? It’s hard to say for sure at this point, but I sure am rooting for it! What do you think of Blacksmith’s latest design? Let us know in the comment section below!

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The post Blacksmith Electric unveils new 75 MPH Vespa-style electric scooter, takes pre-orders appeared first on Global News Video.