Tesla Motors is planning an IPO soon according to a Reuter’s report. However at this point it’s still not clear when that will be although the company had previously stated it won’t happen in 2009. In fact, this rumor has been around for sometime, but in case you didn’t notice, the stock market wasn’t doing that well until recently.
Tesla has been ramping up development of its all-electric Model… → Read More
For the last 20 years I’ve been playing racing games here and there, and when they started becoming realistic (i.e. the cars weren’t square and the engine noises weren’t square waves), the enormity of the sound challenge never really struck me. Engine, road, and tire noise, plus accurate doppler effects, different crunches and thunks for impacts… the list goes on. As if that wasn’t enough, you… → Read More
This fun little DIY device is labeled as a “crystal radio circuit in a jam-jar.” But that description doesn’t even to begin to do it justice. According to Tesla, this electronic wonder allows you to hear the disembodied, ethereal voices, of the, well, ether, I guess. → Read More
Tesla has finalized an $82.5 million series F funding round, according to a spokeswoman for the company. Tesla raised $82.5 million in funding from Daimler, Fjord Capital Partners, Aabar and other undisclosed investors. We have been informed that Tesla CEO and PayPal founder Elon Musk was not an investor in this round. This adds to the $50 million Tesla received from Daimler in May, bringing the… → Read More
Remember that whole sour grapes law suit filed against Tesla Motors and Elon Musk by co-founder and former CEO Martin Eberhard? According to Eberhard’s lawyer, he has dropped the suit but doesn’t give any clarification as to why Eberhard dismissed the legal action, according to the San Jose Business Journal.
We reported earlier this summer that Eberhard filed a lawsuit against Tesla and Tesla CEO… → Read More
I can’t be the only one that thought Tesla was going to be a money pit. I foresaw greed, mismanagement, delays, so on and etc, but they seem to have delivered and are now on their way to full-fledged “successful business” status. A million dollars’ profit on 20 million in business is small potatoes in the car industry, of course, but the other guys in the game are all wallowing in debt, so… → Read More
Mercedes has an electric SLS AMG in development that will probably take the title away from Tesla as the must have plug-in sports car. The new SLS AMG recalls past iconic Mercs with a sweeping body and gullwing doors. Plus, the performance and power output is on par with a current generation SLS AMG 6.3-liter V8 but this puppy doesn’t make Al Gore cry.[PSGallery=8sef10dre4b] → Read More
Maybe the 0-60 mph in 3.9-second Tesla Roadster isn’t quick enough for some folks. Maybe some trust fund babies want to spend an extra $20k to improve that time to only 3.7-seconds. Well, Tesla unvealed the Roadster Sport today at the companies first NYC dealership just for them. This model will cost $128k. We already knew that this model was coming – along with the NYC dealership – but how about… → Read More
The U.S. Government created a requirement that by 2020, the majority of cars sold here must get at least 35 miles per gallon. This requires a big commitment on the part of auto makers and so the Energy Department was authorized last year to lend $25 billion dollars. The first round of financing is expected to be announced today with Ford, Nissan, and Tesla getting all getting a sizable chunk… → Read More
In an announcement today at Ford’s research center in Dearborn, Michigan, the U.S. Secretary of Energy will be giving details about the first loans to come out of the government’s $25 billion program to help auto manufacturers. Ford got a $5.9 billion loan, but Tesla Motors, Silicon Valley’s electric car manufacturer, is receiving $465 million from the program. The money will go towards… → Read More
We reported a few weeks ago that Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard filed a lawsuit against Tesla and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, citing allegations of slander, libel and breach of contract. Tesla issued a short statement when the lawsuit was filed, calling the lawsuit a “fictionalized account of Tesla’s early years.” Now Musk has taken to Tesla’s blog to give his own version of the messy situation. → Read More
Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard is suing CEO Elon Musk, citing allegations of slander, libel and breach of contract. Eberhard’s lawsuit, which is 22-pages long, was filed on May 26 in San Mateo County, Calif. Superior Court and seeks unspecified damages.
The suit surrounds Musk’s treatment of Eberhard as well as the CEO’s handling of Tesla, alleging that Musk “compromised Tesla Motors’… → Read More
Looking to take a Tesla electric car for a spin, are ya? Lucky you, as the company will be opening seven sales centers this summer — four in the US and three abroad. You’ll be able to take a test drive in New York, Seattle, Chicago, and Miami, along with London, Monaco, and Munich. → Read More
Daimler got that 10% stake in Tesla that was announced today for $50 million, says a source with knowledge of the deal. They’ve actually taken 9% (they announced “nearly 10 percent” and the post money valuation is $550 million. Our source also says that Tesla’s application for $350 million in federal loans has been informally approved and will also be announced shortly.
That’s not too shabby for… → Read More
Silicon Valley electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors got another shot in the arm today from German auto giant Daimler, which took a 10 percent stake in the company and expanded its partnership with Tesla to equip future Mercedes-Benz vehicles with electric lithium-ion batteries. Mercedes has been testing Tesla’s batteries in a fleet of 100 smart cars, and is already moving into limited… → Read More
Silicon Valley electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors got another shot in the arm today from German auto giant Daimler, which took a 10 percent stake in the company and expanded its partnership with Tesla to equip future Mercedes-Benz vehicles with electric lithium-ion batteries. Mercedes has been testing Tesla’s batteries in a fleet of 100 smart cars, and is already moving into limited… → Read More
Last week, Elon Musk had a candid conversation with VC George Zachary at the Charles River Ventures CEO Summit. One of the most interesting things Musk talked about was his desire to see electric airplanes in the future—and perhaps even one day help develop these green, energy efficient planes himself.
It makes sense—Musk has an interest in aeronautics (he founded Space Exploration… → Read More
This Tesla-related story is now bordering on the absurd. In November the New York Times trashed Tesla in a much criticized article by Randall Stross (now retitled and rewritten, trying to get a copy of the original). In “Only the Rich Can Afford It. Should Taxpayers Back It?” Stross attacks Tesla for requesting government loans along with the rest of the car industry, saying “Can you… → Read More
Undoubtedly Tesla isn’t going to be happy about this video getting attention, but I think it’s awesome to see CEO Elon Musk take a stand against the company’s many detractors. Last November New York Times writer Randall Stross trashed Tesla as a rich man’s car that the government should shun. “Only the Rich Can Afford It. Should Taxpayers Back It?” he wrote.
Later, the article was much edited… → Read More
Mike and I were the first journalists to ride in the new Tesla Model S sedan yesterday and we were captivated by the massive 17-inch touch screen (so was Gizmodo) featured in the center console of the car. Both Tesla CEO Elon Musk and chief designer Franz von Holzhausen didn’t say much about the on screen system, except that it does have touch capability, it is an “entertainment center” and that… → Read More
Michael and TechCrunch writer Leena Rao are currently at Tesla’s showroom in Menlo Park, CA for a special event showcasing Tesla’s new Model S sedan, which was unveiled last month. They’re streaming live using Qik. They took a brief test drive – the first, the company says, with any press.
Because the Model S is not currently street legal (something about no front air bags and no seatbelts in… → Read More
Tesla says that 520 S Model all electric sedans have been reserved by customers in first week since it was announced. Each customer must pay a $5,000 reservation fee, which is refundable if they choose not to buy the car. The base price for the Model S, which will be available starting in 2010, is $49,900 after a federal tax credit of $7,500. A limited editon of the Model S is available for a… → Read More
Innovative electric-car startup Tesla is unveiling the latest addition to its lineup this afternoon in Southern California. The sedan is meant to serve as a more affordable entry to the Tesla lineup that will appeal to the mainstream, with a ticket price of around $50,000 (as opposed to well over $100,000 for the Tesla Roadster). Current estimates for release of the car are late in… → Read More
Apparently Bill Clinton was mere moments away from picking up chicks experiencing the finest in green transportation all over Burbank, California in a Telsa Roadster. Jeremy Snyder, general manager of the Los Angeles Tesla Store, handed a set of keys to Mr. Clinton at the end of a President’s Day luncheon after the former president expressed interest in driving a Roadster. → Read More
Despite some early worries, bad press, and several crashed prototypes, it looks like Tesla isn’t going to go down in flames, zeppelin-like, a warning to those who would challenge big oil. No, actually it seems they may turn a profit by midyear, and they say they’re selling the $100K Roadster as fast as they can make them. → Read More
Bad news for treehugging gearheads this morning. Tesla had originally planned on opening a new facility in San Jose to build the Model S electric sports sedan, but the financing fell through. (Welcome to America, Tesla) So as it stands now, the company is going to redirect a $450 million government loan that was originally going to help build the facility into the general budget which will help… → Read More
<img src="http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/whitezombie2.jpg"?Everyone knows that the Tesla Roadster is a quick car and can beat most Porsche’s down the quarter mile. That $100k+ ride doesn’t have anything on this Datsun powered by lightweight lithium ion batteries dubbed White Zombie. This little guy can scoot down the strip in under 11.5 seconds at a speed of… → Read More
Tesla might be in bigger trouble than we first thought. The company has redone the options sheet for the upcoming year and took what was previously standard equipment, and slapped heft price tags on ‘em. For instance, the High Performance Charger which replenishes most of the battery in 3.5 hours now costs $3,000. Plus, the alloy wheels now add $3,200 to the invoice; is the standard hub caps? → Read More
In case you missed it, British auto show Top Gear took a Tesla Roadster for a drive and found it exciting but unreliable, as both cars appeared to fail on the track. Tesla alleges that the BBC either misrepresented or actually made up one or both of the problems in an effort to play on viewer expectations for an all-electric sports car. → Read More
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