autoevolution
 

Cristian Agatie

Contributor
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As a child, he grew up among tractors and heavy machinery and was covered in grease from tip to toe most of the time. It was a tractor that he drove for the first time and when asked what he’d become, he candidly replied: “tractor operator”. Later on, he drove all kinds of vehicles, from heavy trucks to off-roaders, all outside of public roads until he got his driving license.

He did not become a tractor operator, as you can tell already. Instead, he got interested in journalism and pursued a career finding stories for local newspapers and radio stations. But the first love is never forgotten, so when presented with the chance, he seized it and became a motor journalist in 1995.

Having found the perfect job to mix his passion for cars and journalism, he couldn’t help exploring other areas, like science, computers, and mobile devices. He took stints working for a computer magazine for a couple of years, and it was then that he had his first contact with new media. But cars always remained his passion, so he returned to motor journalism when Auto Bild started its local branch. Later, he became an internet junkie, and moving online felt only natural.

In the meantime, he also became obsessed with technology, electric vehicles, batteries, and whatnot, so he writes a lot about those. He found autoevolution a fertile ground for exploration and so he discovered his passion for RVs and campers, but also solar panels and new energy solutions.
Rivian Rolls Out a Feature-Packed Update, Including Drive Cam and Charge Limit Slider
Rivian Rolls Out a Feature-Packed Update, Including Drive Cam and Charge Limit Slider

2 May 2023, 17:13 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / In an interesting live Q&A session, Rivian's head of software, Wassym Bensaid, teased some of the upcoming features the R1T and R1S would soon get. The 2023.14.00 software update is now pushed to Rivian vehicles, and it includes some of th...

 
Tesla Started Exporting Model 3 and Model Y From Giga Shanghai to Canada
Tesla Started Exporting Model 3 and Model Y From Giga Shanghai to Canada

2 May 2023, 15:44 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Tesla started to export the Model Y RWD from China to Canada in April, marking the first time it exported cars from Giga Shanghai to North America. New information shows that Tesla also exports the Model 3 to North America. Tesla critics claim t...

 
Tesla Owners in Germany Can Return the Cars and Get Their Money Back Even After 12 Months
Tesla Owners in Germany Can Return the Cars and Get Their Money Back Even After 12 Months

2 May 2023, 14:35 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / European Union legislation is still not fully understood by Tesla, which leads to costly mistakes. Until mid-April, the EV maker incorrectly instructed its customers in Germany about their right to withdraw from the sale contract. Consequently, the...

 
Rivian R1T Owner Was Quoted $42,000 for a Dented Rear Bumper, and He's Not the Only One
Rivian R1T Owner Was Quoted $42,000 for a Dented Rear Bumper, and He's Not the Only One

2 May 2023, 13:17 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / EVs are notoriously expensive to repair. Sometimes, they are totaled after minor crashes, especially when the battery packs are affected. Still, Rivian owners shared on social media that even a fender-bender could cost tens of thousands of dollars ...

 
EU Speeds Up Driver Assist Regulations That Would Allow Tesla To Deploy FSD Beta in Europe
EU Speeds Up Driver Assist Regulations That Would Allow Tesla To Deploy FSD Beta in Europe

2 May 2023, 10:28 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Elon Musk promised long ago that the FSD Beta software would launch in Europe, but nothing has happened. The European Union is known for its bureaucracy, making legislation changes lengthy. Still, things could be moving on faster in the case of Dri...

 
Tesla Raises Model 3 and Model Y Prices As It Switches to a Dynamic Pricing Strategy
Tesla Raises Model 3 and Model Y Prices As It Switches to a Dynamic Pricing Strategy

2 May 2023, 08:10 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Tesla's pricing strategy became an enigma in the past months as vehicle pricing dropped and raised seemingly without reason. In the latest move, Tesla hiked the Model 3 and Model Y prices across many regions. The change is interesting, conside...

 
Rivian Dual-Motor Configurations Will Start Shipping This Month
Rivian Dual-Motor Configurations Will Start Shipping This Month

1 May 2023, 17:25 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Rivian offered a rare update on the dual-motor configurations of the R1S and R1T. Initially expected to launch next year, they were brought forward by Rivian's quest to lower production costs and offer more choices to customers. The Dual-Motor...

 
Tesla Rumored To Pause Giga Shanghai Production for Several Days To Mitigate Low Demand
Tesla Rumored To Pause Giga Shanghai Production for Several Days To Mitigate Low Demand

1 May 2023, 16:00 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Tesla inventory is building up as production ramps, and demand has remained essentially flat during the past quarters. It was just a matter of time before Tesla had to pause production to allow demand to catch up. The EV maker has used the Labor Da...

 
FAA Grounds SpaceX Starship After In-Flight Explosion Until Investigation Concludes
FAA Grounds SpaceX Starship After In-Flight Explosion Until Investigation Concludes

1 May 2023, 10:58 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / SpaceX conducted the first orbital flight test with the Starship and Super Heavy launch system on April 20. Although the launch was successful, the Starship exploded three minutes into the flight. The mishap prompted the FAA to launch an investigat...

 
IRA Loophole Allows Wise Americans To Benefit From the Full $7,500 EV Tax Credit
IRA Loophole Allows Wise Americans To Benefit From the Full $7,500 EV Tax Credit

1 May 2023, 09:20 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / When the IRS released the rules of origin at the end of March, people thought many electric vehicles would not qualify for the full $7,500 tax credit. Still, a loophole in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) allows those who lease their EVs to benefi...

 
Cruise Robotaxi Appears to "Hunt" Pedestrians in a Weird Video, Cruise Says It's OK
Cruise Robotaxi Appears to "Hunt" Pedestrians in a Weird Video, Cruise Says It's OK

1 May 2023, 08:03 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / In a creepy video recently shared on TikTok, a Cruise driverless taxi appears to purposely "hunt" pedestrians crossing the street. Cruise explained the car's strange trajectory and said it acted "in line with the safety design.&...

 
Owner Finds Out How Efficient a Rivian R1T Becomes With a Tonneau Cover
Owner Finds Out How Efficient a Rivian R1T Becomes With a Tonneau Cover

30 Apr 2023, 07:58 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Despite building one of the few electric pickup trucks on the market, Rivian irked R1T customers with a short-lived powered tonneau cover and its inability to offer a worthy alternative. Owners who installed an aftermarket cover saw an improvement ...

 
Used EV Market Is Heating Up, Tesla Is Understandably the Most Popular Used EV Brand
Used EV Market Is Heating Up, Tesla Is Understandably the Most Popular Used EV Brand

29 Apr 2023, 10:42 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / As electric vehicles become more popular in the US, people are finally warming up to the practice of buying used EVs. Tesla is, understandably, the most popular used EV brand since it has the biggest EV fleet on the road. The US public has been ...

 
Tesla Quietly Updates Automatic Emergency Braking System To Also Work in Reverse
Tesla Quietly Updates Automatic Emergency Braking System To Also Work in Reverse

28 Apr 2023, 16:34 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Automatic Emergency Brake systems are a wonderful invention, preventing many crashes when drivers become distracted. The safety assist system is mandatory in many countries, but it can work differently from car model to car model. Tesla has recentl...

 
Big Boys Don't Need Price Cuts To Sell Electric Vehicles, Say Volvo and Stellantis
Big Boys Don't Need Price Cuts To Sell Electric Vehicles, Say Volvo and Stellantis

28 Apr 2023, 14:59 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Tesla price cuts are seen as a way to conserve demand even as the profits are dwindling. Most competitors have followed Tesla with lower prices, but Stellantis and Volvo claim they don't need to. Meanwhile, Tesla faces a tough choice, with man...

 
What Makes Tesla's Giga Shanghai the Most Efficient Car Factory in the World
What Makes Tesla's Giga Shanghai the Most Efficient Car Factory in the World

28 Apr 2023, 10:51 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Tesla's story started in Fremont, where it bought the former NUMMI car factory from GM and Toyota in May 2010. However, it was Giga Shanghai that cemented Tesla's dominance in the EV market, thanks to important production optimizations th...

 
Hertz Stopped Adding More Tesla EVs to Its Fleet, Despite Stating Otherwise
Hertz Stopped Adding More Tesla EVs to Its Fleet, Despite Stating Otherwise

28 Apr 2023, 09:11 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Hertz appeared as the biggest Tesla customer in October 2021 when it announced plans to buy 100,000 EVs from the market leader. Two and a half years later, Hertz's love affair with electric vehicles appears to wane, with very few electric cars...

 
Rivian Owners Scream for Apple CarPlay Integration, the Carmaker Thinks It Can Do Better
Rivian Owners Scream for Apple CarPlay Integration, the Carmaker Thinks It Can Do Better

27 Apr 2023, 18:38 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Rivian has interacted more with its users lately, as its executives participated in talk shows and events. Recently, Rivian's head of software, Wassym Bensaid, answered questions from the public in a live event on Instagram. Speaking about Car...

 
Tesla Inventory at an All-Time High Despite Price Cuts, Still No Demand Problem?
Tesla Inventory at an All-Time High Despite Price Cuts, Still No Demand Problem?

27 Apr 2023, 16:08 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / There's a heated debate in the Teslasphere about the need to advertise to accelerate sales. Despite repeated price cuts in the past months, Tesla vehicles don't sell as much as Elon Musk would want. The statistics show that inventories ar...

 
People Now Having Second Thoughts About Tesla Cybertruck's Design
People Now Having Second Thoughts About Tesla Cybertruck's Design

27 Apr 2023, 14:21 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Tesla Cybertruck is close to production start, and more prototypes have been spotted around Fremont in the past few days. There's a surprising change of mood, though, as more people started questioning the Cybertruck design. The comments on th...

 

Stories by Cristian Agatie