Tesla Model S News
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After just about four years of waiting, my 2013 Tesla Model S has arrived. Almost. The call from the Tesla delivery rep came on February 4, the last day of the two-week delivery window promised back in December. My car, with metallic green paint, 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack, black leather interior, air suspension, had arrived at the service/delivery center in Queens, New York. To say that I was eagerly anticipating its final delivery to my home--just 60 miles upstate in the Hudson Valley--would be the understatement of the year. But fate can be cruel. Tomorrow, on February 7, I'm scheduled...
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Tesla Model S Performance: Fastest Electric Car (Video)The Tesla Model S Performance looks great on paper. Not only does the 85 kWh Model S have an impressive 265-mile EPA-rated range, but it'll do the benchmark 0-60 mph sprint in only 4.4 seconds. That means the all-electric luxury sport sedan from Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is at least as fast as V-8...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Now Delivering 60-kWh Versions Of Model S Electric CarIt's now clear: Volume deliveries of the second version of the 2013 Tesla Model S began this month. That would be the version fitted with the middle of three battery-pack sizes, with a stated energy capacity of 60 kilowatt-hours. The news does not come from Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA], a company that...
John Voelcker -
Tesla CEO Musk: Boeing 787 Batteries 'Inherently Unsafe'Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is hardly shy and retiring. He tweets out random financial results, states as fact things that haven't quite happened yet, and regularly speaks his mind. Yesterday, he described the troubled Boeing 787 Dreamliner's battery pack design as 'inherently unsafe,' which could...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S: Glitches, Quirks, and Peccadilloes RoundupTo put it mildly, the Tesla Model S has been a resounding success. The New York Times has called the all-electric luxury sport sedan a game-changer, comparable to the Model T Ford. It's won virtually every 2012 "Car of the Year" honor, including the only unanimous Motor Trend award in the...
David Noland -
Tesla Model S To Be Evaluated By Consumer ReportsLet's hope that the Tesla Model S fares better than the Fisker Karma did. That's the first thought that sprang to mind when we heard the news that Consumer Reports had bought its very own Model S all-electric sport sedan to test. The respected consumer testing magazine notoriously savaged the...
John Voelcker -
For fans of the Tesla Model S all-electric sport sedan, the past few weeks have been full of good news. Deliveries of top-of-the-line 85-kilowatt-hour models now number in the thousands, the 60-kWh model will go into production this month--and has been rated at 208 miles of range--and no major safety or quality issues seem to have surfaced thus far. But buried in a news item last week that appeared in trade journal Automotive News was a little nugget we missed during our coverage of last week's Detroit Auto Show. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has now achieved its full production rate of 400 Model...
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Tesla Now Delivering Model S, But Cash Crunch Judgment Waits For FinancialsOne hurdle down: Tesla is now delivering production Model S electric cars to paying customers from its reservations list of 18,000 or so. Next hurdle: Can Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] bring in enough cash from those sales, and ramp up production fast enough, to keep the company solvent? It would appear...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S To Have CHAdeMO Quick-Charge Adaptor In JapanThe Tesla Model S electric sedan is set to get a CHAdeMO quick-charge adaptor when it arrives on the market in Japan. CHAdeMO is the leading quick-charge standard in Japan, and drivers have access to almost 1,900 charging stations across the country. It's standard equipment on Nissan Leafs and...
Antony Ingram -
How Many Tesla Model S Electric Cars Were Built In 2012? How Many Sold?It may be the most eagerly sought piece of information in the plug-in electric car world. And Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] ain't talking. The company has a set policy of not disclosing monthly sales figures or production figures until it has to by law. So it'll be another month or so before we know how...
John Voelcker -
The Tesla Model S Electric Wagon We Wish They'd BuildHigh-performance wagons are easy to appreciate. Plenty of utility, but none of the sacrifices that practicality usually implies. If they look great and run on electricity, like Theophilus Chin's render of a Tesla Model 'ST', then all the better. Chin's render (via Autoblog Green) is so slick you'd...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Model S Road Trip Ends Without A Hitch In NYCWell, they made it! Tesla Model S-driving trio Peter Soukup, Tina Thomas and Luba Roytburd successfully arrived in New York City after almost five thousand miles of driving coast-to-coast. After starting in Portland, Oregon on December 26, the team drove down the West Coast, before cutting across...
Antony Ingram -
After opening a store in Natick Mall, Massachusetts, Tesla Motors has been embroiled in a battle to let it sell cars from the store. Permission was granted for the store to sell vehicles back in December, and now a judge's dismissal of a dealers' lawsuit against the company has stepped a further direction in Tesla's favor. It all centers on state regulations about the Tesla Store's legal identity. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] would not be allowed to sell cars itself, directly from the factory. The state requires franchisees to own dealerships, preventing companies from competing unfairly with...
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Tesla Model S "Delivery Roulette" Annoys Some Owners, Thrills OthersWhen you walk into a crowded deli in New York City, you take a number. Rather than jostle in line and try to elbow (or charm) your way to the front, you take the number from the dispenser on the counter and wait till that number is called. First come, first served. Even among rude, pushy New...
David Noland -
Tesla Model S Owner Drives Coast To Coast Electrically (Again)By now, regular readers will be familiar with long-distance electric car trips. While range may cause anxiety to some, for others it's merely a temporary limit, with forward planning and steely resolve allowing some electric vehicle drivers to continue long after others have given up. One recent...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Supercharger Network Expands Into East CoastThe 2013 Tesla Model S comes with one feature no other electric car can match: free quick-charging at an expanding network of Supercharger stations, usable only by Tesla owners. Following its October launch between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, the network now includes a station along...
John Voelcker -
'Twas The Night Before Christmas ...'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Elon soon would be there. The Green Car Reporters were sat at the desk, Reading through comments and some were grotesque...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Reveals European Pricing For Model S Electric SedanTesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has announced European pricing for the Model S, set to go on sale there next year. Speaking on the Tesla Blog, Tesla vice president George Blankenship revealed that the company is using a transparent approach to European pricing, making no more profit per car than it does...
Antony Ingram -
As the first cars are set to arrive in European dealers next year, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has announced its new European distribution center in Tilburg, Netherlands. The facility will serve as a final assembly point for European vehicles, as well as acting as Tesla's distribution hub and regional service center. The 62,000 square-foot facility will be central to Tesla's roll-out of Model S cars through Europe. The first European Model S will enter production at Tesla's Fremont plant in March 2013, before being shipped to Tilburg for final assembly. As well as distribution and servicing...
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Tesla Model S 60-kWh Is More Efficient Than 85-kWh Car: Why?Sharp-eyed Tesla Model S buffs may be wondering why the mid-range 60-kWh car, which costs $10,000 less, is rated more efficient than the top-of-the-line 85-kWh model. The EPA said last week that the 60-kWh Model S has a range of 208 miles, and its efficiency rating is 95 MPGe (miles per gallon...
David Noland -
Tesla Model S Already A Future Classic? Auto Library Thinks SoPut a group of auto enthusiasts in a room, ply them with suitable amounts of alcohol, and soon conversation will turn to 'future classics'. The term refers to a modern car which gains the kind of respect and appeal of a classic vehicle in its lifetime, guaranteeing it a similar status many years in...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Model S Depositors: You Can't Sell Your Reservation, LegallyThere's lots of interest in the award-winning Tesla Model S electric luxury sport sedan about now. With production slowly ramping up, even the wealthiest electric-car fans have to wait as Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] works through its 14,000 reservations. So, perhaps the impatient among them may turn...
John Voelcker -
2013 Tesla Model S: Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2013Two years ago, our first-ever Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy award went to the first modern battery-electric car sold in the U.S. How far we've come. This year, our third annual winner is the 2013 Tesla Model S, a car that takes the all-electric vehicle to a new and far more elevated level. But...
John Voelcker -
How Far Will A Tesla Model S Go? One Owner Did 405 MilesBack in May, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] released range estimates for the 2012 Model S. While the company predicted that 250-300 miles would be typical for the largest, 85 kilowatt-hour battery, and the EPA confirmed this with an official 265 miles, insiders at Tesla had a sneaky feeling that 400...
Antony Ingram