Tesla News

  • Consumer Reports tests the Tesla Model S (video screen capture)

    Wow. Chalk up another huge accolade for the Tesla Model S electric car: Consumer Reports has awarded it 99 out of 100 points, and said it's the best car the magazine has tested since 2007. In fact, the magazine's descriptions of the luxury sport sedan brim with adjectives. The Tesla Model S "is brimming with innovation, delivers world-class performance, and is interwoven throughout with impressive attention to detail," writes the normally sober consumer publication. Driving the Model S electric car is "like crossing into a promising zero-emissions future," and the version tested, with its...

  • Elon Musk Speaks
    UPDATED: Tesla Motors Q1 Earnings: What To Look For (Video)

    Within the next hour, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] will release its first-quarter financial results. We already know the company will be profitable, and that it sold "more than 4,750" Model S electric luxury sport sedans from January through March. CEO Elon Musk has also said that Tesla is targeting a...

  • Google's Self-Driving Toyota Prius
    Self-Driving Tesla Electric Cars Coming, Courtesy Of Google?

    Love or hate Tesla Motors (NSDQ:TSLA) and its CEO Elon Musk, it's hard to deny that he's ahead of the curve when it comes to developing new cars. So when Musk says self-driving or autonomous technology is the next logical step in the evolution of the car, you take notice. According to Bloomberg...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S To Get Adaptive Cruise, Lane-Departure Warning, More?

    Drivers of the Tesla Model S are generally pretty happy with their cars, but as with any new product there are always a few ways it could be improved. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is one of few companies that can execute those improvements without you having to lift a finger, as software updates can be...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Makes Money On Model S: $35K Per Car Selling ZEV Credits?

    Tomorrow at 5 pm Eastern, Tesla will hold what may be its most eagerly awaited conference call to date. The Silicon Valley startup automaker will discuss its first-quarter financial results--which will give the first clue to its financial viability as an operating automaker. But Tesla Motors...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    2013 Tesla Model S 'Performance Plus' Package, Other Options, Added

    The 2013 Tesla Model S electric car wouldn't be defined as a supercar--which is, more or less by custom, a two-seat sports car, not a large sedan. But to take the luxury plug-in sedan "into supercar handling territory," Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has announced a new "Performance Plus" suspension and...

  • Tesla owners & supporters gather in Statehouse in Austin to support company [photo: John Griswell]

    While CEO Elon Musk is doing another tweet-hyped conference call today, Tesla has a lot going on in the background. Not only is it building and selling Model S electric luxury sport sedans, but Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has quietly hired a new vice president of vehicle engineering. That new VP is Chris Porritt, whose previous job was chief platform manager for British luxury sports-car maker Aston Martin. He led the development of the Aston Martin One-77 supercar in 2009, and is intimately familiar with developing fast, luxurious vehicles for wealthy, demanding customers. Porritt's appointment...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    How You Can Buy a 2013 Tesla Model S Now, With No Waiting

    Good news for rich, impatient, picky Tesla Model S electric-car wannabes! If you're looking to buy right now--but can't abide a car sullied by a few thousand miles of loaner-car duty under the recently announced buy-it-now program--Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] now offers a new but little-known option...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Teslive Event In July To Bring 300 Tesla Owners Together In San Francisco Bay Area

    Few automakers have built a buzz around their products like Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA]. Like many other electric cars, Roadster and Model S owners and fans are a tight-knit community too, and a two-day users conference in July will bring even more owners together. Called Teslive, Silicon Beat...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S before DC-to-Boston road trip, Feb 2013 [photo: Aaron Schildkraut]
    Tesla Tunes Up Model S Warranty, Loaner Cars, Service Plan

    On Friday, Tesla held a media call to reveal another in the series of announcements touted in tweets by CEO Elon Musk. This time, the news covered enhancements to the warranty and service experience on its Tesla Model S electric luxury sport sedan. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is now delivering several...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Will Future Tesla Electric Cars Use Metal-Air Batteries?

    Most advocates and industry analysts expect lithium-ion batteries to dominate electric-car energy storage for the rest of this decade. But is Silicon Valley startup carmaker Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] planning to add a new type of battery to increase the range of its electric cars? The high-end 2013...

  • Tesla Model S
    AWD Tesla Model S Coming Soon? (Warning: Pure Speculation)

    With the delay of its Model X crossover until "late in 2014," it may look as if Tesla's product pipeline is running dry. But we suspect the Silicon Valley startup electric-car company will offer a few new variants on its sole product, the Model S luxury sport sedan. And an obvious next step for...

  • Elon Musk

    Several thousand Tesla owners have now purchased their cars by ordering and paying for them online after visiting a Tesla Store showroom. No franchised dealers are involved. That's a model that Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] feels is crucial to getting its electric cars into the mainstream. State and national auto-dealer groups strongly disagree. Very, very strongly. Taking it Federal Now Tesla's ambitious CEO Elon Musk suggests that perhaps the company will attempt to ensure its legal right to sell cars directly at a Federal level. In an interview last week with trade journal Automotive News, he...

  • Tesla Model S cars parked on Santana Row, San Jose, CA, April 2013 [photo: Anton Wahlman]
    Does Tesla Already Outsell Audi, BMW, Lexus & Mercedes-Benz?

    The established German luxury brands--Mercedes-Benz and BMW--have sold cars in the U.S. for decades. So how could Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] possibly be beating them at their own game? The answer lies in how you define sales: It appears that the Tesla Model S electric sport sedan is outselling both...

  • 2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5
    Got A Tesla Roadster And Want A Model S? Tesla Will Buy It Back

    Pretend for a moment that you're one of the fortunate folks who purchased a new Tesla Roadster while it was still in production. You're satisfied with the car, but now all anyone wants to talk about is the swanky new Tesla Model S. What's an early adopter to do? You could, or course, trade in that...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S
    Worst Thing About The Tesla Model S? Driving Anything Else Afterwards

    If early ownership experiences are to believed, there's not a lot wrong with driving a Tesla Model S. The performance is great, it's luxurious, quiet, has a great electric range... but there's still one thing that bugs owners. One thing they wish wasn't part of the Model S ownership experience...

  • Red 2013 Tesla Model S cars roll down the production line (Photo: @elonmusk on Twitter)
    2013 Tesla Model S: Now Available In Red, At Last

    If you want a red Tesla Model S and didn't get in there with the Signature models, you're in luck. The photo above was revealed in a Tweet by Elon Musk on Tuesday, showing new red Model S cars heading down the line, prior to completion. "New Tesla red going down assembly line for the first time. We...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Model S Loaners For Tesla Model S Owners, Elon Musk Says

    Loaners cars are now routinely provided by luxury carmakers when their customers have cars in for servicing. Now Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is joining the crowd, providing Model S luxury sports sedans to its Model S (and Roadster) owners while their cars are in the shop. But according to CEO Elon...

  • Tesla owners & supporters gather in Statehouse in Austin to support company [photo: John Griswell]

    Texas is tough, and Texas car dealers are no exception. But electric-car startup Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA], in the person of its CEO Elon Musk, testified yesterday at a hearing in the Texas legislature on a bill that would allow it to sell its cars directly to Texas buyers. That's presently illegal in Texas, where legislation long backed by state dealer groups requires all new cars to be sold by an independently-owned third party. That is to say, a car dealer. No touching the new car There are now two Tesla Stores in the state, in Austin and in Houston, among the 16 stores in 12 states run by...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan on delivery day, with owner David Noland
    Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: Some Bikes Don't Fit

    I've now had my 2013 Tesla Model S for six weeks since it was delivered in late February, and I'm getting used to living with it. I've recharged at the Supercharger network, measured its vampire current usage at night, tested the impact of speed on range, and even experienced my first software...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan [photo by owner David Noland]
    Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: How A Software Update Worked

    One of the many cutting-edge features of my new 2013 Tesla Model S is the ability to download software updates over its cellular connection. With its touch-screen controls and electronic motor and battery systems, the Model S all-electric sport sedan is almost certainly the most highly computerized...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan [photo by owner David Noland]
    Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: Range Penalty At Speed Is Lower Than Expected

    I've been surprised and delighted by how efficiently my new 2013 Tesla Model S has been running at higher speeds. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] hammers home the message that high speeds can drastically reduce the range of any Model S. It cautions that its original range figure of 230 miles for my 60-kWh...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    100 Tesla Model S Cars Join Las Vegas Project 100 Sharing Scheme

    Let's assume for a moment that you're interested in electric cars. (Not a far-fetched idea, since you're reading a blog called "Green Car Reports".) You're intrigued by the growing number of options in extended-range vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt, but most of all, you're interested in fully...

  • 'Revenge of the Electric Car' premiere: Elon Musk arrives in a Tesla Roadster
    Oh, Tesla: Your 'Lease' Is Smart, But That Calculator Wasn't

    Well, that didn't take long. Yesterday, just before 5 pm Eastern time, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] released details of its new "lease-like" financing product. The general consensus in the media (we read a lot of Tesla coverage here, folks) has been that it's smart for Tesla to offer financing for its...

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