Yahoo Autos Le Mans Officially Moves to August, With Spectators Allowed
Welcome to The Grid, R&T's quick roundup of the auto industry and motorsports news you should know this morning.
The ACO Officially Moves 2021 Le Mans to August, With Spectators
Yesterday, rumor went around that the ACO would move the 2021 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from its traditional dates in mid-June to later in the summer. Today, it's official: The organizing body announced today that the 89th running of the legendary race will take place on August 21-22 of this year. More importantly, the 2021 running will mark the return of spectators—recall that the 2020 race was held behind closed doors, with no audience in attendance. "Holding the 24 Hours of Le Mans behind closed doors for the second year running would be unthinkable," Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, said in the statement. "We are working very hard to put on a safe event, with all the necessary health precautions in place." The 89th running will mark the debut of the new Hypercar class, with the complete entry list to be revealed next week.
No, Tesla Is Not Interested in Battery-Swap Technology
Way back in 2013, Tesla briefly investigated the possibility of building battery-swap stations, where customers could ditch their drained battery and get a fully-charged one installed and be on their way. The promise was that a standardized swap system would make it much quicker to get a full charge, especially convenient for long-distance trips. But Tesla soon abandoned the technology—after securing government subsidies earmarked for automakers that invested in swap systems, of course. This week, rumors surfaced that Tesla was once again looking into building swap stations, this time in China. But as Electrek reports, a Tesla official in China denied these whispers, stating that "the company believes electric vehicle charging is the best way to power its vehicles, and that battery swapping is riddled with problems and not suitable for widescale use." So, sorry: Your dreams of pulling into a Tesla swap station and rolling out five minutes later with a full charge are, sadly, still just dreams—no matter what Musk promised in 2014.
Mach-E Delayed? Ford Will Pay
The Ford Mustang Mach-E's rollout was moderately delayed during the winter, to the disappointment of eager customers. If you're one of those folks, fear not: Ford is sending some bucks your way. As Roadshow reports, Ford will add an after-the-fact $1000 discount to the price of any Mach-E affected by the delays. If an eligible owner has managed to take delivery already, they can call Ford to have the $1000 discount retroactively applied. In addition, Ford will give affected owners an additional 250 kWh of free charging, which is added to the standard free 250 kWh owners get with purchase of the car.
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