Category: Tesla

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Tesla Superchargers Enables Free Travel Between San Diego and Vancouver

Tesla Motors today announced the opening of the West Coast Supercharger Corridor, energizing a network of stations that enable Model S owners to travel for free between San Diego, California and Vancouver, British Columbia.

With stations along U.S. Highway 101 and Interstate 5, the West Coast's key routes, cities and destinations are connected by Tesla Superchargers. Model S customers can drive between San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver for free with minimal stops. More than 99 percent of Californians and 87 percent of Oregon and Washington owners are now within 200 miles of a Supercharger.

Tesla Superchargers are substantially more powerful than any other charging technology in the world, capable of charging Model S 20x faster than most public charging stations. Superchargers deliver up to 120 kW DC (Direct Current) power directly to the Model S battery, providing half a charge in as little as 20 minutes. Superchargers are strategically placed along major highways connecting city centers. Stations are located where customers want to stop, near amenities like roadside diners, cafes and shopping centers, so owners can stop for a quick meal while their Model S charges for free.

This morning in San Diego, two Model S will embark on a 1,750 mile #DriveFree road trip to Vancouver powered only by Tesla Superchargers. The journey will take them through Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Sacramento, Mt. Shasta, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, with stops at popular destinations such as the Santa Monica Pier, Monterey Bay and the world famous Pike Place Fish Market. Throughout the trip, Tesla will be hosting owner and media events and providing real time updates from the road on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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Panasonic Agree to Supply Tesla with 2 Billion Battery Cells

Panasonic Corporation and Tesla Motors today announced that the two companies have reached an agreement in which Panasonic will expand its supply of automotive-grade lithium-ion battery cells to Tesla. With this agreement, the two companies update and expand their 2011 arrangement to now supply nearly 2 billion cells over the course of four years. The lithium-ion battery cells purchased from Panasonic will be used to power the award winning Model S as well as Model X, a performance utility vehicle that is scheduled to go into production by the end of 2014.

This agreement builds upon a multi-year collaboration between Panasonic and Tesla to develop next-generation automotive-grade battery cells and accelerate the market expansion of electric vehicles. Panasonic’s cells combined with Tesla’s proven EV battery expertise have already enabled more than 130 million customer miles driven in Tesla Roadsters and Model S.

“This expanded agreement with Panasonic is important to Tesla as we continue to increase the pace of production,” said Tesla Co-Founder and CEO Elon Musk. “We look forward to strengthening our relationship with Panasonic, and I’m confident that this partnership will continue to be an integral part of Tesla’s success for years to come.”

Together, Panasonic and Tesla have developed a next-generation battery cell technology that provides the highest energy density and best performance cells in the market. Panasonic’s cylindrical cell is a customized technology designed specifically for optimizing electric vehicle quality and life. These cells are integrated by Tesla into the battery pack in a way that enables an industry-leading range of approximately 265 miles for the Model S.

“We are extremely proud to be a strategic partner of Tesla,” said Yoshihiko Yamada, president of the Automotive & Industrial Systems Company, an internal company of Panasonic. “Panasonic will increase its production capacity of lithium-ion battery cells to supply Tesla’s growing needs as it expands its production of EVs.”

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Tesla eyes 10,000 annual sales of Model S in Germany

Tesla Motors is aiming to sell around 10,000 cars a year in Germany by 2015 as it builds out its networks of charging stations, its chief executive told a German paper.

"I have confidence in the German consumer," Tesla Chief executive Elon Musk was quoted as saying in an interview with Welt am Sonntag.

"Our fast charging stations should cover around half of Germany by the end of March 2014 and the entire country by the end of 2014," he said, adding he expected there to be 25 Tesla dealerships in Germany by the end of next year.

Tesla's high performance, all-electric Model S went on sale in Europe in August, and even overtook Volkswagen's Golf as the bestselling car in Norway in September.

Even vehicle sales of 10,000 would be only a small fraction of the German car market. Main industry association VDA expects sales to reach between 2.9-3.0 million cars this year from 3.08 million in 2012, and keep hovering at around 3 million vehicles in coming years.

Germany was the biggest market outside the U.S. for Tesla Roadster sales. The Model S costs from 71,400 euros ($98,500) in Germany, according to the group's website.

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Tesla hires Segway / Apple VP to lead vehicle development

Tesla Motors hired a former Apple executive to lead development of the electric carmaker's new vehicles.

At Apple, Doug Field oversaw the development of products including the latest MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and iMac, Tesla said in a press release announcing the hiring on Thursday.

Field, who began his career as a Ford Motor Co (F.N) engineer, was previously chief technology officer at Segway, the maker of the self-balancing, battery-operated Segway scooter. His title at Tesla will be vice president of vehicle programs.

The Model S, Tesla's first attempt to reach a mainstream audience for electric cars, has enjoyed stronger than expected sales, helping Tesla shares more than quintuple this year.

But for Tesla to reach an even broader market and silence electric car naysayers, Chief Executive Elon Musk must successfully develop a third-generation electric car by 2017 that will cost between $30,000 and $35,000.

"Tesla's future depends on engineers who can create the most innovative, technologically advanced vehicles in the world," Musk said in a statement. "Doug's experience in both consumer electronics and traditional automotive makes him an important addition to our leadership team."

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Bloomberg says BMW, Audi to Blitz Tesla With High-End Competition [VIDEO]

Bloomberg reporter Matt Miller tries to make a case that BMW and Audi are going to squeeze out Tesla at the top-end of the market, but the analysis is fairly poor.

Miller's argument starts by comparing BMW's two seater plug-in hybrid i8 sports car to Tesla's seven seater 100% battery electric Model S 4 door sedan? These cars aren't even in the same market segment!

We're not even sure how Audi enters the competitive analysis as Audi admitted defeat and canned the R8 e-tron saying they couldn't figure out how to make a high performance battery only car economically viable and they have not announced any plans for a high performance battery only sedan to go up against the Model S.

This is the kind of trash reporting that listed companies must endure, commentators constantly trying to talk the stock price up or down. At least it's good to see a 'real' analyst like Dougherty & Co.'s Andrea James who actually knows what's she's talking about get some air time.

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Tesla Model S Sold Out Till Next Year [VIDEO]

Tesla’s backlog of orders for the Model S continue well into March of next year despite a 25% increase in production rates over the second quarter. It is always great to be wanted, but how long will Tesla Model S demand outpace production?

Elon Musk told ABC News that the Tesla Model S “I am not worried about demand for the Model S as we are currently sold out through March of next year, so we don’t have a demand generation problem”.

Contributing to the strong demand for the Model S is that earlier this year Tesla introduced a new lease program and started deliveries of the Model S in Europe. In Norway Tesla is already breaking sales records and as of September is currently the best selling car there. Tesla EVs accounted for about one in 20 of all new cars sold easily outselling hybrids.

Also of note in addition to Norway, Switzerland and Netherlands are also very EV friendly. Those countries in particular are not only very green but also offer additional EV incentives: free EV parking, HOV or bus lane access to EVs and reduced VAT and/or no road tax for EVs. In addition to Europe Tesla plans to open it’s first Tesla Store in China by the end of the year.

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Tesla Model S proves to be ‘safest car ever made’

Tesla Forum member 'jdovi' from Long Island, New York recently posted photos of an accident he was involved in while driving a Tesla Model S.

The Model S was hit side on at an intersection by a driver who was talking on her cell phone and ran a red light. While the other driver left the scene of the accident in an ambulance, the Tesla Model S owner not only walked away without a scratch, the car which was extensively damaged on the drivers side front wheel by the impact, didn't so much as smoke or release any fluids onto the roadway.

This 'real world' evidence only backs up the NHTSA Five Start crash test results for Frontal, Side and Side Pole impacts awarded to the Model S in August.

'jdovi' feelings about the Tesla Model S:

This is the safest car on the road hands down, and for me, I can honestly say it saved my life. Thank you Elon.

Source: Tesla Forum

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Electric car tops registrations in Norway for first time

An electric car model has topped the list of new car registrations in Norway for the first time, a car industry group said Thursday.

In the month of September there were 616 registrations of the Tesla Model S, accounting for 5.1 percent of the total, according to Opplysningsraadet for Veitrafikken(OFV) which compiles data on Norwegian car sales.

Overall, electric cars took 8.6 percent of the market in September, compared to 5.2 percent a year ago. The figures illustrate strong interest in electric cars in a country ranked among the world's top ten petrol exporters.

Norway has encouraged electric car sales with tax incentives, congestion charge exemptions, access to public transport lanes and free parking.

"I have no doubt that electric cars will increase their share of the market again in the coming months, and particularly next year with the arrival of several new models,"said Oeyvind Solberg Thorsen at OFV.

In September hybrid cars, which do not enjoy the same incentives as electric vehicles, took 7.3 percent of the market.

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GM creates a Tesla task force

We've already heard reports that General Motors is working on a new electric vehicle with a Tesla Model S-like range of 200 miles (322 km) but new details are starting to emerge about the company's Tesla task force.

In an interview with Reuters, General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky revealed the company has created a new task force to study Telsa and the Model S. The diverse group - which includes product planning, engineering, manufacturing and sales personal - will attempt to learn everything they can about Tesla so they can improve their own future products. As Girsky explained, Tesla is "revolutionizing the business model ... not just how you put an EV together [but] how you go to market with something like this."

While it's unclear what lessons General Motors will learn, the company is reportedly working on a handful of new hybrids and EVs. Besides the 200 mile (322 km) Chevrolet EV, which is expected to cost between $30,000 and $35,000, the company is reportedly developing fuel-efficient flagships which could be badged as Cadillacs and cost more than $100,000.

Source: Reuters

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Sumitomo to Triple LiNiO2 output to meet Tesla Model S Demand

Sumitomo Metal Mining will invest ¥4.8 billion (US$48 million) to boost its production capacity of lithium nickel oxide (LiNiO2) from the current 300 tons per month to 850 tons to meet anticipated increased Li-ion cell production by Panasonic to meet the growing demand for Tesla Model S EVs.

Sumitomo successfully developed its high-performance lithium nickel oxide for cathode materials in collaboration with Panasonic Corporation and is now supplying this material to that company, which uses it to make the cylindrical lithium-ion batteries which are adopted in the electric powertrains used by Tesla.

Tesla commenced deliveries of its award-winning Model S sedan in the US in June 2012. With Model S deliveries now underway in Europe and slated to begin in Asia, including Japan and Australia, in the spring of 2014, Panasonic is planning to increase production of its lithium-ion batteries.

To respond to this expansion of the market for automotive rechargeable batteries, Sumitomo will expand its production facilities for lithium nickel oxide at its Isoura Plant in Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture. Expansion work is to get under way in October, with completion scheduled for June 2014.

Sumitomo says it is pursuing aggressive development and stable supply capability in cathode materials, leveraging its ability to produce nickel in-house. Going forward, Sumitomo intends to further strengthen its operations in materials for energy and environmentally related applications.

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Tesla EVs offered by Hertz at Calif. airports

A handful of Tesla Motors Inc. electric cars are now available for rental at two California airports by Hertz Global Holdings Inc., which is adding more upscale autos to its fleet.

Hertz said it is introducing Tesla Model S and Roadster rechargeable cars at Los Angeles and San Francisco airports. Hertz has five Teslas combined at the two airports, with rental prices starting at about $500 a day, Paula Rivera, a Hertz spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

The Tesla models expand on a lineup of higher-priced vehicles that Hertz has added to its fleet under its Dream Cars program, which includes Ferrari and Lamborghini models.

In July, Hertz won final regulatory approval for its $2.3 billion acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. The merged companies compete with closely held Enterprise Holdings Inc. and Avis Budget Group Inc.

Enterprise has carried three Tesla Model S cars in its Exotic Car Collection fleet since June and plans to add two more by the end of the year, spokesman Greg Phillips said in an e-mail. The cars rent for about $300 to $500 per day, he said.

Hertz separately reduced its full-year forecast for full-year revenue and profit, citing weaker than anticipated car rentals at U.S. airports.

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Tesla Model S is Norway’s top-selling car in September

The newly landed Tesla Model S, after a market presence of less than two months, has already topped Norway’s best-sellers' list during the opening two week’s of this month, comfortably outselling all other cars, regardless of fuel type, accounting for 6.2 per cent of all the new cars sold in Norway.

Hot on the heels of recording 184 registrations in its debut month in Norway, registrations of the Model S in Norway hit a chart-topping 322 units to bulldoze Volkswagen’s conventionally powered Golf (256 units) out of first place by a substantial sales margin, according to AID compiled data.

The number eight slot went to Nissan’s LEAF, Norway’s most popular electric car so far this year. Both fully-fledged electric cars have captured a combined market share of 9.1 per cent.

1) Tesla Model S – 322
2) Volkswagen Golf – 256
3) Toyota Auris
4) Mazda CX-5
5) Volvo V40
6) Skoda Octavia
7) Toyota RAV4
8) Nissan LEAF

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Solar Cars improve the breed

A famous quote from Soichiro Honda, the legendary founder of Honda Motor Company, says “Racing improves the breed”. There's no doubt many Formula One teams have used the phrase to imply a legitimate link between innovations made in racing that eventually benefit us all as the technology from top-level motorsport filters down into road cars, although it would be hard to convince anyone of a practical use for an off-throttle blown diffuser in a hatch back.

Likewise solar racing cars have made significant contributions that have lead to today's current crop of mass produced Plug-In electric cars. It all started with the winning vehicle of the very first World Solar Challenge in 1987. GM's Sunrayer was designed by Hughes Aerospace, (the company originally founded by Howard Hughes) at the time a division of General Motors, in collaboration with a smaller aerospace company called AeroVironment.

More than a dozen Caltech graduates participated in Sunrayer programs at AeroVironment, the most deeply involved was Alan Cocconi who was responsible for the power electronics systems. This included everything from motor controller through battery management to telemetry.

The Cocconi designed MOSFET based three phase AC motor drive inverter ran a 92% efficient 10 hp (peak) motor that drove the left rear wheel of Sunraycer via a cogged belt.

Sunraycer won Pole with a top speed of 109 km/h and lead the 24 car field from start to finish covering the 3,005 km route at an average speed of 66.9 km/h (41.6 mph), 50% faster than 2nd place.

Following the World Solar Challenge success, in early 1988 GM insiders proposed the idea of making a very efficient EV with the knowledge gained from Sunraycer but to make it an affordable car with decent range and performance equal to a petrol powered car. Work soon begins at AeroVironment on the 'Impact' based around a 15 kWh Lead Acid battery pack, Al Cocconi again responsible for power electronics design.

The Impact EV concept car was launched at the LA Auto Show in Jan 1990 and the car so well received that by April GM announced the car would go into production. The Alan Cocconi designed motor controller for the Impact, a direct descendant of that used in Sunraycer, were refined by Hughes Electronics and went into the GM EV1 when production started in 1996.

Based on his work to date, in 1992 Alan Cocconi founded AC Propusion to produce electric vehicle drive systems featuring high performance, high efficiency induction motors and integrated high power battery charging. The original test bed was a not too glamorous Honda Civic but once the powertrain design was debugged, a Piontek Sportech kit car chassis, originally designed for a Suzuki GSX-R motor, was converted into an EV sports car called t-zero.

Launched in 1997, the 1040 kg t-zero, powered by 28x lead acid batteries, started to make headlines with it's 0 to 100 km/h in 4 seconds levels of performance. By 2003 the car had been upgraded with 6,800x 16850 Li-ion cells with a single charge range of 480 km, a 320 kg reduction in kerb weight and 0-60 times reduced to a supercar beating 3.2 seconds.

If some of these specs sound similar to the Tesla Roadster, that's because the Roadster was developed by Tesla Motors to mass-produce AC propulsions t-zero, the first EV to demonstrate the performance and range potential of lithium ion batteries and the car that can legitimately be credited with inspiring today's mass produced plug-In electrics from GM, Nissan, Mitsubishi etc. In fact Tesla Motors was founded to commercialise Alan Cocconi's work and the Tesla Model S uses technology licensed from AC Propulsion.

Today's solar racers are still blazing a trail years ahead of the automotive industry, witness BMWs i3 Electric car, the first all carbon fibre production car. In the area of powertrains, every WSC winner since 1999 has used direct drive in-wheel motors (road car in-wheel motors are currently being developed) and surely in won't be much longer before the 12.5% of Australian homes that have roof-top PV systems installed realise they already have the infrastructure in place to solar power a plug-in electric vehicle for their daily commute?

This year’s Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is held from 6th – 13th October. If you can’t make it to Darwin or Adelaide, you can follow the race on Twitter via @tsport100 or @WorldSolarChlg.

Disclosure: Post is sponsored by Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Words and thoughts are entirely my own.

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Tesla Model S takes on the Aston Martin Rapide S [VIDEO]

The Tesla Model S is a landmark car, but is it better than the mighty Aston Martin Rapid S? Autocar take to the test track to find out.

Steve Sutcliffe over at Autocar thinks the Tesla Model S is the future...today. It offers most of the usability of the world's best luxury saloons, but with no tailpipe emissions and a fraction of the running costs.

And it handles too. Really handles. But can it really be better than the £150,000 Aston Martin Rapide S?

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Dutch Drivers Achieve 625 km Single Charge Range with a Tesla Model S [VIDEO]

A standard Tesla Model S equipped with the 85 kWh battery pack has an official EPA rated range of 265 Miles (424 km) and 310 Miles (500 km) NEDC rating.

On Wednesday August 21st four students from the Technical University Eindhoven Sponsored by Athlon Car Lease achieved 388 miles (624 km) in real world driving conditions.

They're calling it a world record "real long distance driving" for the Tesla Models S because they drove with 2 people on normal roads with normal speeds.

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Tesla Motors Launch Supercharger Network in Norway [VIDEO]

First European Superchargers from Tesla Motors on Vimeo.

Tesla Motors today unveiled its European Supercharger network, energizing stations across Norway that enable Model S owners to conveniently travel for free between cities along well-traveled highways throughout the country.

With locations in Lyngdal, Aurland, Dombås, Gol, Cinderella and Lillehammer, Norway’s most vital and commonly used roads and highways are covered by Tesla Superchargers. Model S customers can drive routes such as the E6 from Trondheim to Oslo, the E18 from Oslo to Kristiansand, the E39 from Kristiansand to Stavanger, and Highway7 from Oslo to Gol for free and with minimal stops. Approximately 90 percent of the Norwegian population lives within 320 km of a Supercharger station, and about 60 percent of the country’s total land mass is within the same distance of a station.

Tesla Superchargers represent the most advanced charging technology in the world, capable of charging Model S 20x faster than most common charging stations. Superchargers provide half a charge in about 20 minutes, delivering up to 120 kW DC (Direct Current) power directly to the Model S battery using special cables that bypass the onboard charging equipment. And because Superchargers are located where customers want to stop, near amenities like roadside diners, cafes and shopping centers, road trippers can stop for a quick meal while their Model S charges for free.

The extensive coverage provided by Tesla’s Supercharger network allowed three Model S to depart for Oslo this morning from locations in the north, west and south of Norway and travel the following major routes with ease: Trondheim-Dombås-Lillehammer-Oslo; Bergen-Aurland-Gol-Oslo; and Stavanger-Lyngdal- Cinderella-Oslo. During their 500 km journeys, each car charged at two of the new Tesla Supercharger locations, where they were met by enthusiastic customers and local officials.

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Toyota adds discounts for Tesla-powered all-electric RAV4

Toyota Motor Corp. is discounting its all-electric RAV4 through low-cost lease and loan offers to boost demand for the slow-selling compact crossover that’s powered by a Tesla Motors Inc. battery pack and motor.

Toyota, the world’s biggest maker of hybrid autos, this month is promoting the option of a $299-a-month, three-year lease for the $49,800 light truck, or a 60-month, no-interest loan, said Carly Schaffner, a company spokeswoman. The offers run through Sept. 3 and are available only in the Los Angeles and San Francisco regions, the vehicle’s main markets.

Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Co. similarly have turned to discounted leases to buoy their rechargeable models. Toyota last year said it would sell 2,600 RAV4 EVs by the end of 2014. Through July, just 709 have been sold since sales began last September.

“The use of our incentives is tactical, reinforcing our value and focus on keeping our products competitive in the market,” Schaffner said. “We’re still evaluating the market demand for EVs.”

The battery-powered RAV4 arose in 2010 as a result of Toyota President Akio Toyoda’s desire to work with Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla. Along with the vehicle project, Toyota made a $50 million investment in Tesla. Tesla shares have surged about fivefold this year, boosting the value of Toyota’s 2.4 percent stake in the company to about $476 million.

Toyota, with the biggest market share in California, is under pressure to sell the most rechargeable vehicles in the state to meet strict emissions rules. Along with the electric RAV4 that goes about 100 miles per charge, Toyota sells a plug-in version of its Prius hybrid to meet state rules and will add a hydrogen-powered electric sedan in 2015.