Tesla Gives Up Patents to Spur Innovation
Elon Musk does not want patents to halt growth of an important environmental technology.
BMW and Tesla executives meet to discuss electric cars
Executives from German carmaker BMW and U.S.-based Tesla Motors Inc met this week in a move which could lead to the creation of charging stations usable for different types of electric cars. Both carmakers are seeking ways to raise the popularity of battery-powered vehicles.
"Both companies are strongly committed to the success of electro-mobility and discussed how to further strengthen the development of electro-mobility on an international level," a BMW spokesman said in a statement on Friday.
BMW said the meeting had taken place on Wednesday but declined to comment in detail about the nature of the talks, or about which BMW executives had met with Tesla.
In a conference call on Thursday, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said there had been talks with BMW about how to promote the use of electric vehicles and how to make better use of Tesla's network of charging stations.
Carmakers including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche have committed to adopting a common SAE combo standard for fast-charging connectors.
Fast-charging stations allow electric vehicle owners to recharge batteries up to 80 percent in less than 20 minutes.
Today, the Chevrolet Spark and the BMW i3 for example can use the same battery recharging stations.
Tesla has, however, developed its own network of high-speed charging stations including along key autobahn routes in Germany in an effort to make electric cars viable for long-distance commuting.
Tesla's charger system can be fitted with an adapter that allows its cars, including the Tesla Model S, to be recharged on both the SAE chargers and its own system.
SHARING PATENTS
Tesla also said on Thursday that it would allow others to make use of its intellectual property in the hope of speeding up development of electric cars by all manufacturers.
Musk said this included all of Tesla's patents, including several hundred current ones and several thousand in the future.
German premium auto makers have been keen to collaborate with Tesla.
In January, Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said the German maker of Mercedes-Benz cars was open to deepening its partnership with the U.S. firm.
Daimler holds a 4.3 percent stake in Tesla, which is already supplying it with electric motors and batteries for its Smart Fortwo electric vehicle (EV) and the new Mercedes-Benz B-Class EV.
Aero Comparo! Tesla Model S vs Volt, Prius, Leaf, Mercedes [VIDEO]
Car and Driver gathered five slippery cars to study their drag and lift properties at a wind tunnel to determine which brand did the best job optimizing its car’s aero performance.
The overall winner was the Tesla Model S by virtue of its larger 25.2-square-foot face and lower 0.24 drag coefficient, which yield the same 6.2-square-foot drag area as the Prius. Low drag is a tougher challenge with a larger frontal area, hence the Tesla’s overall win.
Source: Car & Driver
Close-up look at Tesla’s new Titanium Model S battery shields [VIDEO]
Consumer Reports had their Tesla Model S updated with new Titanium under-body shields that add protection for the battery pack after several road debris-caused fires.
Tesla announce Model S pricing for Australia
Tesla Motors has has rolled out Australian pricing for its Model S which starts at $96,208 plus on-road costs for the Model S 60 and tops out at $133,257 for the high-performance P85.
The base model can be had for about $107,000 driveaway in Melbourne or Sydney, while the range-topper is about $140,000.
This reflects the growing affordability of electric cars, as this pricing is about half that of the Tesla Roadster which pioneered the brand Down Under in 2011 at $222,995 driveaway for the base model and $260,535 for the Sport.
Australian orders for the American-made plug-in Model S are now being taken on Tesla’s website, two years after the model went on sale in the United States.
Tesla, which expects to sell 35,000 of the five-door liftback Model S sedans globally this year, is planning to re-establish a retail showroom in Sydney, along with sales representation in Melbourne and a dedicated service facility.
Expected to land in Australia by August, the three-model range will offer three levels of performance, depending on battery size and electronic tweaks.
The base Model S 60 boasts 225kW of power from its 60kWh lithium-ion battery pack, driving the large sedan from zero to 100km/h in 6.2 seconds – about the same as a V6 Holden Commodore – and to a top speed of 190km/h. Official driving range on a full battery charge is said to be 390km.
Stepping up to the mid-range $111,807 Model S 85 adds more battery oomph (85kWh) for more power (270kW), faster acceleration (5.6 sec to 100km/h) and greater range (502km).
The $119,900 flagship P85 – P stands for performance – has the same 85kWh battery and 502km range as the 85 but adds an enhanced electric drivetrain for faster acceleration.
Tesla says the P85 can cover the 0-100km/h sprint in 4.4 seconds – a split second faster than the 4.4-litre V8 BMW M5. And it is about $100,000 cheaper, too, at least in base format that is well short of the M5’s feature level.
If the Tesla buyer ticks all the boxes for optional extras, including a performance suspension and 21-inch wheels package, ‘tech’ package (a bundle of electricals that includes sat-nav, keyless entry, memory seats and power tailgate, among others), and other extras, the price can top $170,00, plus on-roads.
In standard form, the Model S is available in one exterior colour – flat black – with 19-inch alloy wheels, cloth seats and piano black interior trim.
Metallic paint in a variety of colours costs between $900 and $1800, while leather is also $1800. A glass panoramic roof is a $3100.
The standard on-board charger comes with a 40-amp single-phase wall connector. For an extra $1800, a buyer can have twin chargers fitted to reduce charging time.
As well, Tesla promises to establish a network of “Tesla Superchargers” that it claims can replenish the batteries by more than half in a little as 20 minutes. The facility will be free to Model S 85 and P85 owners, but requires a $2700 tweak for 60 buyers.
Because “green” cars get luxury car tax breaks in Australia, but the flagship P85 still attracts $13,357 in tax.
The Tesla website provides driveaway pricing that varies by state and territory, with the Australian Capital Territory the cheapest and Western Australia the dearest. For example, the driveaway price for the base Model S 60 in the ACT is $103,095, while in WA it is $109,363.
Tesla Model S pricing:*
Model S 60 $96,208
Model S 85 $111,807
Model S P85 $133,257
Panasonic Says Tesla Investment Won’t Be a Risky Gamble
Panasonic executives sought to allay investor concerns about the firm taking part in Tesla Motors $5 billion battery plant, saying any investment decision will be made one step at a time.
Earlier this month, the Japanese tech giant said it signed a letter of intent to participate in the construction of what the Silicon Valley electric-car maker calls "gigafactory" for assembling vehicle batteries in the U.S. But Panasonic hasn't disclosed how much it plans to invest in the plant.
With Panasonic already expanding production of batteries at factories based in Japan, one key concern is whether it will face overcapacity if it invests in the U.S. plant.
Panasonic aims to double its sales from the automotive business to $20 billion by 2019. A third of these sales would come from car batteries and other parts for fuel-efficient vehicles.
In addition to Tesla, the company has also received interest from other auto makers both in and outside of Japan, while its batteries can also be used for power-storage systems, they said.
Source: WSJ
Tesla Motors in under 2 minutes [VIDEO]
Created for the 2014 World Energy Innovation Forum, this short video showcases all things Tesla in just under two minutes.
Tasty Tech Eye Candy Of The Week (May 18)
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Tesla Sees Need for Hundreds of Battery ‘Gigafactories’
Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk said the need for lower-cost batteries for autos and power storage means there will need to be hundreds of “gigafactories” like the one the carmaker is planning to build.
The electric-car company based in Palo Alto, California, anticipates the battery factory will reduce the cost of lithium-ion cells by more than its initial guidance of 30 percent, Musk said. He spoke yesterday at the World Energy Innovation Forum, an annual conference hosted by Tesla board member Ira Ehrenpreis.
“I think we can probably do better than 30 percent,” Musk, 42, said yesterday at the company’s Fremont, California, plant. As carmakers increase demand for batteries “there’s going to need to be lots of gigafactories. Just to supply auto demand you need 200 gigafactories,” he said.
Tesla is getting close to deciding where it will build the first such proposed facility, which Musk has said will cost as much as $5 billion and involve partner companies such as Panasonic. Last week he said groundbreaking at one of at least two potential sites could happen as early as June.
Along with supplying cheaper batteries for Tesla’s electric cars, the plant is to supply stationary power storage devices to SolarCity Corp., another Musk-affiliated company. Those power storage devices will also be needed by other solar power providers and to store wind power, he said, without identifying specific companies.
Tesla’s Falcon Doors Devilishly Hard to Seal
Seals are one of the primeval engineering gremlins in car making.
Rent a Tesla for an Hour, For a Day
Rental company Club Sportiva offers a one-day Tesla Model S P85 rental for $899, but there are plenty of other options.
Tesla Will Make Cars in China in Next 3-4 Years
Tesla Motors Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, who’s preparing to begin deliveries of the Model S electric vehicle in China, forecast the company will be making cars in the country in the next three to four years.
The company is also building a “big” network of battery-charging stations in China, including superchargers in Beijing and Shanghai, the billionaire CEO said at a packed Geekpark Conference in the nation’s capital yesterday. Musk is scheduled to host an event tomorrow to mark the beginning of Model S deliveries in the country.
“At some point in the next three or four years we’ll be establishing local manufacturing in China,” Musk said. “China is very important to the future of Tesla. We’re going to make a big investment in China in terms of charging infrastructure.”
Local production in the world’s biggest auto market would allow Tesla to sell cars at cheaper prices by avoiding China’s 25 percent import tariff. While entering the country presents an opportunity for Tesla to sell as many vehicles there as in the U.S. by as soon as next year, Musk, 42, will attempt to accomplish what the Chinese government has struggled to do: get people to buy electric cars.
“I think they can sell quite a few here in the market,” said Finbarr O’Neill, president of J.D. Power & Associates. “There’s a lot of talk about Tesla but, you know, their numbers are not huge. Mr. Musk has been successful in many fields. I wish him luck, but there’s a limit to every market.”
Source: Bloomberg
Tesla Model S sets yet another sales record in Norway
During the last week in March, 597 Tesla Model S were registered in Norway, giving it a market share of 12.9 percent. Number two on the list was the Volkswagen Golf with 169 vehicles.
For the entire month of March there were 1493 Model S registered which is an all time high for any car model in Norway in a single month, beating a previous record 1454 Ford Sierra in May 1986.
So far this year 2056 Tesla Model S were registered, surpassing the 1983 sold all of last year.
To put this figure into perspective, the Model S has out sold Ford's entire model range (1825) so far this year.
Tesla has a market share of 5.6 percent in 2014 and 10.8 percent in March. The U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer is the nation's sixth most registered mark in 2014!
Tesla Model S P85 v Tesla Model S P85 – Quietest Drag Race Ever? [VIDEO]
A 1/4 mile drag race video of 2x Tesla Models S P85's going head to head. This may be the quietest drag race you'll ever hear.
Panasonic may invest $1 billion in Tesla’s U.S. battery plant
Panasonic Corp is inviting a number of Japanese materials suppliers to join it in investing in a U.S. car battery plant that it plans to build with Tesla Motors, with investment expected to reach more than 100 billion yen, the Nikkei reported.
Tesla shares also hit an all-time high on Tuesday after one brokerage firm set a new target price that suggested shares would rise almost 50 percent from Monday's closing price.
The plant, expected to go on-stream in 2017, will bolster Panasonic's supply of lithium-ion batteries to the U.S. electric-car maker.
Last week, Tesla shed some light on its plans for building a lithium-ion battery plant, or "giga factory," that will cut battery costs and allow the company to launch a more affordable electric car in 2017. However, it said at the time that further details would be announced this week.
Tesla declined to comment on Tuesday. Panasonic, the carmaker's primary supplier of lithium-ion batteries, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The U.S. plant, which will handle everything from processing raw materials to assembly, will produce small, lightweight batteries for Tesla and may also supply Toyota Motor Corp and other automakers, the Nikkei said.
In Tesla's earnings conference call last week, Chief Executive Elon Musk said the electric car maker expects to build the factory with more than one partner, but a "default assumption" was that Panasonic, as a current battery cell partner, "would continue to partner with us in the giga factory."
"The factory is really there to support the volume of the third generation car," Musk said on the call. "We want to have the vehicle engineering and tooling come to fruition the same time as the giga factory. It is already part of one strategy, one combined effort."
Tesla posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and said deliveries of its luxury Model S electric sedan would surge more than 55 percent this year to more than 35,000 vehicles.
Shares in the Palo Alto, California-based company, which was founded in 2003, surged as much as 19 percent on Tuesday, hitting a new all-time high intraday trading price of $259.20 a share after Morgan Stanley raised its target price for the stock to $320 a share from $153.
Tesla shares were still up $30.50, or 14 percent, at $248.15 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in his research note that the potential for lower battery costs through higher sales volume could nearly double Tesla's share of the global car market to 0.9 percent by 2028. Tesla remains the firm's top pick in the U.S. auto sector with an "overweight" rating.
"Tesla is an extremely ambitious company for whom flooding the market with fun-to-drive EVs and giving competitors a headache might not be the endgame," he said.
Stifel analyst James Albertine said the giga factory could be far more than an auto opportunity, as Tesla could have an even more significant opportunity to supply the energy storage market. He expects the factory would take two to three years to build and require a $5 billion to $6 billion capital infusion.
"While we remain negative on Tesla shares above $200 as an automotive OEM (original equipment manufacturer), the energy storage opportunity requires a broader perspective and could very well justify current, if not higher valuation levels," he said in a research note.
Consumer Reports: Tesla Model S as “Best Overall” Automobile [VIDEO]
Electric luxury car Tesla Model S was named by Consumer Reports magazine on Tuesday as its overall top pick for 2014, while Japanese models took just five of the top 10 spots, their worst showing in the 18-year history of the annual rankings.
The battery-powered Tesla Model S was chosen best overall for its "exceptional performance and its many impressive technological innovations," Consumer Reports said, noting it was "pricey" at $89,650.
Tesla Motors said it expects to deliver about 35,000 of the model this year. By comparison, the best-selling car in the United States last year, the Toyota Camry, sold about 408,000 in 2013.
Consumer Reports hasn't named a best overall since a Lexus model took the top honors in 2010.
Tesla Reveals Plans for a New ‘Giga Factory’
In a recent shareholder letter, CEO Elon Musk described a factory that would build battery packs for a future mass-market electric car.
Tesla, Apple Merger Deal ‘Unlikely’ Says Elon Musk [VIDEO]
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that his company has met with Apple but added that it is "very unlikely" that Tesla would be bought by the company.
“We had conversations with Apple,” Musk said in an interview with BloombergTelevision. “I can’t comment on whether those revolved around any kind of acquisition.”
When asked if the electric automaker is for sale, Musk answered, “I think that’s very unlikely because we need to stay super focused on achieving a compelling – creating a compelling mass market electric car. And I’d be very concerned in any kind of acquisition scenario, whoever it is, that’d be become distracted from that task which has always been the driving goal of Tesla.”
Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Tesla met with Apple’s top deal maker Adrian Pernica leading to speculations of a possible Apple acquisition of the electric car company that has been going from strength to strength. The report also caused Tesla shares to soar as much as 11 percent to an all-time high of $215.21 on Thursday. The shares closed at $209.97, up 8.4 percent.
Kickstarter: An Unpretentious Guide to Electric Vehicles [VIDEO]
Here's a unique way to promote Electric Vehicles!
Los Angeles based Ayumi Kim works for a certain well-know California based electric vehicle manufacturer and initially got the idea to start this project as a way of sharing some of the left-field questions about electric vehicles she gets asked on a daily basis.
Ayumi, along with illustrator friend Sarah, have written a humorous FAQ that answers such real-world concerns as ""Can you plug a chainsaw into the cigarette lighter?" or "What happens if I hit a wombat with this car?"
Most of the booklet IS kid friendly, it being a coloring book and all, but there may be one or two questions that are PG.
The girls are looking to raise the modest sum of $3,500 to cover printing costs so if you're looking for a way to promote the cause and help them publish "educational materials to promote sustainability and green thinking" a pledge of US$15 will secure a copy.
Source: Kickstarter
Tesla Q4 earnings $46 Million with 6,892 Model S vehicles sold
Tesla today announced that is has earned $46 million in the 2013 4th quarter, and sold 6,892 vehicles. In total, Tesla has sold 22,477 vehicles and has in roughly 2.5 billion in non-GAAP sales. $TSLA stock quickly jumped to a record high of $217 with the announcement that a new assembly line will be arriving. The company plans to have the new assembly line pump out 1,000 vehicles per week by 3rd quarter.
Tesla sales in China have really taken off, and CEO Elon Musk mentioned the company is having trouble meeting demand, with orders being pushed to spring.
Meanwhile, the CEO says demand for Model X reserverations is still high.
Source: Tesla Motors
