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.
Tesla Is Changing Car Manufacturing Forever as Other Companies Adopt Megacastings
Tesla Is Changing Car Manufacturing Forever as Other Companies Adopt Megacastings

27 Apr 2023, 11:00 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Tesla was the first carmaker to use die-casting in vehicle manufacturing, replacing many components in the car's structure with a single "megacasting." Other carmakers are already following suit. Geely's Zeekr brand is the lates...

 
Elon Musk Met With South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Was It About Another Gigafactory?
Elon Musk Met With South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Was It About Another Gigafactory?

27 Apr 2023, 09:06 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Tesla is eyeing its next gigafactory in South-East Asia, with South Korea in a privileged position. Elon Musk profited from the visit of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to the US and asked for a meeting to discuss further plans. According to t...

 
Hyundai and SK On Choose Bartow County for Their EV Battery Plant
Hyundai and SK On Choose Bartow County for Their EV Battery Plant

26 Apr 2023, 17:50 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Hyundai and SK On partnered to start battery cell production in the US, with plans to invest $5 billion. The jointly-owned battery plant will break ground in Bartow County, Georgia, with production planned for the second half of 2025. The initial t...

 
CATL and BYD To Start Production of Sodium-Ion Batteries, Westerners Left Behind Again
CATL and BYD To Start Production of Sodium-Ion Batteries, Westerners Left Behind Again

26 Apr 2023, 16:30 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / China is preparing mass production of sodium-ion batteries, as CATL and BYD announced plans to install the novel cells into production vehicles. Despite their relatively low energy density, sodium-ion batteries promise significant advantages over t...

 
GM's Cruise Depletes Cash Reserves As It Expands Operating Hours in San Francisco
GM's Cruise Depletes Cash Reserves As It Expands Operating Hours in San Francisco

26 Apr 2023, 14:10 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / GM's Q1 earnings call brought good and bad news for its autonomous driving subsidiary, Cruise. The Robotaxi service is expanding service to daylight hours in San Francisco, but its cash reserves are depleting as it burns cash at a fast rate. ...

 
Tesla Safety Score Makes People Drive Safer, Proving Money Matters
Tesla Safety Score Makes People Drive Safer, Proving Money Matters

26 Apr 2023, 10:41 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Despite critics, Tesla's Safety Score serves its purpose of making people drive safer. Tesla's Impact Report 2022 shows that those with access to Safety Score are less likely to be involved in a crash than those that haven't opted fo...

 
GM Will Discontinue the Chevy Bolt, Its Best-Selling EV, To Concentrate on Ultium Models
GM Will Discontinue the Chevy Bolt, Its Best-Selling EV, To Concentrate on Ultium Models

26 Apr 2023, 09:16 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Despite all the drama caused by the 2021 battery-fire recall, the Chevrolet Bolt is GM's best-selling electric vehicle by far. This doesn't matter much since GM CEO Mary Barra announced that the veteran EV would end its career later this ...

 
Tesla OTA Update Reinstates Low Regenerative Braking Mode
Tesla OTA Update Reinstates Low Regenerative Braking Mode

25 Apr 2023, 17:30 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / The release notes of an upcoming OTA update appeared briefly in the Tesla app, and an owner was quick enough to snap a screenshot. Based on this, the 2023.6.100.1 software version will reinstate the Low regenerative braking mode and introduce chang...

 
AI Is Set To Take the Auto Industry by Storm As 50% of Drivers Want To Talk to Their Cars
AI Is Set To Take the Auto Industry by Storm As 50% of Drivers Want To Talk to Their Cars

25 Apr 2023, 15:30 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / The automotive industry has employed voice assistance in their vehicles for many years, although the experienced hasn't impressed users. With the proliferation of Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, voice assistants are set to make a strong come...

 
Tesla Explains How It Achieves Record-Breaking Water Saving at Giga Berlin
Tesla Explains How It Achieves Record-Breaking Water Saving at Giga Berlin

25 Apr 2023, 12:57 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Building vehicles is a water-consuming process, with an average of 3.68 cubic meters of water per vehicle produced by the auto industry. Tesla shows in its Impact Report 2022 that Giga Berlin is the most efficient factory in the world based on the ...

 
Tesla Projects Its EV Batteries Degrading Just 12 Percent After 200,000 Miles
Tesla Projects Its EV Batteries Degrading Just 12 Percent After 200,000 Miles

25 Apr 2023, 10:26 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / EV battery degradation is one of the most critical factors that deter people from buying an electric vehicle. Tesla thinks this is a non-issue, considering EV battery degradation is insignificant. In its Impact Report 2022, Tesla shows that even af...

 
Tesla Impact Report 2022: Model 3 Is the First EV Sold at Price Parity With ICE Vehicles
Tesla Impact Report 2022: Model 3 Is the First EV Sold at Price Parity With ICE Vehicles

25 Apr 2023, 08:46 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Tesla has released the Impact Report 2022, and it's the most detailed yet, with more than 200 pages of information. One of the report's highlights shows that Tesla Model 3 has achieved price parity with its ICE peers. This is even before ...

 
CATL Unveils "Condensed Battery" With an Energy Density of 500-WH/Kg
CATL Unveils "Condensed Battery" With an Energy Density of 500-WH/Kg

19 Apr 2023, 11:15 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / China's CATL announced a new battery type at Auto Shanghai 2023. The so-called condensed battery is a semi-solid state battery that promises to offer a 500-Wh/kg energy density while being safer than regular Li-ion batteries. CATL is the bi...

 
SpaceX Makes Starlink Maritime More Accessible to the Average Boat Owner
SpaceX Makes Starlink Maritime More Accessible to the Average Boat Owner

19 Apr 2023, 09:35 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / As the service availability improves, SpaceX is making its Starlink satellite internet service more accessible to people. The latest adjustment concerns the Starlink Maritime service, which now comprises three tiers, with a lower price of entry tha...

 
Tesla Lowers Prices for Model 3 RWD and Model Y Range Right Before Q1 Earnings Call
Tesla Lowers Prices for Model 3 RWD and Model Y Range Right Before Q1 Earnings Call

19 Apr 2023, 08:28 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Tesla lowered the price of the Model 3 RWD to compensate for the loss of half the IRA tax credit. Intriguingly, the EV maker also cut the prices of the Model Y range even as they continue to benefit from the full $7,500 credit. When the IRS rele...

 
Tesla Giga Mexico Will Take Longer Than Expected to Become Operational
Tesla Giga Mexico Will Take Longer Than Expected to Become Operational

18 Apr 2023, 23:38 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Tesla plans to build its biggest gigafactory in Santa Catarina, Mexico, where its next-gen EV will be assembled. Previous rumors indicated that Tesla's Tom Zhu wanted to break Giga Shanghai's record with a nine-month time from breaking gr...

 
Honda Premieres e:NP2 and e:NS2 Prototypes at Auto Shanghai 2023
Honda Premieres e:NP2 and e:NS2 Prototypes at Auto Shanghai 2023

18 Apr 2023, 16:44 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Honda unveiled the e:NP2 and e:NS2 prototypes in Shanghai, both slated for production this year, and the e:N SUV Prologue, a design study that will influence its future crop of EVs. The Japanese carmaker announced ten new EV models in China by 2027...

 
Nissan Honors Auto Shanghai 2023 With New Arizon Concept
Nissan Honors Auto Shanghai 2023 With New Arizon Concept

18 Apr 2023, 13:28 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Despite pioneering the EV market with the Leaf, Nissan has recently slowed its EV program. However, things are set to change as the Ariya electric crossover has just started its career. Nissan is now courting the Chinese market, and the Arizon conc...

 
The Most Expensive Number Plate in the World Is Now on a Tesla Model X
The Most Expensive Number Plate in the World Is Now on a Tesla Model X

18 Apr 2023, 11:16 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Most people find it ridiculous to spend $15 million on a license plate, but you can dial up the perplexity by attaching that plate to a $100,000 Tesla Model X. The matte-black SUV spotted in Dubai caused an uproar on social media. People became ...

 
Toyota Impresses Chinese Customers With Two New bZ Concepts Slated for 2024 Production
Toyota Impresses Chinese Customers With Two New bZ Concepts Slated for 2024 Production

18 Apr 2023, 10:11 UTC · By: Cristian Agatie / Toyota appears to accelerate its EV game under the management of Koji Sato, as it just announced two new electric vehicles planned for 2024 production in China. The bZ Sport Crossover Concept and bZ FlexSpace Concept introduced at Auto Shanghai 202...

 

Stories by Cristian Agatie