tesla motors

Will Rolls Royce Buyers Go For An Electric Flying Lady?

When the Rolls Royce 102EX is unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next month, the fling lady hood ornament will have a decidedly different glow. In fact, it will be glowing.

That's because the 102EX is electric. Yes. Instead of gassing up, Rolls Royce owners may one day soon be plugging in.

To be sure, Rolls, owned and managed by German automaker BMW AG, is not ready to start selling high-voltage Rollers. It is a "one-off," fully electric powered Rolls Royce Phantom. The car will tour during 2011, serving as a test bed to gather a bank of research data that will inform future decisions on alternative drive-trains for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Tags: GenevaMotorShow, rolls royce 102ex, rolls royce electric, Rolls Royce Phantom, tesla motors, tesla roadster

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Nissan To Unveil ESFLOW EV Roadster at Geneva

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Japanese automaker Nissan has a bold plan for electric vehicles. It was the first major automaker to launch an all-electric car, the Leaf, with broad availability last year. At next month's Geneva auto show, Nissan will unveil the ESFLOW, a premium priced roadster concept car whose principal competitor would be the Tesla.

The ESFLOW has a look reminiscent of Nissan's iconic 370Z. The roadster makes use of the electric propulsion system found in the Nissan Leaf, but it has been re-engineered to deliver sportier performance.

Tags: Geneva Motor Show, Nissan esflow, nissan esflow concept, Tesla, tesla motors

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Tesla Electric SUV Coming

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Tesla Motors has started designing the Model X SUV, a sporty crossover model that will be no larger than your typical compact SUV, while offering the interior space of a full-size passenger van, reports Edmunds.com's GreenCarAdvisor.

The electric vehicle company is able to achieve the space, according to the report, because Tesla, unlike traditional automakers, isn't hampered by a large internal combustion engine and most of the most space absorbing systems that accompany it.

The vehicle could launch by 2014.

Tesla, which went public last year and is set to receive hundreds of millions in federal loans if it meets certain milestones, is known for its Tesla Roadster, which costs in excess of $100,000. Actors George Clooney and Brad Pitt ore among its customers.

The company, which counts German automaker Daimler and Toyota among its stake-holders, is supposed to start building a $40,000-$50,000 Model S (pictured) electric vehicle next year at its 5 million square foot factory in Fremont, CA next year.

That car, notes GreenCarAdvisor, is about as big as a BMW 5 Series, but seating for five adults and two children plus cargo.

Tags: Daimler, electric vehicles, SUV, tesla motors, Toyota

Detroit Auto Show: Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Mercedes Benz is among the German luxe cars that loves clean diesel, but it is also getting serious about electric sports cars as well.

At this week's North American International Auto show, the Stuttgart-based Mercedes showed the SLS AMG E-Cell, which is powered by four synchronous electric motors at each wheel. Those motors produce 525 horsepower and 649 pound-feet of torque.

Though Mercedes is mum about some of the performance numbers, we hear that the SLS AMG E-Cell can do 0-60 mph in just 3.7 seconds. The energy comes from Lithium-ion batteries, and regenerative braking helps keep the cells from draining too fast. There is a the temperature management system to make sure that charging and discharging occurs in the best environment possible.

Expected range was not part of the announcement, nor would the good folks at Mercedes commit to putting the car into production. But there is desire by Mercedes to offer it next year.

Mercedes is a share holder in Tesla Motors, the California company known for its electric roadster. Tesla has been sorting out the electrification of smart cars (Mercedes owns smart) but we venture a guess that the intellectual property sharing goes to sports cars, and specifically this baby, as well.

Tags: Electric car, Mercedes benz, North American International Auto Show, Tesla, tesla motors

Tesla Roadsters Recalled

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Tesla Motors Inc. will recall 439 of its $100,000-plus 2010 Roadster models over concerns a cable could short-circuit and cause a fire.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based electric vehicle company, made popular in part by support from celebrity owners such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt, said it received a report Aug. 29 from a customer about a "possible fire behind the right front corner of the vehicle. Last year, Tesla recalled 345 roadsters to check for improperly tightened bolts.

Tags: tesla motors, Tesla recall, tesla roadster

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Elon Musk's Cash-Flow Problems

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

Even the richest people face cash problems. The NY Times reveals that charismatic businessman Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal and CEO of Tesla Motors is a bit short on cash. Musk, who is in the midst of a divorce has acknowledged that he ran out of cash around four months ago. In his Dealbook column, New York Times's Andrew Ross Sorkin writes that while Musk had $200 million in cash not long ago now he is relying on the kindness of loans from his wealthy friends. He has invested all of his money in his businesses. But according to court filings he isn't exactly taking the bus and eating ramen for dinner, he still spends around $200,000 a month and flies on his private jet.

Musk's ex-wife, novelist Justine Musk has asked for the house, alimony, child support , $6 million cash and a share of Tesla Motors and a cut of Musk's stock in his rocket company, SpaceX. She's currently in New Orleans with her new boyfriend, has proclaimed that she gets along well with her ex's new actress girlfriend, and has blogged frankly about the divorce. The pair are debating about the validity of a postnuptial agreement. On her blog in her divorce tips she advises her readers not to sign a postnup.

Musk's cash flow issues are temporary. In two weeks, Tesla is scheduled to hold an initial public offering of stock that could value the company at about $1.4 billion. Telsa has said that the divorce should have no impact on the company. After the public offering, if it goes as hoped, he'd have around $21 million in cash and still own a controlling interest in Tesla.

Tags: Elon Musk, elon musk broke, elon musk ceo, elon musk divorce, elon musk finances, elon musk lawsuit, elon musk money, elon musk tesla, justine musk, Tesla, tesla motors

World's Largest Rebate? Save $42,000 on Tesla Roadster in Colorado

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

We didn't believe it until we verified it with our own eyes – and amazingly it's true: Colorado is offering a $42,083 rebate on the 2009 Tesla Roadster until December 31st. Carry the one, move the decimal point... yep, that's a 38-percent discount on what must be the most desirable electric car currently for sale in the United States.

So, exactly how did this come about? Is the thin air up there distorting people's better judgment? Not exactly. The incentive actually applies to a slew of qualifying hybrid and electric vehicles and will be paid in the form of an income tax credit that's calculated by determining the difference in price of the alt-fuel car or truck as compared to a competitive gas-powered model. In the case of the Tesla Roadster, Colorado figures the EV costs a whopping $50K more than its competitive set... which we imagine might be the Lotus Elise.

Want to take advantage of the rebate but not interested in a fully-electric sportscar? Buyers can also get a $20K rebate on the 2009 Lexus LS 600h L or about three grand on either the new Honda Insight or Toyota Prius. See the complete list in PDF form here.

[Source: Green Car Reports]

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Tesla Unloads New Set of Model S Driving Shots

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

Tesla Model S in motion - Click above for high-res image gallery

Just a day after releasing new images of the Tesla Roadster Sport, the Silicon Valley automaker has gone and unleashed its Model S in a series of actual at-speed driving shots. While we've seen high-res shots of the Model S in the studio from Tesla Motors and we've witnessed the car moving under its own electric power ourselves, this is the first time the automaker has published a photo series of its own showing the car in motion.

Looking a bit closer, we can see that it is none other than Tesla design chief Franz Von Holzhausen behind the wheel of the Model S in these images. Lucky guy. Unfortunately, drivers who didn't help design the Model S but want to pilot the car will need to wait until Q3 of 2011 for the chance.

Gallery: Tesla Model S Driving Shots

[Source: Tesla via egmCarTech]

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Tags: tesla, tesla model s, tesla model s images, tesla motors, TeslaModelS, TeslaModelSImages, TeslaMotors

Tesla Finally Shows Off Real Images of Roadster Sport

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

Tesla Roadster Sport - Click above for high-res image gallery

It's been seven months since Tesla first announced its intentions to build the Roadster Sport, a higher performing version of its standard electric sportscar, and the Silicon Valley-based automaker has finally offered up some real high-res images of the EV along with a bevy of details on what makes the Sport extra special.

First and foremost, the Sport's hand-wound electric motor adds a bit more oomph to the already quick Roadster, taking off two-tenths of a second on the rush to 60 at 3.7 seconds. Also included are bare carbon fiber hood louvers and rear spoiler, a push-button transmission selector to replace the aluminum shift knob and a central touch screen that displays estimated range along with the total number of oil barrels saved over a fossil-fueled automobile. That last tidbit is worth the $20K price increase itself, as far as we're concerned.

Gallery: Tesla Roadster Sport

[Source: Tesla via World Car Fans]

Tags: electric car, electric cars, electric sports car, electric sportscar, ElectricCar, ElectricCars, ElectricSportsCar, tesla, tesla motors, tesla roadster, tesla roadster sport, tesla roadster sport gallery, tesla sport, tesla sports car, TeslaMotors, TeslaRoadster, TeslaRoadsterSport, TeslaRoadsterSportGallery, TeslaSport, TeslaSportsCar

Mercedes Announces All-Electric Version of Upcoming SLS Gullwing Supercar

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

There's been a horsepower war being waged between German automakers for years, and Mercedes has been one of the biggest armies on the front line. An endless succession of big V8 and twin-turbo V12 engines have seen to Benz's dominance, housed in everything from station wagons to sportscars. Following the likes of the SLR McLaren and SL65 Black Series, the latest of the latter is almost here. But while the SLS "gullwing" will shout the battle cry of the horsepower wars with typical zeal, confirmed reports now indicate that it will also offer a more peaceful solution in the form of an all-electric version.

While the conventional SLS will be powered by a 6.3-liter V8 producing 563 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque, the electric version will produce the equivalent of 526hp and 649 lb-ft, offering potential buyers no excuse for sticking to the fossil-fuel-burning version once the electric model makes its debut. The electric Mercedes supercar promises to accelerate to sixty in four seconds flat, that motivation being delivered courtesy of four individual electric motors and a 48 kWh lithium ion battery pack. Given Mercedes parent company Daimler's recent investment of $50 million in Tesla, it's safe to say that the California startup will be helping out in the development, but while a launch date for the electric SLS hasn't been revealed, sources expect to see it on the road by 2015.

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Tags: AMG, Benz, edrive sls, EdriveSls, electric car, electric cars, electric sls, electric sports car, electric sportscar, electric vehicle, electric vehicles, ElectricCar, ElectricCars, ElectricSls, ElectricSportsCar, ElectricVehicle, ElectricVehicles, Gullwing, mercedes, mercedes benz, mercedes benz sls, mercedes benz sls edrive, Mercedes SLS, mercedes-benz, mercedesbenz, MercedesBenzSls, MercedesBenzSlsEdrive, MercedesSls, tesla, tesla motors, TeslaMotors

REPORT: Tesla Planning To Launch 2011 Roadster In More Right-Hand Export Markets

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

Tesla Roadster - Click above for high-res image gallery

According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the long-anticipated right-hand-drive Roadster is coming in the first quarter of 2010 and will be available in both standard and Sport guise. The first market that's slated for electrification is, as you would expect, the United Kingdom, and Tesla's first European showroom has already opened up in Knightsbridge.

In addition to Great Britain, Musk has also indicated that Japan, Australia and India are seen as important right-hand-drive markets for the automaker to pursue in short order. The switch from LHD to RHD is surely made easier by the fact that the Lotus Elise, which shares a large portion of its chassis with the Roadster, was initially designed as a right-hand vehicle.

Interestingly, there's already a lone Tesla Roadster in Australia, but that left-hand-drive car was imported by a man named Simon Hackett for his own personal use at a cost of about $200,000 Australian dollars – nearly twice what a Roadster costs in the States. Click past the break to watch a short video segment featuring that car.

Photo copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Go Auto]

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Tags: green, right hand drive tesla, right-hand-drive tesla, Right-hand-driveTesla, RightHandDriveTesla, tesla, tesla australia, tesla india, tesla japan, tesla motors, tesla roadster, TeslaAustralia, TeslaIndia, TeslaJapan, TeslaMotors, TeslaRoadster

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Tesla Shows a Little Thigh Ahead of Unveiling the Model S on March 26

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Click the Model S to enlarge

Tesla Motors sent out a newsletter to its many fans late last night with an update on the state of the business and a preview of what's coming up next. While the Roadster is an outstanding sports car, a tiny two seater is certainly not for everyone, especially at a starting price of $109,000. Therefore, Tesla has been working on a follow-up the Model S sport sedan. Like it's little brother, this one is battery powered but has the ability to carry four. With an entry price of $57,500 (before assorted plug-in vehicle tax credits kick in) the Model S has the potential zero emissions luxury motoring to a whole new crowd. So far this teasing lift of the hem-line is all we've been allowed to see, but those in the know say it is worth the wait. That wait by the way will be six more weeks. Tesla will unveil the Model S to a select group of VIPs on March 26 in Los Angeles. Now if Tesla can just get the loans it needs from the DOE to make the Model S a reality, it could be on the road by 2011.

[Sources: Tesla, AutoblogGreen]

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Tags: tesla, tesla model s, tesla model s teaser, tesla motors, TeslaModelS, TeslaModelSTeaser, teslamotors

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Drive Green with a Tesla Roadster!

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

The Tesla Roadster was unveiled this week in Santa Monica, California, and our friends at AutoblogGreen got a backstage look at the car and sat in on a test drive. The roadster is the first 100% electric performance car on the market and not only has no emissions (and no tailpipe), but actually generates energy when driven. The owners of the car will be doing a lot of driving, too, because the super-sleek car does 0-60 in 4 seconds and has a top speed of over 130 mph; it handles like a gas powered sports car, but like most EVs, makes no noise while doing so. The car comes with a home-based charging kit, so there is no need to install a generator in your garage, and charging it takes only 3.5 hours. Estimates state that the car will get around 250 miles per charge.

The roadster will be available for purchase starting in the spring of 2007, but people present at the unveiling were able to place advance orders for the car. The price will range from $80,000-$120,000.

More pics after the jump.

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Tags: autoblog, autobloggreen, eco-friendly, electric vehicle, ev, luxury car, performance car, sports car, tesla, tesla motors, TeslaMotors, zero emissions