West
California EV sales see first decline in a decade: report
Electric vehicle sales in California hit a snag in late 2023, dropping for the first time in more than a decade.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday that Tesla sales fell significantly in the back half of 2023, declining by 10% in the final quarter alone. This sales drop came despite California’s previous pledge to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035.
“It’s an interesting time for the automakers and consumers,” said Greg Bannon, director of automotive engineering at AAA, told the LA Times. “The government and automakers have spent billions on something consumers may not want.”
The report noted that this marked the first drop in Tesla Model S sales since the brand was introduced in 2012.
Tesla saw the first decline in sales for their Model S vehicle since its introduction in 2012. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
LA TIMES CELEBRATES CALIFORNIA’S MOVE TO BAN GAS-POWERED CARS BY 2035 IN FAVOR OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES
According to the California New Car Dealers Association, sales of electric vehicles initially rose by 48% in the first half of 2023. However, sales dropped by 2,840 in the third quarter compared to the second at only 100,151. The number then plummeted another 10.2% to only 89,933 in the fourth quarter.
The Los Angeles Times cited multiple reasons for the cause of this decline including undependable public chargers, high prices, confusing government incentives and “controversial pronouncements” from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The report read, “There’s no survey to prove it, but there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest liberal-leaning California car buyers are done with Elon Musk’s abrasive personality and his stands on political issues. (Ask friends or neighbors who drive a Tesla.)”
The Los Angeles Times suggested that Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s “controversial” statements were a factor in the decline. (Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
It added, “Tesla remains a major player in California. Last year, 1 in 8 cars sold, EV or gasoline, was a Tesla. But in the fourth quarter, Tesla sales dived 10%. If enough buyers here are truly fed up enough with Musk to influence their purchasing decisions, Tesla’s sales could continue to suffer.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Tesla for a comment but has yet to receive a response.
In Aug. 2022, the California Air Resources Board voted in favor of moving forward on the policy that would require all vehicles in the state to run on electricity to combat the climate “crisis” by 2035. This followed an executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom to phase out gas-powered cars and trucks two years prior.
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California pledged to ban gas-powered cars by 2035. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“This is the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change,” Newsom said. “For too many decades, we have allowed cars to pollute the air that our children and families breathe. Californians shouldn’t have to worry if our cars are giving our kids asthma. Our cars shouldn’t make wildfires worse – and create more days filled with smoky air. Cars shouldn’t melt glaciers or raise sea levels threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines.”
In a comment to Fox News Digital, Newsom deputy press secretary Daniel Villaseñor said that they do not expect this drop in Tesla sales to affect that goal.
“More ZEVs were sold in California last year than at any point in history, including in Q3 when sales hit their highest share ever. Sales soared by 46% year-over-year, continuing the upward trend led by our state every year. We’re going to achieve our world-leading goal of 100% ZEV sales by 2035,” Villaseñor said.
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Nevada
AI in Las Vegas: OpenAI leader visits CSN to discuss AI workforce training, Vegas-based AI consultant releases new book
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The chief global affairs officer of OpenAI visited the College of Southern Nevada Friday to connect with students and local leaders on the future of artificial intelligence.
Chris Lehane joined lawmakers on stage at CSN, speaking to students about AI’s growing impact.
“Right now, we are in a moment of transition,” Lehane said. “Today in the world, there’s nearly a billion people who use chat on a regular basis. Here in Nevada, it’s almost a million people who use it on a regular basis.”
Lehane said the technology creates economic opportunities by lowering barriers to entry.
MORE ON FOX5: Boulder City residents rally against proposed AI data center
“We need to get these tools into all of your hands, and we need to work to teach you how to use it, because it lowers barriers to entry and produces incredible economic opportunity,” he said.
AI development in Nevada
Lehane said there are about 4,900 developers in Nevada building businesses using AI technology.
CSN began offering an artificial intelligence certificate and degree program last fall to keep up with job market demands.
Throughout the day Friday, OpenAI hosted training sessions designed to help faculty, students and small businesses learn how to use AI tools like ChatGPT. The goal is to grow and scale the partnership between the school and the AI company in the months ahead.
Local author releases AI book
Las Vegas-based author Michael Schrenk has been building computer systems since the 1970s and just wrote a book called “Structured Prompts” to teach people how to speak to AI.
“When most of us start using chat bots, we’re encouraged to use just plain normal English,” Schrenk said. “There are limitations with that. The limitations are that English is very nuanced.”
Schrenk said an economy built on service workers like Las Vegas is less vulnerable to losing jobs to AI.
“Most of the things you do on the Strip or wherever, you’re interacting with a person,” he said. “And in most of those cases, I don’t think it’d be possible to interface… with a machine, nor do I think people would want to… AI can’t clean your hotel room.”
Data center concerns
Schrenk also spoke about AI data centers and the push to build them across the country to service growing demand, including a proposal to build one in Boulder City.
“The reality is that nobody wants a data center in their backyard,” he said. “They’re noisy. They take a lot of power, so they’re going to raise everybody’s utility rates. Plus, they take up a lot of space, but they don’t employ a lot of people.”
Schrenk predicts about half of proposed data centers are already not going to be built, and suspects fewer will be built in the future.
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