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Tesla Motors
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lawsuits
cleantech
Arnold Schwarzenegger slashes Tesla's taxes to keep electric cars in California
Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped by a Tesla Motors workshop today to announce a tax-break deal. The exemption wooed Tesla execs to move a planned manufacturing facility for the proposed Tesla all-electric family sedan back to California from New Mexico. The Governator said it was further proof that you could be pro-business and pro-environment — not to mention anti-tax. A noted Hummer enthusiast, the former movie star's environmental record isn't exactly stellar. More »
The Jason Calacanis inusufferability index to reach new heights with arrival of Tesla Roadster
Mahalo founder Jason Calacanis is eagerly awaiting Tesla Roadster #16, which he's having painted Tang Orange. Expect lots of updates about how much better a steward of Mother Earth he is than you are. He's also teasing readers with the offer of a Tesla Roadster giveaway, but he needs 30-60 million pageviews to do it. If you could get that much traffic to go Mahalo's way, shouldn't he be offering you the position of CEO? [Calacanis.com] (Photo by wmmarc)
mine is faster
Moffett Field becoming a country club airport for Valley ultra-rich
The Google Party Plane isn't the only aircraft using Nasa's Moffett Field to shuttle tech execs in and out of the Valley. An eagle-eyed plane spotter caught Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk's Dassault Falcon taking a round trip between Moffett and Orange County's Van Nuys airport this week. "It must be nice," says the tipster, implying a breathy sigh. My question is, as one of the few people with a Tesla Roadster in his garage, why didn't Musk drive that to the Southland instead of burning gallons of jet fuel? Oh, right, that's well outside the roadster's range.
Martin Eberhard
Tesla Motors crashes roadster earmarked for disgruntled former CEO
Former Tesla Motors CEO Martin Eberhard, who was ousted along with over two dozen other employees after the company failed to meet an expected shipping deadline, will have to wait a bit longer for his own all-electric roadster. That's because a technician got into a fender bender test-driving the sporty coupe. Eberhard graciously offered to take the same vehicle after it is repaired rather than demand a new vehicle. (Photo by Neeta Lind)
cleantech
Arnold Schwarzenegger shows up to Tesla dealership opening
A coterie of B-list celebritards including Jenny McCarthy and Darryl Hannah, as well as California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, showed up to an opening party for the new Tesla Motors dealership on Santa Monica Boulevard in Westwood last week. Why LA and not the Valley? "Because it's Hollywood and glamorous, this is the flagship store," Tesla client services manager Jeremy Snyder told the AP. The next dealership will be built in San Carlos, home of Tesla Motors. The $2 million showroom is based on an Apple retail outlet, according to CEO Elon Musk. While the 400-strong waiting list, including the Governator, means you can't actually drive away in a new Tesla roadster until 2009 at the earliest, you can at least ogle the floor models and maybe convince one of the Tesla employees on hand to let you take one for a test drive. Better you behind the wheel than Musk — his driving record's not so clean. (Photo by AP/Mark J. Terrill)
cleantech
Tesla finds the electric car business is a litigious one
The New York Times reported earlier today that local electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors is suing Fisker Automotive, alleging breach of contract by a designer who took his trade secrets to the upstart rival. Earth2Tech pointed out that the two startup automakers are the pet projects of rival VCs, including Draper Fisher Jurvetson on Tesla's side and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers on Fisker's, making for a classic Valley catfight. But that's not the only case bedeviling Tesla. More »
cleantech
Electric-car vote turns even noted Republicans pro-regulation
Today in Sacramento, the California Air Resources Board is planning to once again relax rules requiring automakers to produce more nonpolluting cars. Instead of demanding more zero-emission vehicles, the relaxed rules would call for more hybrids and higher fuel-efficiency standards, which would satisfy air-quality goals and save automakers $1.3 billion. The program originally called for ten percent of autos on California roads be emission-free by 2003. Tesla Motors is, of course, against the rules revision — but even former Secretary of State and San Francisco éminence grise George P. Shultz is in the awkward position of lobbying Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to intervene in favor of more stringent government regulation (PDF). What is the world coming to? Oh, right. (Photo by John M. Heller)
the sum of all human knowledge
While Wikipedia burns, Jimmy Wales and women in bikinis save "world on fire"
We were right: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales really did skip off to Richard Branson's Caribbean getaway in early March, even as a scandal unfolded over his governance of the world's most comprehensive list of gay animals. The powwow on Necker Island, which included Google's Larry Page, Tesla Motors chairman Elon Musk, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and VC Vinod Khosla, discussed global warming. Branson asked: "Is the world on fire?" More »
politics
Gavin Newsom soon to be driving Tesla Roadster
The Tesla Roadster, an electric geek dream-machine of a car, is finally entering production. One of the first in line: San Francisco's own Gavin Newsom. The City's hunky god-mayor will soon be mussing his signature coiffure in one of the convertibles. It'll be just the thing to drive down 101 to scare up contributions for the gubernatorial campaign he's thinking about (read: has been planning for the last five years). The young mayor in the sexy electric car is the very picture of political virility, and he just screams "green" — in the good pro-corporate Democrat way, not the bad Green Party vice presidential candidate Matt Gonzalez way. (Photo courtesy of Earth2Tech/Katie Fehrenbacher)Update: After the jump, Earth2Tech gets up-close and personal with the hair. More »
ipo
Tesla Motors wants another $250 million
Tesla Motors, which finally shipped its first electric car earlier this month, hopes to raise $250 million in equity and debt to fund its mass production push, over the next two years. Chairman Elon Musk wants to conduct an IPO in New York or London, raise money privately and apply for a loan guarantee from the Department of Energy to build a U.S. production plant for Tesla's forthcoming electric sports sedan. Tesla has raised $145 million in venture capital, including a $40 million round that closed last week. Elon, don't spend it all in one place.
great moments in pr
Tesla ships first electric car -- 1 down, 99 to go
Tesla Motors delivered its first production all-electric car on Friday afternoon to company chairman Elon Musk (not pictured, but you know he's pumping his fists like that this very second.) In true Tesla form, the car arrived too late for a planned press event, screwing up the company's New York Times coverage. Helpful hint, guys: Next time schedule these things for Tuesday morning instead of Friday afternoons. You'll get much more media play that way, without relying on wannabe Car & Driver writers like me to carry the flag.
tesla motors
Tesla Motors crashes onto the market
The Tesla Roadster is now street legal! The electric car, developed here in Silicon Valley, has passed the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and dozens of other federally mandated tests for mass production automobiles. Included in the testing? Front, side and rear crash tests; tests to ensure adequate windshield defrosting and rear-view mirror visibility; Department of Transportation-compatible head- and taillights; and working seat-belts and airbags. Oh yeah, and they had to get approval from the EPA too. If you're on the list to buy one of these things, you're one step closer to giving those emissions-producing 911 drivers the finger as you zip up
layoffs
"Stealth bloodbath" cuts 10 percent at Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors founder Martin Eberhard, who was ousted from the company a month ago, lists the names and titles of 26 Tesla employees he claims have been fired following the installation of new management. The turnover came after the company missed its deadline to ship its first batch of 100 electric sports cars. Tesla's new management has attributed the delay to problems with the car's unique transmission. Asks Eberhard, "Is this really the right time for Tesla to be tightening its belt? Get the transmission working and ship the cars. No show stoppers here!" Tesla's VP of marketing, Darryl Siry, is a regular commenter at Jalopnik and Valleywag. Darryl, any comment? VentureBeat has more reporting.
modern and awkward
