Bad PR: Tesla Forces Pre-Ordered Roadster Owners to Pay More
Angering many of their early adopters, Tesla Motors is apparently increasing the price of the Roadster models that are set to go into production. Many of the around 600 pre-ordered owners are incensed that Tesla is raising the price of the Roadster after these owners have already paid up to $50,000 per deposit and thought the deal was done.
While the owners seemed alright with the fourteen month delay in delivery, this public relations nightmare may test that patience. While Tesla claims the increase in price is necessary to become profitable, it is unclear how the pre-ordered owners, who have basically become investors in the company, will view this move. READ MORE
Tesla: Model S sedan will cost $50,000; 100th Roadster shipped
GreenTechMedia reports that Tesla CEO Elon Musk:
“revealed that its all-electric passenger sedan, the Model S, will be priced at $57,499. The government will offer a $7,500 tax credit to bring the price to $49,999…
“If you take into account the $10,000 to $15,000 you might spend on gas with a conventional car, the Model S drops to $34,000 to $39,000, he said. That’s around the price of a mid-range Lexus.
And on another note:
“Tesla shipped its 100th car today. It went to Sam Perry, a business consultant and former journalist. Sam became famous this year when Oprah Winfrey cried on his shoulders.”
Tesla Roadster loses drag race to Tango Commuter Car
Classic video of a drag race between a Tesla Roadster and Tango Commuter Car. Surprisingly, the Tango beat the Roadster by a fraction of a second. Also, we’ve included some funny photos of the Tango from their website below.
Hat-tip: Jalopnik
Rebuttal to NYTimes critique of Tesla and potential federal support
Entrepreneur Jason Calacanis has a rebuttal to the NY Times article that was highly critical of any attempts by the federal government to provide financial support to electric car company Tesla Motors.
Calacanis argues that the author’s “points are… somewhere between short-sighted and outright false, leading me to think that [his] big problem with a *loan* to Tesla is that he needs to write a piece that appeals to the short-term sentiment of the country right now (“damn the billionaires!”) rather than one that pursues the actual truth.” READ MORE
Does Tesla deserve to receive $400 million in low-interest federal loans?
An article in Sunday’s NYTimes asks if Tesla Motors deserves to receive $400 million in low-interest federal loans as a part of Congressional efforts to assist the auto industry.
The author, a professor at San Jose State near Silicon Valley, makes some interesting observations:
First, he comically wonders if the $25 billion in low interest loans passed by Congress last year, of which Tesla is seeking a piece, should be called the “2008 Bailout of Very, Very High-Net-Worth Individuals Who Invested in Tesla Motors Act?” READ MORE
Tesla Motors seeks $400 million from potential bailout
Reports indicate that the electric vehicle start-up company, Tesla Motors may be looking to get $400 million out of any bailout of the Big 3 automakers. Despite the incredibly important role electric car manufacturers are going to play in the future of our economy and environment, bailing out Tesla would be a mistake.
The only justification, if there is any, for bailing out Detroit is to prevent our economy from falling into a deep recession. Under more stable economic times, allowing the Big 3 to use the bankruptcy courts to reorganize, like any other failing business, would be the appropriate action. (Assuming sufficient government resources were allocated to retraining and assisting unemployed workers.) READ MORE
Miles Electric Vehicles looks to introduce sedan by 2010
Santa Monica based Miles Electric Vehicles is ramping up to produce an electric sedan than should compete with Tesla Motors’ Model S, and the Chevy Volt. Apparently, Miles is also in the process of raising another $40 million in funds. This comes at a time when many clean technology companies are suffering at the hands of the credit crunch, economic slowdown, and drop in oil prices. READ MORE
US alternative energy companies fall on hard times
A concern we’ve been voicing lately is: what effects will the economic crisis and lower gas prices have on renewable energy development. Due to the freezing of the credit markets, economic slowdown, and plunging price of oil and natural gas, alternative energy companies are facing hard times. Stock values for companies in this sector have fallen even faster than the rest of the market, and some companies, such as Tesla Motors, have been forced to put production plans on hold and to lay off workers. READ MORE
Is the next step plug-ins or natural gas for cars?
As the movement to get our cars off of petroleum creeps forward, there seems to be two main alternatives being proposed: electricity or natural gas. The electricity proponents argue that it is the cleanest alternative, since energy produced for the national electricity grid can be generated by renewable sources like wind, solar, nuclear and geothermal. They also argue that natural gas, while cleaner burning than oil, is still a fossil fuel that is limited in supply and therefore a less than ideal solution. The natural gas proponents don’t disagree that electricity could be a cleaner solution, but argue that existing battery technology is not yet sufficient to allow widespread electric car adoption.
Companies like Tesla Motors, and now Toyota with their proposed electric Prius, would beg to differ with this assessment. Last week, Toyota’s president announced that electric Priuses would be released to government and commercial fleets by next year (a year ahead of schedule). However, there is no firm date set for the sale of these cars to the public, over lingering concerns about the state of the technology, as well as limited plug-in infrastructure. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how this debate plays out. Unfortunately, in order to really shift off of oil burning cars, a decision needs to be made sooner than later. Hopefully a better understanding of the potential for widespread battery usage in vehicles will develop in time to make an informed policy decision.
The path towards electric cars
Regardless of which alternative energy plan one subscribes to, it is clear that getting our cars off of oil is one of the primary steps that must be taken by our society. Whether we make natural gas a temporary step along this path, or not, it is evident that the one solution that will ultimately allow us to power cars with clean energy is by running them on electricity. This is because energy generation for the national grid can be done on a wide scale basis with renewable sources, like wind, solar and geothermal. (Of course this benefit is lost if the national grid continues to be supplied primarily by coal energy.)
The Chicago Tribune had a piece recently looking at the Chevy Volt, which after Tesla Motors’ offerings, is the most highly anticipated electric vehicle. According to GM, the Volt, which is scheduled to come out in 2010, should be able to go 40 miles on just a charge, and then another 350 miles on a small gas engine that is used to recharge the batteries. This scenario will be most ideal for commuters, who rarely go much beyond 40 miles per trip. Our one big concern remains the viability of modern batteries to provide reliable and sustained performance. One need only have experienced the frustration of diminished performance from a cell phone or laptop battery, which often occurs after less than a year, to know that battery technology still has a ways to go. This is why, although fully electric cars are most likely the real long term solution, we may still need a temporary step along the way, a la natural gas, until battery technology catches up to our needs.
Tesla Motors’ picks up industry vet, hopefully a sign of strong faith in company
Coming on the heels of Tesla Motors’ decision that they will build their new electric sedan in California, this non-traditional automaker announced the hiring of former Chrysler VP of Product Development, Mike Donoughe. The hiring of Donoughe, who will be the VP of Vehicle Engineering and Manufacturing, hopefully indicates a general belief by auto industry veterans that Tesla Motors’ future is bright. Those veterans, who are highly experienced in the industry, hopefully see Tesla as a real threat to the existing model and may be looking to hop on board.
According to Donoughe, “I joined the Tesla team because I am enthusiastic about Tesla’s objective to integrate their disruptive EV technology into mainstream automobiles. Tesla is creating vehicles that appeal to customers looking for environmentally sound and energy efficient solutions without compromising on functionality and performance. I look forward to contributing to these efforts as a part of the Tesla team.”
Tesla Motors to build factory for new electric sedan in California
At a time when American carmaker General Motors’ stock price has dipped to a level not seen since 1954 and Toyota is on the verge of overtaking GM in domestic auto sales, Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that green automaker Tesla Motors will be building the production facility for its highly anticipated second generation vehicle, dubbed the Model S, in California. The state government was able to woo Tesla by offering it a multi-million dollar incentive package, including sales tax exemptions and grants for new worker training. The Model S is slated to begin production in two years and will be a fully electric sports sedan that seats five.
