If you’ve noticed more Tesla electric cars on the roads since the EV maker began delivering its latest model to Australian drivers, get ready to see even more.
The Tesla Model Y went on sale in June in Australia after a long wait. We estimated as many as 12,000 were ordered within days of the Model Y order page opening.
Now, a record number of Tesla Model 3s and Model Ys have been snapped lined up Shanghai dockyards ahead of a massive influx, as well as more than 300 Model 3s at Fremantle docks.
“Glovis loaded with Teslas just left last week, and this week the dock was once again filled with more Teslas,” said Giga Shanghai watcher Wu Wa posting a video of more than 8,000 cars at dock in China on Friday (see the end of this article for the video.)
Images shared by him on Twitter show the thousands of Tesla cars awaiting shipping at South Port terminal, Shanghai, with many built-in right-hand drive for markets such as Australia and New Zealand.
“We noticed that most of the cars in this batch are right-hand steering, and we understand from the factory that most of the cars in this batch are aimed at the AU market,” said Wu Wa.
And it’s a record number, according to Sawyer Merritt, a Tesla investor who posts regularly on the EV maker. He says he counted more than 8,800 cars waiting at the dock.
“This batch of Teslas above beat the previous record of about 7,000 that were there in mid-July for export. This to me is partly an indication that production output is indeed increasing following the recent Giga Shanghai factory upgrades. INSANE amount of Teslas!” he said in a follow up post.
BREAKING: A record 8,800+ (I counted) Teslas spotted at Shanghai’s Southport Terminal today ready to be loaded for export onto cargo ships!
Tesla shipping tracker Vedaprime says there are as many as 7,000 to 8,000 Tesla cars already on ships headed for Australia.
“It’s just the craziest thing,” he said vedaprime in a note to The Driven.
To deal with the massive influx, Tesla is decentralizing its delivery processes, and ships are headed to Port Kembla, the Port of Melbourne as well as, for the first time, straight to Fremantle in Western Australia.
This image shared exclusively to The Driven by Tesla owners and Tesla Owners Club of Western Australia (TOCWA) secretary Harald Murphy shows 334 Model 3s at Fremantle docks on Sunday.
Tesla’s export production dropped by a significant 64% in July compared to June as the carmaker shut down its assembly line for an upgrade.
As reported by The Driven’s Riz Akhtar, the upgrade allows Tesla to produce 2,000 more cars a day.
The production ramp couldn’t come soon enough for some. For some Tesla customers who ordered a Model 3 as far back as January, it’s been a long, long wait (although, no doubt some will point out, not as long as the three-year wait for the Model 3 before it arrived in 2019 !)
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organizer of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model 3 and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.
As a reminder, we are now using GT7’s new Balance of Performance (BoP) system, introduced in the v1.19 July update. BoP is now split into three categories depending on the type of track used: High-speed (H), Mid-speed (M) and Low-speed (L).
The BoP has been fairly unsuccessful at equalizing performance, however – especially in the Gr.4 class, where four-wheel-drive cars reign supreme – but the more popular Gr.3 cars do seem to be on the right track at least.
As of the 30th of May, Race A will not affect players’ Driver Rating (DR) and Sportsmanship Rating (SR). This means it’s ideal for newcomers to online racing, or those simply unwilling to risk their hard-fought DR and SR
RACE A
As mentioned previously, GT7 players can flex their tuning muscles in Race A this week. As long as you have a road car with less than 246bhp, weighing at least 1,100kg, anything goes.
These power and weight figures place your car choice slap bang in the heart of front-wheel-drive hot hatch territory. And our recommended car is one of the best-looking examples of the past two decades: the Volkswagen Scirocco R.
Although based on VW Golf underpinnings, the Scirocco had coupe looks which made it a desirable option for people craving a practical performance car without sacrificing design. I liked them so much I bought a 2.0l TSI version a few years back… (although VW technicians thought that losing over a liter of oil every thousand miles was acceptable – long story)
The R version produced slightly more power than the TSI (from the same engine) and the DSG-gearbox version could do the 0-62mph run in just 5.6s – impressive considering its front-engined, front-wheel-drive layout.
As far as tuning goes, you will have to fit a power restrictor to get under the 246bhp limit, as the R comes with 252bhp as standard. The next step is to reduce its weight by purchasing Weight Reduction in the Tuning Shop, with any shortfall supplemented by the addition of ballast.
After improving the car’s suspension, braking and transmission why not have a look at our GT7 front-wheel-drive set-up guide for set-up tips? Try lowering the car’s ride heights and adding more negative camber for starters, they’re sure-fire ways to improve lap times. Obviously, adding a ridiculous-looking wing and over-sized alloy wheels has the same effect.
Race A takes place at Blue Moon Speedway’s Infield A Reverse course. It’s a fairly uninspiring track, but at the very least the oval’s banking gives you a chance to stretch your car’s legs.
We return to Gr.2 cars for Race B this time, with Japanese Super GT and 24 Hours of Le Mans GT1 cars available to choose from. The track is Japan’s Fuji International Speedway, which should give you a hint as to the type of car you need to pick…
That’s right, the GT500 cars of the Super GT series are head and shoulders above the Le Mans cars in Race B, and we recommend using the 2016 Nissan GT-R Nismo. Powered by a 2.0l, turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the GT-R has been the most successful GT500 model in Super GT history, winning titles in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.
It has won races in the top class of Japanese touring car racing every year until the model was retired at the end of 2021, much to the dismay of racing fans who loved its aggressive looks.
Fuji is a track that suits the GT-R – Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda piloted this very car to win in the second round of the Super GT championship in 2016.
Race B uses the Mid-speed (H) BoP format.
Recommended car: Nissan GT-R Nismo GT500 ’16 (Brand Central 800,000 Credits or free rental)
Race C
Race C adds an element of strategy to this week’s Daily Races, as tire wear is set to 10x. The Mazda RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT is an excellent choice in Gr.3 this week, however, the Porsche 911 RSR (991) is equally as powerful, and with its flat-six soundtrack, you’d be mad not to pick it.
The car was a massive success in its GTE guise, claiming 10 FIA World Endurance Championship class wins from 15 starts, as well as 10 wins from 33 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship starts.
We return to the well-worn Autodrome Lago Maggiore track for Race C, this time visiting its East layout. It’s a low-speed, technical track that will test the tire-saving abilities of GT7 players.
Race C uses the Lew-speed (L) BoP format.
Recommended car: Porsche 911 RSR (991) ’17 (Brand Central 450,000 Credits or free rental)
Lap Time Challenge
The current Lap Time Challenge takes place at the Red Bull Ring using the Nissan Skyline Super Silhouette Group 5 ’84 car.
A new Lap Time Challenge will begin on the 18th of August.
Recommended car: Nissan Skyline Super Silhouette ’84(Legend Car dealership, 1,150,000 Credits or free rental)
British artist Daniel Lismore’s monumental pieces of “wearable art”, featuring everything from rubbish to elaborate headgear studded with jewels, took center stage at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum on Friday, August 5.
Guests were invited to closely inspect the nearly 2-metre-tall pieces, one of which was worn by Lismore, who calls himself “a living sculpture”.
“I’m not a performance artist or a drag queen, I just live as art,” he said.
The pieces — featuring brightly colored fabrics and metallic embellishments — took between two hours and eight months to put together, and were inspired by people and objects from around the world, Lismore said.
“There’s hundreds of stories in each piece,” he said.
“There’s an honorary iD magazine cover. There’s a piece that I wore to Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Platinum Party. There’s pieces from everywhere you can imagine, things I find on the floor, rubbish, pieces from Bulgari, pieces from all over.”
The piece he wore on August 5 was among his heaviest, he said, and featured items of personal significance.
“I wanted to put all my memories of over the years, from when I was a teen, when I was bullied and all these things that meant something to me throughout my life,” Lismore said.
“And it had mirrors, it was to kind of reflect on whoever was looking at me so they could see themselves in me somehow.”
The artist, who made his London debut with the show, presented 12 pieces from his traveling exhibition Be Yourself, Everybody Else is Taken, which opened in Atlanta in 2016.
Cricket Australia has targeted the inclusion of the sport at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics as part of a strategic plan to expand participation and maintain the game’s position at the heart of the country’s sporting culture.
The ambitious “Where the Game Grows” plan released on Monday aims to double the number of children aged five to 12 playing the game to 210,000 over the next five years, with girls making up 60,000 of that tally.
Another of the targets is to get cricket back into the Olympics for the first time since 1900 – if that goal has not already been achieved at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Cricket has been shortlisted for possible inclusion at the 2028 Olympics along eight other sports and the International Cricket Council (ICC) will make a presentation to organizers later this month.
The host city can include any sport but needs the approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Brisbane has plans to rebuild the city’s Gabba cricket ground as a 50,000-seater Olympic Stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2032 Games.
The inclusion of cricket in the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics is part of the “sustainable future” strand of the plan, which also aims to improve fan experience, expand the grassroots and continue Australia’s success on the world stage.
CA has set a target of at least three ICC tournament triumphs over the next five years for both the men’s and women’s national teams.
Elsewhere, it has committed to publishing an action plan related to environmental sustainability.
“Cricket is a quintessential part of the Australian summer. However, recent years have shown how vulnerable our game is to a changing climate,” the document said.
There is also a strong focus on the BBL and WBBL with this season labeled the “Rebound” following the impact of Covid, especially on attendance, before a period that has been called “Reimagine”. The challenges are particularly acute for the BBL given the rapid growth of T20 leagues in the January window.
“This strategy contains both a vision and a clear plan for how we can achieve bold, transformative change while also meeting our core responsibilities,” said CA chief executive Nick Hockley.
“I would like to thank everyone across the game for their passion and commitment as we work to unite and inspire everyone to love and play cricket, and in so doing make cricket a sport for all that makes Australians proud.”
A beer after a beach swim is pretty hard to pass up, and now Bondi-goers can enjoy the suburb’s very own brew, with the arrival of the strip’s first brewery bar and restaurant.
Curly Lewis, which opens on Campbell Parade on Friday, August 19, is a collaboration between four long-time locals Adam Richards, Oliver dos Remedios, Gareth Morton and Loren Morton, and brewer Scotty Morgan.
The team wanted to bring a brewery experience – until recently mostly restricted to the city’s inner west and northern beaches – to the eastern suburbs.
“The idea started as one of those typical pub chats that turn into a brainstorm on a coaster,” Richards says.
“It’s common knowledge that when you’re from Bondi you generally don’t leave the bubble, so we thought … let’s give another reason to not have to leave, and for people outside of Bondi to enjoy too, of course.”
The venue includes a working brewery, bar and diner, and launches with two main beers: the Curly Lewis Clean Cut Lager, a “crisp, smooth straight-up lager”, and Bondi Hazy Ale, which is “hazy and hoppy with tropical notes “.
Both are available on site and in neighboring bottle shops and venues.
“Our core beers needed a clean and easy drinking approachability, made for those baking hot beach days,” Morgan says.
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The brewer has also devised a rotating menu of small-batch, seasonal and experimental beers (called “wildcards”) and seltzer, offered on 20 stainless steel taps.
These include a “fresh, sour and salty” Salty Mermaid Gose, made on-site with a few buckets of ocean water, and richer beers including an IPA and coffee stout.
A curated list of spirits, cocktails and independent-label wines are also available.
Don’t expect the usual pub grub, however. Popular Bronte Road spot Frank’s Deli is in charge of kitchen operations, with co-owners Sammy Jukubiak and Ben Kelly bringing a menu to Euro-style snacks and plates.
Dishes include Frank’s meatballs, croquettes and chargrilled prawns with Aleppo butter alongside sandwiches such as Portuguese chicken, Frank’s reuben and vegan mushroom toasties. For desserts, it’s a crowd-pleasing burnt basque cheesecake.
Interior architects ACME (designers of Fred’s, Margaret and Archie Rose) are behind the 120-seater’s look, with natural materials, beer tanks, outdoor seating and timber bars enhancing the casual, coastal vibe.
“People will be able to walk straight in from the beach in wet togs, pull up a chair at the bar and enjoy a fresh brew,” dos Remedios says.
Open Tue-Sat 11am-11pm; Sun 11am-10pm.
Curly Lewis, 102-106 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach, curlylewis.com.au
Sleep tracking is becoming a more prominent feature of smartwatches these days, and many companies are working on delivering better sleep tracking capabilities to their smartwatch lineups. Samsung has recently announced its newest smartwatches: the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, and now a Samsung executive has shared how the sleep monitoring of the new watches has been improved, reports The Korea Herald.
Pre-order the Galaxy Watch 5 or the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
The two newest smartwatches by Samsung are now up for pre-order:
Samsung executive says the Watch 5 has the world’s most advanced sleep-tracking tech
Samsung Electronics executive vice president Yang Tae-jong, who is the head of health research and development in Samsung’s mobile experience unit, stated the Watch 5 sports the world’s most advanced tech for sleep tracking, during a press conference in New York. He underlined that the new wearable device features various technologies, including an innovative Bioactive sensor, and that those technologies will help make the Watch 5 the best partner for keeping healthy habits and sleep patterns.
Yang also noted that Samsung has been developing technologies related to sleep tracking for a long time. The Watch 5 monitors different stages of sleep, detects snoring, and also measures blood oxygen levels to determine how well you sleep, and to transform that info into a score.
On top of that, the sleep coaching function will provide customized programs for better and healthier sleep habits. The sleep coaching program is offered for free and is in cooperation with Samsung Medical Center.
But Samsung has not stopped yet. Yang stated the company is working with the US National Sleep Foundation, as well as with laboratories at UC San Diego and UC San Francisco for research on sleep technology. It is also working with those entities to utilize relevant data for clinical trials.
The Watch 5 also has a new temperature sensor, which uses infrared tech for a more accurate reading. It could also be used to measure sleep. However, the executive did not mention when the new temperature-measuring services will begin (those are yet to receive the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s, formerly the Korea Food & Drug Administration’s official approval).
Yang also stated that he believes smartwatches in the future could become more medically-centered and could be used to monitor patients and for digital treatments as well.
He underlined three pillars as the direction of Samsung’s health business: innovation, connectivity, and cooperation.
Galaxy Watch 5: recap of the improvements it brings over the Galaxy Watch 4
The Galaxy Watch 5 is now in its pre-order period (you can pre-order yours from the section above), and come with some notable improvements over its predecessor. It features a bigger battery and a big improvement in charging. The smartwatch can now last around eight hours after just eight minutes on the charger, and it now supports 10W wireless WPC-based charging.
In terms of features, the mentioned above innovative Bioactive sensor combines a host of specialized health sensors for accurate health data and fitness and wellness insights. The Watch’s Biometric analysis has been upgraded, and it now not only performs a comprehensive body composition analysis but will also give you advice on how to attain your goals.
It will also remind you to re-hydrate after an intense cardio session, for example. And, in terms of sleep, it will feature notifications for recurring sleep disorders such as sleep apnea (a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts), if it detects something like that with its sleep monitoring capabilities. On top of that, the coaching plan the Watch 5 will provide for sleep will have individualized checkpoints, targets, and milestones, to help you build better sleep habits.
Stay tuned for our Galaxy Watch 5 review to see how we’ve found the smartwatch performs in all those categories mentioned above.
There was a worrying development in Monday’s episode of The Block, as a contestant hammered into the floor of his house – only to discover what he suspected to be asbestos.
Melboune plumber Tom was nearing the end of the demolition process for he and wife Sarah-Jane’s guest bedroom, with just a small section of floor left to smash.
But when the mallet came down, he made a startling discovery.
“As soon as I saw it, I’m like: Oh god, here we go, more delays,” he said.
The Block moved quickly once the deadly substance was spotted, with everyone in House One downing tools for a full day as a team moved in to assess the risk and remove the asbestos.
“They shut our house down, and rightfully so – asbestos is very dangerous,” said Tom, who was left with little to do but visit his fellow contestants while he nervously waited to see how long his house would be out of action.
Some six hours later, foremen Keith and Dan finally returned to the site to give the all-clear that work could summarize.
And Dan also offered some explanation as to why the asbestos hadn’t been spotted before the houses were handed over to the contestants: “In this location, under the fireplace and used as formwork, it’s very hard to locate. That’s why we didn’t find it – Tom’s done the right thing in alerting us,” he said.
Elsewhere in Monday’s episode, contestant Sharon was clearly still smarting after she and partner Ankur’s bathroom came dead last in Sunday’s judging.
The couple had copped a particularly tough critique from judge Shaynna Blaze, who warned them that their house was “the grand dame, the jewel in the crown. Are you going to treat her like Este? Because if you’re going to treat her like this, you’re going to have to deal with me.” Sharon was left in tears immediately after the judging, declaring that in a week one on The Blockshe was already “over it.”
One episode on, and she was in a more defiant mood.
“(Shaynna) goes, ‘That’s my house, I love this house, I’m really angry that they did this…’” Sharon began.
“Well, it’s not your house, babes. You haven’t bought it. If you’re gonna buy it, that’s a different story.”
She continued to call out Shaynna directly, arguing that she had missed some of the key details in the room the couple had included to appeal to her.
“Also, I did try to cater for you. You said you wanted antiques, but your antique eye didn’t even recognize the antiques in the room. I literally had stuff in there from the 1890s!”
Sharon said that, in the wake of the tough judging, she’d made a promise to husband Ankur that she wouldn’t beat herself up so much moving forward.
“That’s the pact that we’ve made to each other, because I’ve literally spent every day crying since I got here – and that’s not a good thing.”
A shattered Johnathan Thurston has spoken publicly for the first time since the tragic death of Paul Green, saying he’s “sad” and “angry” and “it just doesn’t make sense.”
Thurston and Green joined forces to lift the Cowboys to their first NRL premiership in 2015, with the legendary halfback slotting a grand final field goal in golden point to clinch the Provan-Summons Trophy for North Queensland.
Last Thursday, Thurston was traveling to Sydney for his Channel Nine duties when he heard the news of Green’s death.
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The godfather of his children, who was also a close mate of Green, called Thurston to deliver the gut-wrenching news.
Channel Nine bosses gave Thurston the weekend off and booked him an immediate flight back home.
He spoke publicly for the first time since Green’s death on Monday.
“Rollercoaster of emotions. It’s hard… I’m sad, I’m angry,” Thurston told 9News.
“I think of Amanda (Green’s wife) and the kids. It just breaks my heart.”
Thurston revealed 2015 grand final teammate Gavin Cooper had chatted to Green on the phone the night before his death.
Cowboys coach on Paul Green’s death
“He was still like the rock for everyone else,” Thurston said.
“He was saying, ‘Give me a call if you need to chat. You’ve got so much to live for. You’ve got health, family, kids.’
“So it just doesn’t make sense.”
But Thurston is also remembering the good times.
“He’d get a few under his belt and start singing ‘Ice Ice Baby’,” he said with a laugh.
“(That) was his go-to.
“I have loved bringing people together.”
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Paul Green’s life in pictures: From Sharks prodigy to premiership-winning coach
A US barista has shared a text message exchange with her boss that led to her quitting after more than two years with the business.
Former Starbucks barista, Auralee Smith texted her manager to advise that unfortunately, they were putting their family pet down over the weekend after its lengthy cancer battle, and she would need the day off work.
“I have to put my dog down on Saturday night and I will be an absolute mess. Ella she’s my best friend, ”the 21-year-old said in a text.
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However, Auralee was shocked at her manager’s response when she asked her if she could change the day she put her dog down, out of fear the team would be short-staffed.
“I’m really gonna need you to find coverage. I understand it’s a tough situation, but you have plenty of notice, so it’s not going to be approved if you don’t come in,” the boss replied over text.
“Is there a way you could do it on a night where you don’t work the next day?”
Auralee responded by saying she promised to find someone to cover her shift, however, she was putting in her two weeks’ notice.
“It’s the family dog, she’s very sick, and it’s what my family has decided to do,” she responded.
“I can’t reschedule when I put my dog down for Starbucks.
“This is also putting me in my two weeks officially. I’ve worked for this company for 2.5 years and I appreciate what it’s done for me, but I’m ready to move on.”
When Auralee posted screenshots of the conversation to Twitter, many people were disgusted by the manager’s response, with many saying it should be the manager’s job to fill the roster should such a devastating issue arise.
However, Auralee later told The Insider, while she wasn’t surprised at her manager’s response, she understood it wasn’t entirely her fault.
She said the issue was more that she believes the company had cultivated an environment where employees were overworked.
“To me, this is just the mentality that Starbucks promotes behind the scenes,” Auralee said.
A spokesperson for Starbucks told The Insider the text messages posted by Auralee did not show the full picture.
The spokesperson said the company offered personal and sick leave to staff, but in this case, Auralee did not ask for it, and her manager did not offer it.
“The health and well-being of our partners is and continues to be our top priority. In this instance, we were able to support this partner in getting her work covered at that time, ”a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement.
It is unknown which Starbucks outlet the woman worked for.
I’m often on the look out for new computer solutions for the family. Whether it’s gaming, homework or socializing there’s always something to get tech ready for.
In particular my son has wanted to dip his toe into the world of PC gaming. More specifically, indie games. He likes the idea of getting access to the big new thing all his friends are talking about in the playground (most recently Loop Hero and Vampire Survivors). I like the idea of him playing a wider range of games, and also having a way to do his homework without tying up the main computer.
For the past couple of months we have been trying out the Geekom Mini IT8. It’s a small footprint device that promises to punch above its weight in terms of performance. Getting it out of the box and seeing how small it was, I was a little skeptical it would be up to the gaming spec he needed.
There are a few configurations. We went for the 16GB/256GB that comes in around $519. The device itself is, as I mentioned, pretty small. But it has all the ports and connectors a larger computer would have. We plugged in a keyboard, mouse, HDMI monitor and power, and were all set.
By the time my son had started to download some games I had read a few other reviews decrying the performance for gaming. This is true if you are going to be running a high spec game that is graphically intensive. But the games my son wanted to play were actually pretty light on the visuals.
Working through a range of games from a list he had compiled, most of them ran fine. It’s worth saying that it did mean the fan revved up to maximum and emitted a dull hum. I asked him about this and he said it wasn’t a problem as he played with a headset.
The most graphically intensive game we ran was Counter-Strike. We did need to fiddle with the settings a bit, but soon had it running smoothly. It was great to see him be able to give this a go. Not only on a machine that didn’t cost the earth, but also didn’t take up a huge amount of desk space.
Since then the Geekom Mini IT8 has meant that we have explore loads of PC games. In fact it’s become a regular father-son thing. He’ll appear at the living room door clutching the little computer, ready to plug it into the TV for an hour of playing together.
If you don’t have a PC and are looking for a way to step into some light PC gaming, the Geekom Mini IT8 is a great way to do it. It’s also pretty good for homework too.