Tesla charges ahead in Chinese market
Tesla Inc.'s revenue from China last year tripled to more than $1 billion, indicating better traction in the market Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has predicted could eventually become the company's biggest.
China accounted for more than 15 percent of Tesla's more than $7 billion of total revenue last year, according to a U.S. regulatory filing. Sales from the U.S. more than doubled to $4.2 billion.
After a splashy start in the world's most populous country in 2014, the electric-car-maker faced setbacks including slow deliveries, orders by customers that Musk dubbed "speculators" and concerns about charging that the CEO blamed on his local sales staff. China revenue fell by a third in 2015.
To help address concerns about vehicles' driving ranges, Tesla said it would introduce converters that allow owners to power their vehicles at state-run charging points. Worldwide, the company added 57 new stores last year and more than 200 supercharger stations.
-- Bloomberg News
YouTube TV ready to take the plunge
Google is taking the plunge into live television with a new streaming service that's designed to compete against SlingTV, DirecTV Now and Playstation Vue.
Google revealed YouTube TV -- a $35-a-month service that allows up to six user profiles -- at a media event in Los Angeles last week. The plan, which like other streaming services does not require a contract or long-term commitment, comes with many of the same channels available on other platforms, such as ESPN, Syfy and the Disney Channel. Add-ons such as Showtime will also be available.
YouTube TV also comes with a strong lineup of broadcast network channels, such as ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and the CW, though Viacom appears to be absent from the list. Local news programming from network affiliates will also be included, according to Robert Kyncl, YouTube's chief business officer.
Still, YouTube TV lacks some notable cable channels -- CNN, HBO and Cartoon Network are not on the list featured in the YouTube blog post, for example.
YouTube TV will be rolled out out on a market-by-market basis.
-- The Washington Post
Facebook to step up drone test flights
While Google shuttered its Titan drone project, Facebook is planning to ramp up test flights for its own experimental solar-powered glider.
Facebook will begin launching a couple of flights a month of its Aquila drone, Jay Parikh, head of engineering and infrastructure, said last week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
"We learned a lot, from data, to how it turned, how it handled, and the battery performance," Parikh said.
The high-altitude drone, which has a wingspan wider than a Boeing 737 and is powered by four electric engines, had its first test flight in June. However, a report by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board in November said the drone suffered a "structural failure" as it was coming in for landing.
Aquila's giant flying wing is solar-powered, designed so it can remain aloft for long stretches.
Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has been busy devising new ways to connect as much of the world's population to the Internet, which includes leapfrogging ground-based infrastructure limitations and instead beaming connectivity from the sky.
-- Bloomberg News
EU prevails over China in dumping case
BRUSSELS -- A European Union court last week dismissed a bid by 26 companies to annul anti-dumping tariffs imposed by the bloc on Chinese solar panels more than three years ago.
In a separate decision, the EU's executive Commission confirmed hefty new anti-dumping duties on imports of heavy steel plates from China.
The 28-nation EU raised import duties on Chinese solar panels and key components at the end of 2013 after concluding that Beijing improperly subsidized manufacturers and that the panels were being sold well below their normal market value.
The EU's Luxembourg-based General Court upheld all the duties, which came to an average 47.7 percent, finding that it was also proper to apply them when parts of panels originated in other countries but were exported as part of a product from China.
Chinese authorities have argued that Europe is hurting efforts to fight climate change by charging higher import duties on Chinese photovoltaic technology.
-- The Associated Press
SoundCloud hopes price hits right note
SoundCloud Ltd. has become the first of the largest on-demand music services to cut subscription prices to $4.99 per month, a step many music industry executives say is needed to turn users of YouTube and other free services into paying customers.
SoundCloud, which earlier this year warned it may run out of money without more paying customers, is undercutting the $9.99 per month cost of a subscription of larger rivals Spotify Ltd. and Apple Inc. The plan offers 120 million songs, no ads and the ability to listen offline.
The company's $9.99-per-month plan has more than 150 million tracks, along with other premium content. SoundCloud didn't provide a comparison to see what artists or songs may be not be available on the lower-priced service.
Digital-music executives have said a subscription of about $5 per month will help draw in more paying customers who have thus far found the $10 per month not worth the convenience of getting rid of ads. In attempting to win over reluctant record label executives, digital-music companies have pitched a lower-priced tier with less content than the more expensive options, but enough for certain audiences.
A 10-year-old venture capital-backed company in Berlin, SoundCloud said in January that if its paid service doesn't gain traction it may have to raise more money from investors.
-- Bloomberg News
Amazon to offer Indian video channel
Amazon.com is creating a paid video channel called Heera for fans of Indian movies, shows and kids' programming, the latest addition to the online retailer's growing crop of niche and premium online TV networks as its media ambitions grow.
Heera will offer a large library of hit Bollywood films, including Sultan starring Salman Khan, and Fan, starring Shah Rukh Khan, as well as TV programs. Customers who subscribe to Amazon Prime, the $99-a-year service that includes free two-day delivery and a deep reservoir of U.S. TV shows and movies for streaming, can add Heera for less than $5 a month, the company said.
The company uses streaming movies and TV shows to entice more customers to subscribe to Prime, whose users spend significantly more money shopping.
Amazon now offers a video service all around the world, including in India, where it has invested in local programming. Heera, with programming made in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and Bengali, will only be available to Prime members in the U.S., at least initially.
-- Bloomberg News
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