Tesla News
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Yes, there's a big imbroglio going on right now over an article in The New York Times, followed by some tweets (1, 2, and 3) from Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk contradicting it. We're ignoring that, for the moment. Instead, we're bringing you an idea that made us chuckle. That idea is that the Tesla Model S has already beaten the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes-Benz S Class among buyers of $100,000 luxury sport sedan in one very important market. That market is Silicon Valley. It's where Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is headquartered, where Stanford University opened its doors in 1891, where much of this...
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Tesla Model S Driving On Sunlight: Amateur Video Not So AmateurThe right car can inspire people. Whether it's the poetic beauty of an Italian sports car or the noise of the race track, that inspiration takes many forms. For some, the all-electric Tesla Model S is their inspiration. The sleek electric sedan has certainly attracted attention far beyond that of...
Antony Ingram -
2013 Tesla Model S Ready For Delivery: So Close & Yet So FarAfter 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...
David Noland -
Electric-Car Maker Tesla Gains In Brand AwarenessIf you're reading this, you probably already know a little bit about Tesla. Brainchild of entrepreneur Elon Musk, producer of electric vehicles, and upstart in the automotive market, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has been one of the highest-profile new brands of recent years. That high profile has done...
Antony Ingram -
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 And Fisker: Who's Winning, Who's Losing? (Video Chat)Right now, we seem to get news about Tesla Motors or Fisker Automotive almost every day. Some is good, some isn't. Yesterday, Green Car Reports editor John Voelcker sat down with High Gear Media's social-media manager, Joel Feder, to discuss the two companies in a Google+ Hangout on Air. The live...
Joel Feder -
It'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 can be bafflingly opaque about standard business metrics like production and deliveries. Instead, it comes from scanning the "Delivery Update" thread of the Tesla Motors Club forum (that thread now runs to 400 pages, by the way). Multiple reports have been posted during the month of owners taking...
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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 -
Tesla Model S Production Line Now Running At Full CapacityFor 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...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model X Electric Crossover New Interior: Detroit Auto Show Live PicturesUnveiled live at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is giving us new ideas as to what the interior of its Model X crossover may look like. Tesla calls it an "interior exploration", giving a hint as to the different colors and trim materials you can expect from the production Model...
Antony Ingram -
One 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 the market thinks so, as Tesla stock has risen over the last six weeks from less than $28 a share to more than $32 a share. MarketWatch analyst pessimistic Nonetheless, a spate of recent articles have quoted MarketWatch financial analyst Jon Shinal suggesting that Tesla is "among the top candidates...
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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 -
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 -
MA Auto Dealers' Suit Against Tesla Dismissed By JudgeAfter 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...
Antony Ingram -
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 -
The 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 the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] says it is likely to install more stations along the corridor in future, though it may take a while before they are all supplied by solar power--the ultimate goal of the project. Jim Motavalli, writing for The New...
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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 -
Tesla Opens Distribution & Assembly Center In The NetherlandsAs 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...
Antony Ingram -
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