A major contributor to electric-car sales is the program under which buyers of new electric cars qualify for a federal income-tax credit of up to $7,500. But these tax credits are not unlimited. Once a manufacturer reaches sales of 200,000 plug-in electric cars (after December 31, 2009), the credits start to phase out for that company's cars... Will GM or Tesla buyers lose electric-car tax credits first? (updated)
A major contributor to electric-car sales is the program under which buyers of new electric cars qualify for a federal income-tax credit of up to $7,500. But these tax credits are not unlimited. Once a manufacturer reaches sales of 200,000 plug-in electric cars (after December 31, 2009), the credits start to phase out for that company's cars... 
Five years ago, the only true battery-electric cars on the market were the Tesla Model S and the Nissan Leaf, while the Chevrolet Volt offered a plug-in hybrid solution. A lot has changed since then, and choices for those interested in an electric car have become more abundant. Specifically, the Tesla Model 3 and the Chevrolet Bolt EV have... 
Ten days ago, when the first 30 Tesla Model 3 electric cars were delivered to their owners at a much-publicized Handover Party, we didn't get full information on the latest Tesla model. The company didn't discuss battery capacity in kilowatt-hours, for instance, giving range in miles instead, nor did it release specs for motor output, EPA ratings... 
It's fair to say that Tesla CEO Elon Musk probably raises more eyebrows more often than all other automaker CEOs combined. One case in point came in early May, when he mentioned during a financial-results call that the upcoming Tesla Model Y compact crossover utility would be based on a new platform. Three months later, the CEO has walked that... 
Sometimes, if you ask a question often enough for long enough, an answer will eventually be forthcoming. In the case of the net number of $1,000 reservations for the Tesla Model 3 electric car, it took 16 months for the company to cough up the latest data. It came, not surprisingly, from CEO Elon Musk, speaking on a conference call for financial... 
One year ago today, a communications staffer (since departed) wrote that Tesla had received 373,000 reservations for its future Model 3—a number first issued in April 2016. In a splashy event for owners, fans, and media, a few dozen early-production Model 3 electric cars were delivered last Friday. During the year leading up to that event... 
The few dozen 2017 Tesla Model 3 owners who've already taken delivery of their electric cars will find a few surprises inside if they look closely enough. The Silicon Valley automaker handed over the first examples of its new Model 3 to customers, one of whom happens to be Steve Jurvetson. Jurvetson is well known among the Tesla community not only... 
The first, earliest production versions of the Tesla Model 3 electric car were delivered to their owners in a splashy "Handover Party" late last week. A few journalists got short drives at the event, but only one outlet was granted a Model 3 before the party to enable a more comprehensive review. That means lots of "Tesla Model 3 review" articles... 
It now appears that the 2017 Tesla Model 3 has entered pilot production, following a pair of photos tweeted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The caption on the first of the two photos, this one black-and-white, says simply, "First production Model 3." The second photo, tweeted 40 minutes later, is in full color but bears no caption. DON'T MISS: Tesla Model... 
As he had promised he would late one evening last week, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has tweeted out some updates on the upcoming Model 3. He expects first production Model 3 electric car, with serial number 001 ("SN1"), to be completed this Friday, July 7. The first 30 customers to buy Model 3s should receive them, he followed up, at a "handover... ![2019 BMW 3-Series, portion of spy shot from Motor Authority [Image via S. Balfauf/SB-Medien]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/2019-bmw-3-series-portion-of-spy-shot-from-motor-authority-image-via-s-balfauf-sb-medien_100612272_t.gif)
In August 2016, when the first U.S. ads for the BMW 330e plug-in hybrid sport sedan hit the airwaves, they carried an interesting promise. "You will wait, and wait, and wait some more," the voiceover intoned, "all before that electric-car company's new model ever even arrives." That would be the Tesla Model 3, of course, the 200-plus-mile sedan... 
With photos of Tesla Model 3 test cars now popping up regularly, it seems likely that some number of Tesla's lower-priced all-electric sedan will roll off the production lines within the next few months. The big question is when the company will start delivering them beyond the board members, investors, friends, and passionate owners who will get... 
Electric-car maker Tesla doesn't announce models in the usual fashion. It trickles out bits and pieces of information, often in the form of tweets from CEO Elon Musk, punctuated by occasional large flashy debut events for owners and investors at which a vehicle is revealed. That's the pattern followed by the upcoming Tesla Model 3, which the... 
The costs and prices of electric cars are endlessly debated, not only among owners and advocates but within the industry itself. The cost per kilowatt-hour of electric-car batteries is closely held, with a few notable exceptions. One of those was the statement by GM product chief Mark Reuss that the company pays $145 per kilowatt-hour for the... 
Tesla is taking a major gamble regarding the production of its upcoming Model 3 sedan in skipping prototype tooling and jumping straight to permanent production tooling, says a noted auto-manufacturing expert. "He's pushing the envelope to see how much time and cost he can take out of the process," Ron Harbour, a manufacturing consultant at Oliver... 
The emergence of spy photos, and more recently video, has always been one of the standard indicators of a car nearing production. With production still said to start this July, pre-production versions of the Tesla Model 3 electric car should have been popping up in spy photos by now. Two weeks ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted brief footage of what... 
Never let it be said that Tesla CEO Elon Musk isn't a man of strong opinions. His tweets are the stuff of legend, his dismissals of hydrogen fuel-cell cars as "fool cells" have been consistent for many years, and if you get his attention, he will definitely tell you what he thinks. Perhaps U.K. software developer Nick G hadn't really expected to...