Tesla News
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The Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan can be described many ways, and its owners generally use glowing superlatives in doing so. But we've never seen it called an "intergalactic spaceboat of light and wonder" before. Nor an "Electric CruiseBeast," for that matter. ALSO SEE: Next-Generation Tesla Electric Car Won't Be 'Model E' After All But those are just some of the glowing terms used by the cartoonist who produces The Oatmeal, a web comic that has a vast following for its droll observational style and extravagant language. Two years ago, The Oatmeal did an episode (panel? strip? cartoon?)...
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Life With Tesla Model S: New Northeastern Superchargers Now LiveAs the owner of a Tesla Model S in New York's Hudson Valley, I've long lamented the puzzling dearth of Superchargers in the Northeastern U.S. But in the last few weeks, the official opening of two of Tesla's superfast (120-kilowatt) free DC charging stations in New Jersey and upstate New York--both...
David Noland -
Next-Generation Tesla Electric Car Won't Be 'Model E' After AllTesla's third-generation car, currently planned for volume production in late 2017, is now officially nameless again. According to Fortune, the company has abandoned its trademark application for the name "Model E," which had been widely assumed to apply to the new vehicle. DON'T MISS: Tesla's Next...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Deal To Supply Toyota RAV4 EV Powertrain To End This YearSeveral news reports over the weekend noted that Tesla's contract to supply Toyota with electric powertrains for its RAV4 EV crossover would end next year. In the words of Tesla's latest quarterly report, cited by Bloomberg in a Saturday news story, “Toyota is expected to end the current RAV4...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Sales On Target, Gigafactory Groundbreaking Next Month: FINAL UPDATETesla Motors released its first-quarter earnings this afternoon, logging revenue of $713 million on deliveries of 6,457 Model S electric cars. That's essentially the number it had said it would sell in the quarter, but the total is slightly down from the record 6,892 sold in the prior quarter. It...
John Voelcker -
How Many Cars Is Tesla Selling In U.S.? Pace May Be SlowingThis Wednesday, Tesla Motors will release its first-quarter financial results--one part of which will be its electric-car sales total from January through March. If the usual practice holds true, Tesla will provide a single global sales total, not breaking it down by market or month as other...
John Voelcker -
Oh, awesome! Someone is leaving fliers on Tesla Model S electric luxury cars parked in San Francisco, claiming...well, claiming all sorts of hilarious and bizarre things. Folks in SF are leaving anonymous flyers on Teslas exposing the "truth" about the company. Mind-blowing. cc @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/5xyJz62Mlu — Ryan Block (@ryan) April 30, 2014 // The news surfaced in a tweet by Ryan Block ("Fighter of entropy. Lover of atoms + electrons. Master photobomber."), covered by Business Insider late yesterday. The flier itself alleges that driving a Tesla involves you in "organized...
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Tesla Model S: Yes, Writers, Higher Speeds Use More Energy In Electric CarsJust when you thought it might be safe to assume no more journalists would do silly, uninformed things with electric cars...comes proof that blissful ignorance knows few bounds. In this case, a writer for the respected print and online outlet The Atlantic took a Tesla Model S for a test drive--and...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Gigafactory Site Choice Due Soon--Or, Maybe Two SitesTesla CEO Elon Musk isn't just planning one site for the company's future battery gigafactory--he's actually looking at two. As a way of avoiding "last minute issues" on a possible site for the factory, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] will break ground at two sites, reports Bloomberg. Tesla announced its...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Hiring At Second California Facility, Ex-Chrysler PlantTesla is seeking workers for a new facility, a former Chrysler parts-distribution plant in Lathrop, California.
Stephen Edelstein -
FTC Comes Out In Favor Of Tesla Direct Sales, Against Dealer-Backed BansThe ongoing fight between Tesla Motors and car dealers across the country has spilled from the headlines into the legal system, but so far, the outcome is far from certain. Will Tesla be allowed to sell its cars directly to consumers? Or is there some state interest in forcing Tesla into the dealer...
Nelson Ireson -
In Effort To Sell RAV4 Electric SUVs, Toyota Puts 'Cash On Hood'The all-electric Toyota RAV4 EV, even with its Tesla-designed powertrain, isn't exactly flying out of dealerships. While it's a low-volume compliance car sold to meet California regulations, Toyota still has to move 2,600 of them over a three-year period that began in September 2012. So Toyota is...
John Voelcker -
The audacious plan by electric-car maker Tesla Motors to install its own network of free, high-speed charging stations for owners of Tesla cars is starting to pay off. This morning, it announced that its 100th Supercharger site is now open, in Hamilton Township, New Jersey--east of the state capital of Trenton, and less than 40 miles northeast of Philadelphia. MORE: Tesla Maps Out Supercharger Network, Speeds Up Charging The new station is located in the Hamilton Market Place mall, just off Interstate 195, and just a few miles from interchanges with both the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate...
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Tesla Will Build Electric Cars In China; Model S On Sale There This WeekWe've expected it for some time, but now it's been confirmed: Tesla will build electric cars in China in the next three to four years. While Chinese production won't replace the company's facilities in the U.S, it will give Tesla a foothold in an ever-growing market--and help it avoid China's hefty...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Gigafactory Seeks North American Raw Materials To Cut PollutionThere is no such thing as a truly green car. All cars require raw materials and energy to produce, use energy during their time as transport, and require energy to recycle--the components that can be recycled, at least. To mitigate such pollution issues and increase supply chain transparency, Tesla...
Antony Ingram -
U.S. Head Of Mercedes-Benz Savages Tesla, Saying It Has 'Limited Potential'"Don't bite the hand that feeds you" is a popular saying, but perhaps "don't criticize the company you're sharing technology with" should be another. The latter would apply to Mercedes-Benz, whose U.S. boss Steve Cannon criticized Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] at the New York Auto Show. Perhaps Cannon...
Antony Ingram -
Famous Tuner Saleen Releases Tesla Model S Hot-Rod SketchesNo matter how fast a car is, there's always someone who'll want to make it faster. That's why you'll find as many companies tuning high-end cars as there are modifying pony cars or basic subcompacts. And it's why Saleen is developing its own hot-rodded version of the Tesla Model S electric sedan...
Antony Ingram -
Life With Tesla Model S: Battery Safety Shield In Detail (Photos)When I first heard last week that Tesla was offering Model S owners a free retrofit that would install its new underbody shield and deflector plates, I called my local Tesla Motors service center almost immediately. It seemed like a no-brainer. The titanium shield and two aluminum deflector plates...
David Noland -
It was one of the thorniest issues facing the powerful California Air Resource Board: Did the ability to swap electric-car battery packs qualify for "fast fueling" incentives meant to prod carmakers to build zero-emission vehicles that could add 300 miles of range in no more time than filling the tank of a gasoline car? Last October, CARB kicked the can down the road, saying it might take a year to decide on the question. Now the answer has come down, and it has winners and losers. The big loser is Tesla Motors, the electric-car maker that demonstrated battery swapping for its Model S luxury...
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Want A Tesla Model S Convertible? Newport Engineering Says It'll Build You OneIn theory, convertibles are the perfect way to enjoy electric motoring. What better way to experience your zero-emissions car than with the roof down--enjoying the silence, the sounds of nature and the wind in your hair? Tesla's first car, the Roadster, offered just such an experience--and one...
Antony Ingram -
Is Tesla Motors A Carmaker...Or Really A Grid-Storage Company?Many among the Detroit auto media were skeptical of Tesla Motors for years, correctly noting just how hard it is to start a car company and build a genuinely appealing product--electric car or not. But as Tesla continues to sell Model S electric luxury sedans, expanding into Europe and China as...
John Voelcker -
Had To Happen: Hacking Into A Tesla Model S Electric Car"Jailbreaking" used to mean... well, breaking out of jail. In the modern world though, it typically refers to the process of cracking software codes to take greater control of applications and user interfaces. It's rife in the world of smartphones, and now it's possible with electric vehicles...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Model S Sets Record For Single-Month Sales In NorwayIn the last few years of electric car sales, the only records cars have been breaking are their own. Nissan, for example, has just had its best March ever for Leaf sales. And we know that global electric car sales have doubled each year for the past few years. But now, reports The Wall Street...
Antony Ingram -
What Are Tesla Model S Drivers Browsing In Their Connected Cars?One of the alluring features of the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan is its always-on 3G 4G cellular connection and built-in Internet browser. But have you ever wondered what all those wealthy electric-car drivers are actually looking at on their in-car browsers? Now we know. Or at least we have...
John Voelcker