Tesla is scrambling to prepare for production of the Model 3, their lower-cost electric car that received nearly half a million pre-orders when it was announced last year. According to The Street, Tesla is still working to build the Model 3 assembly line, which is a mix of robotics, people and people operating robotics.
Production of the car, which starts at about $35,000 but can quickly get more expensive with options, is scheduled to begin this year with Tesla targeting production of 5,000 cars a week to start, and 10,000 a week by late next year. Tesla does not have a very good track record of hitting production schedules as promised, but it also tends to over-deliver on quality and performance once they are actually making cars. Just ask any Model S owner if they like their car.
We hear they even make phone calls
Mobile World Congress kicks off next week in Barcelona, and we’ll be there to scoop up every scintillating detail of what’s going to be happening this year in mobile phone tech, but it looks like two halo phones we’re following closely are set to launch sooner than later.
According to Korean website ET News, the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8 will launch in Korea next month, with the G6 hitting shelves on March 10th. Pre-sales for the phone will begin March 2nd. Samsung’s hotly anticipated Galaxy S8 has had its release date moved around a few times, but ET News says the phone will now debut for sale in Korea and elsewhere on April 21st.
That’s a week later than earlier statements, and Samsung says the delay is so they can get more stock into stores ahead of anticipated demand for the phone. An April 13th presale date for the S8 has been rumored, we’ll let you know as soon as we confirm a solid date.
The people behind the curtain doing amazing work
Ever watch a movie and wonder “now how did they do that?” Of course, most of the amazing special effects we see in cinema today are digital creations, so the answer is “some people with computers did that.” But in other cases, it’s primarily plain old grunt work, sweat and brilliance. That’s definitely the case with Oscar nominee Kubo and the Two Strings, one of the most amazing animated movies to hit screens last year.
DT took a look behind the scenes to see exactly how this stop-motion epic took shape at nearby Laika studios. Was CGI used? Certainly it was, but in concert with pure physical effects such as a 22-foot tall skeleton, an amazing cape on a witch puppet, tons of 3D-printed masks and more.
Check out Ryan Wanita’s in-depth article on how the movie was made, and maybe put it in your queue for this weekend – even if you don’t have kids. It’s good stuff.
