The Morning After: 'Fortnite' will still be free to play on the Switch

September 17, 2018

Good morning! You're waking up to a lot of transport tech news: Germany has restarted running an electric-hybrid train, Tesla is ending free Supercharger access to new car buyers and Uber is relying more on its own traffic estimates in a bid to beat gridlock. We'll also learn the name of SpaceX's first Moon-bound passenger. Oh, and you will be able to play Fortnite for free on the Switch, even if Nintendo's online gaming service costs money. What can you expect this week? Deeper dives on Apple's new hardware, ahead of launch day and much more.

It's the first of its kind to operate in Europe in over 60 years.
Bombardier revives the battery-powered train

Canadian transportation firm Bombardier has (re-)introduced the battery powered train. In Berlin, it launched the Bombardier Talent 3 electro-hybrid train, the first of its kind in Europe in over 60 years, the company said. The train took its maiden voyage with local luminaries, including the federal commissioner for rail transport and the Brandenburg transport minister.

"Around 40 percent of the German rail network is not electrified," said Bombardier German transportation chief, Michael Fohrer. "The Bombardier battery-operated train is an attractive option to counter that, both economically and ecologically speaking." Developed with $4 million worth of support from the German government, the train uses Bombardier's MITRAC powertrain, which allows for different combinations of motors and batteries.

It's finishing the referral program that kept the offer alive.Tesla is ending its lifetime free Supercharging offer

Tesla's offer of free, unlimited Supercharger network access was supposed to have ended in early 2017, but it's held on until now. Unless you were buying a regular Model 3, you could get access to free charging by ordering your EV with a referral code from an existing owner. Now, however, even that exception appears to be coming to an end. Now, owners will only get to hand out $100 in Supercharging credit to new Model S, Model X and Model 3 Performance buyers -- just enough for a few top-ups.

It doesn't want to risk the White House suppressing climate science.
California plans to launch its own climate satellite

The current White House doesn't accept climate science, and California is worried that this may lead to NASA switching off climate probes under pressure from President Trump. The state's solution? Build its own probe. In a speech at the Global Climate Action Summit, Governor Jerry Brown declared that California would launch its "own damn satellite" to detect pollution and address climate change.

Other exceptions are likely coming as well.
'Fortnite' on Switch won't require an online subscription

Nintendo's Switch Online service, like PlayStation Plus, requires a subscription. But will gamers have to pay to play free titles like Fortnite? The answer is a resounding "no." The company has posted a Switch Online FAQ that mentions "some games," including Fortnite, won't require the subscription plan when it goes live on September 18th.