Autoblog

REPORT: Tesla Motors planning IPO "soon"

Sebastian Blanco — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings/Financials, Tesla, Electric

Tesla Roadster - Click above for high-res image gallery

Rumors about Tesla's plan to go public have been circulating since 2008, but a down stock market seemed to put a damper on the start-up's IPO. Now, the word ~~on the street~~ from Reuters is that Tesla is planning to go public "soon." When might that be, exactly? Who knows. A source told Reuters it could happen "any day," but Stephan Dolezalek, managing director of VantagePoint Venture Partners and a Tesla investor, said in September that it's unlikely to happen in 2009.

For its part, Tesla continues to offer little guidance on the report other than to dismiss it as "rumor or speculation." We shall see...

Gallery: First Drive: Tesla Roadster

[Source: Reuters]

REPORT: Tesla Motors planning IPO "soon" originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tesla Roadster sets world EV record of 313 miles on single charge

Sam Abuelsamid — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:03:00 EST

Filed under: Tesla, Electric

Simon Hackett and co-driver Emilis Prelgauskas with the record setting Roadster - click above for high-res image gallery

It's no secret that how you drive influences a vehicle's efficiency. Case in point: This week's Global Green Challenge in Australia where Simon Hackett shipped his 2008 Tesla Roadster down under and proceeded to set a new world record for a production battery-powered vehicle. Hackett and co-driver Emilis Prelgauskas managed to squeeze 313 miles out of the lithium ion battery pack of the Roadster.

As the drivers crossed the finish line, approximately three miles was left on the charge at the end of the run south from Alice Springs. That easily topped the 241-mile run by another Roadster earlier this year in the Rallye Monte Carlo d'Energies Alternatives and the 244 miles the car achieves on the EPA test cycle.

Of course, achieving those kinds of range numbers means completely forgoing the performance capabilities of the Roadster, just as it would in any other sports car. The 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and 244 mile range is an either/or choice, you sadly can't have both. Tesla's press release is after the jump.

Gallery: Global Green Challenge Tesla Roadster goes 313 miles

[Source: Tesla]

Continue reading Tesla Roadster sets world EV record of 313 miles on single charge

Tesla Roadster sets world EV record of 313 miles on single charge originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:59:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Government/Legal, Tesla, Electric

Tesla Roadster - Click above image for high-res gallery

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. But we urge you to buy the Tesla instead, because you could then get a loaded Ford Mustang GT with all the money you save just for irony's sake. See the complete list in PDF form here.

Gallery: First Drive: Tesla Roadster

[Source: Green Car Reports]

World's Largest Rebate? Save $42,000 on Tesla Roadster in Colorado originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ex-Tesla/Harley-Davidson exec Michael van der Sande resurfaces at Aston Martin

Sam Abuelsamid — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Aston Martin, Luxury

It didn't take Michael van der Sande long to land a new gig after leaving his last posting at Tesla Motors. In August, van der Sande left Tesla after only nine months as senior vice-president of sales and marketing for the electric car maker. The sales executive who spent 12 years at Harley-Davidson (much of it running its European operations) will now be responsible for growing Aston Martin's global sales.

Aston has announced that van der Sande, 44, will occupy the new position of chief commercial officer. Mr. van der Sande will report directly to CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez and oversee all commercial aspects of the company from its headquarters in Gaydon.

Like most other brands, Aston Martin has been struggling with the flagging world economy and one of its Middle East investors is reportedly short of cash. Hopefully, the launch of the new four-door Rapide will help van der Sande and his team right the luxury marque's ship in 2010. To learn more about van der Sande and his appointment, check out the official press release after the jump.

[Source: Aston Martin]

Continue reading Ex-Tesla/Harley-Davidson exec Michael van der Sande resurfaces at Aston Martin

Ex-Tesla/Harley-Davidson exec Michael van der Sande resurfaces at Aston Martin originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tesla introduces Mobile Service Rangers, the Geek Squad for EVs

Sebastian Blanco — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:01:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Tesla, Electric

Doctors may not make many house calls anymore, but Tesla Motors believes an at-home service is just the ticket for its pricey electric cars. The company recently announced a new Tesla Mobile Service Rangers program that makes getting the recommended annual service or any other repairs taken care of an effortless event. The Rangers (no word on if they wear brightly colored outfits and/or morph) have the ability to diagnose problems remotely before driving their service vehicles to where the Roadsters are. Tesla says that Roadster owners and cues from "pioneering retailers" like Zappos and Geek Squad helped develop the Rangers idea. At some point in the future, the Ranger service will be available wherever Roadsters are sold.

The service isn't cheap - it costs $1 per round-trip mile with a minimum charge of $100 - but if you can afford the car in the first place, then it shouldn't be too big of a hardship. We don't have the heart to calculate the cost for "Roadster owners in Honolulu, Anchorage, Banff and other locations", which Tesla's press release states can now have peace of mind. It might just be cheaper to buy two Roadsters in case one of them breaks.

[Source: Tesla Motors]

Tesla introduces Mobile Service Rangers, the Geek Squad for EVs originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Frankfurt 2009: Smart + Tesla + Brabus = High Voltage

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:27:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Coupe, Smart, Electric

Brabus High Voltage - Click above for high-res image gallery

In addition to the Tailor Made concepts that Brabus trotted out for the Frankfurt Motor Show, the German tuning firm also showed off a new version of its electric Smart Fortwo called the Unlimited High Voltage. This new model is an updated version of the company's electric Smart ED concept and it features a lithium ion battery pack supplied by Tesla Motors, Daimler's electric vehicle partner.

The High Voltage's rear-mounted electric motor was also developed by Tesla and offers up 82 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque, which Brabus says is sufficient to push the little electric runabout to 60 mph in under 10 seconds. Additional interesting touches include aerodynamic wheels with clear plexiglass covers and wider side skirts to improve airflow. Inside, white leather seats with yellow stitching join a console-mounted monitor that displays the remaining state of charge.

The HV's single most intriguing bit of tech, though, would have to be the sound generator. This little unit will reportedly allow the diminutive electric machine to sound like a honkin' V8-powered racecar... should the owner feel so inclined. Check out the high-res image gallery below.

Gallery: Brabus Smart High Voltage

Frankfurt 2009: Smart + Tesla + Brabus = High Voltage originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Tesla gets $82.5 million investment; delivers 700th Roadster

Sebastian Blanco — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:59:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings/Financials, Tesla, Electric

Go to Frankfurt, get $82.5 million. That's sort of what happened to Tesla Motors, which is at the big Frankfurt Motor Show this week and received an "opportunistic" equity investment in that amount from a group led by Fjord Capital Partners. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that his company was "not looking for money," but did not turn down the offer.

FCM's slogan is "clean energy investments for a low carbon world," and Bloomberg reports that Tesla may use the FCM money to expand its retail stores around the world. Earlier this year, Daimler invested in the electric car start-up, as well.

Also in Frankfurt, Tesla delivered the 700th Roadster to 24-year-old German law student Lennart Hennig. The young man didn't just opt for the standard Roadster, either. Henning is now the proud owner of an electric blue Roadster Sport.

[Source: Bloomberg]

REPORT: Tesla gets $82.5 million investment; delivers 700th Roadster originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pics Aplenty: Tesla unloads new set of Model S driving shots

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:27:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Tesla, Electric

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 starring 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, it appears that none other than Tesla design chief Franz Von Holzhausen is behind the wheel of the Model S in these images. Lucky guy. Unfortunately, drivers looking to pilot their own Model S will need to wait until Q3 of 2011 for the chance.

Gallery: Tesla Model S in motion

Gallery: Tesla Model S

[Source: Tesla via egmCarTech]

Pics Aplenty: Tesla unloads new set of Model S driving shots originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pics Aplenty: Tesla finally drops real images of Roadster Sport

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Tesla, Electric

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 electric sportscar. Seemingly many moons later, the Silicon Valley-based automaker has finally offered up some real high-res images of the EV along with more details explaining 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 in the rush to 60 mph (it now checks in at just 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's worth the $20K price increase itself, don't 'cha think?

Gallery: Tesla Roadster Sport

[Source: Tesla]

Pics Aplenty: Tesla finally drops real images of Roadster Sport originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tesla moving HQ, building powertrain plant in Palo Alto

Sam Abuelsamid — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:20:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Tesla

Tesla has announced that it's pulling up stakes and moving its digs from San Carlos, CA to Palo Alto. The EV startup firm will take over a three building complex in the Stanford Research Park formerly occupied by Silicon Valley pioneers Hewlett-Packard and its spin-off Agilent Technologies. The buildings will be renovated to house Tesla's offices, engineering and research staff along with a new powertrain manufacturing facility. At first, the facility will have 350 employees but that may eventually grow to 650.

This is the second time that Tesla has planned to move from its original offices. A year ago, a similar plan to move to San Jose was canceled as the worldwide financial crisis took hold and funding became impossible. Now that Tesla has access to low-cost loans from the Department of Energy ATVM program, the new plan can move forward.

Tesla is still negotiating on another site somewhere in California that will house the assembly facility for the Model S.

Gallery: First Drive: Tesla Roadster

[Source: Tesla]

Continue reading Tesla moving HQ, building powertrain plant in Palo Alto

Tesla moving HQ, building powertrain plant in Palo Alto originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Officially Official: Mercedes to produce electric SLS gullwing

Sam Abuelsamid — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:57:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Green, Technology, Supercars, Mercedes-Benz, AMG

Mercedes-Benz has officially confirmed the rumors that have been floating around in recent days - it will build an electrically powered version of its upcoming SLS gullwing coupe. The EV version of the SLS will drive all four wheels by means of an individual motor for each corner. It will not however use wheel hub motors, since those add too much unsprung mass. The motors will be mounted just inboard of the suspension components.

Energy will be stored in a 48 kWh liquid cooled lithium ion battery pack running down the central tunnel. The combined output of the electric drive system is 392 kW (526 hp) and 880 Nm (649 lb-ft), which compares to 420 kW (563 hp) and 649 Nm (479 lb-ft) for the 6.3-liter V8 in the conventional SLS. Mercedes claims it will accelerate to 62 mph in four seconds. No range is being quoted at this time, but given that the battery capacity is lower than the Tesla Roadster and the car is larger, it will likely be well under 200 miles. No timeline for the electric version is being quoted, although earlier rumors placed it at 2015.

One of the reasons that Daimler said it was investing $50 million in Tesla Motors was the upstart's ability to move quickly and develop systems faster than could be done at Daimler. Given that, we may well see the electric SLS sooner rather than later. Check out our high-res gallery of (internal combustion) Mercedes SLS prototypes below and the official press release after the jump.

Gallery: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

[Source: Daimler]

Continue reading Officially Official: Mercedes to produce electric SLS gullwing

Officially Official: Mercedes to produce electric SLS gullwing originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Daimler sells 4% of Tesla to Middle East investment fund just two months after acquiring it

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:28:00 EST

Filed under: Middle East

Tesla Roadster - Click above image for high-res gallery

Just two months after buying 9% of Tesla Motors, Daimler has reportedly sold nearly half of that stake. According to Reuters, 4% percent of the electric car startup is now owned by Aabar Investments, an Abu Dhabi-based investment fund. In a way, the stake is still in the family, since Aabar already bought 9.1 percent of Daimler's stock earlier this year. At the time of its original investment, Daimler and the fund indicated an intention to pursue joint projects in low emissions transportation.

Aabar has indicated it would be interested in pursuing some kind of joint venture with Tesla. The fund is controlled by the Abu Dhabi government and managed by the International Petroleum Investment Company with the intent of diversifying beyond oil.

Gallery: Jason Calacanis' Tesla Roadster

Photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Reuters]

REPORT: Daimler sells 4% of Tesla to Middle East investment fund just two months after acquiring it originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: 2010 Tesla Roadster gets upgrades including wifi connectivity

Sebastian Blanco — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:59:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Green

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

While owners of the current Tesla Roadster get the benefit of driving their bad ass electric vehicle today, people who are on the list for a 2010 model will get a few benefits that make 2009 owners jealous. Tesla Motors Club member DrComputer wrote about "a conversation with Ted at corporate" that revealed some improvements to the new cars. A tipster sent in a similar list of upgrades. The upgrades include:

New power electronics module
Better cooling for the power electronics
Improved AC with variable speed fans
Built in WiFi cards that connect the Roadster to the Internet (unless you turn the feature off) and gives Tesla the ability to interact with the car remotely. Also, this could open the door to mobile phone apps that talk to the car.
Glove box locks when you lock the car (to leave it out with the top down)

Both sources mention the ability to switch vehicle performance modes - from Range to Standard or Performance (but not back to Range) - with the key instead of needing to change modes via the screen. There has been no official confirmation about these upgrades, but none of them would surprise us if they were true. Thanks to Dan for the tip!

Gallery: Tesla Roadster Sport

[Source: Tesla Motors Club | Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty]

Rumormill: 2010 Tesla Roadster gets upgrades including wifi connectivity originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Tesla planning to launch 2011 Roadster in more right-hand export markets

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:27:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Performance, Europe, Green, Japan, Australia, UK, India

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 ~~wrong~~ 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.

Gallery: Jason Calacanis' Tesla Roadster

Photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Go Auto]

Continue reading REPORT: Tesla planning to launch 2011 Roadster in more right-hand export markets

REPORT: Tesla planning to launch 2011 Roadster in more right-hand export markets originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elon Musk: "Golden handcuffs" require I stay through Model S launch

Sebastian Blanco — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:28:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Hybrid, Sedan, Performance, Government/Legal, Green

For a guy who allegedly wants a lot of the credit for creating Tesla Motors, Elon Musk certainly doesn't seem to like the job of being its CEO. As part of Daimler's investment deal with Tesla, Musk needed to commit to staying on as Tesla's CEO at least until the Model S launches in 2011. Musk told Reuters:

I didn't really have a choice. This was a requirement of Daimler that I remain CEO of Tesla through the Model S launch and then continue to be part of Tesla in a chairman role beyond that. It's flattering, but at the same time it's golden handcuffs.

Well, that sure makes it sound like fun, doesn't it? It's clear that Musk has always been interested in projects other than Tesla (e.g.: electric planes and SpaceX), but does he have to make running one of the hippest electric car companies around sound like a drag?

Another nugget from the article: One of the reasons the price on the Roadster was raised was to help qualify Tesla Motors for the DOE loan it later received. Musk said, "We did the minimum we needed to do to make the business work."

Gallery: Tesla Model S

[Source: Reuters]

Elon Musk: "Golden handcuffs" require I stay through Model S launch originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford, Nissan, Tesla all big winners in DoE advanced technology loans

Sam Abuelsamid — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:29:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Hybrid, Government/Legal, Green, Plants/Manufacturing, Technology, Ford, Nissan

Ford Focus EV Mule - Click above for high-res gallery

The U.S. Department of Energy has finally announced the first recipient of low interest loans under its Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Incentive Program. The first recipient is Ford, and analysts believe the DoE will award sums to Nissan and Tesla Motors, as well. Ford applied for up to $11 billion in loans, but instead it was awarded $5.9 billion in financing. The Dearborn-based automaker will use the money to fund its electric vehicle program that will launch a battery-powered version of the Transit Connect in 2010, and it will also likely use the capital to help pay for the $550 million renovation of its Wayne, MI sport-utility plant to build the next-generation Focus in both internal combustion and electric flavors.

For its part, Nissan wants to add production of its upcoming electric car and lithium ion batteries at its assembly complex in Smyrna, Tennessee, and it will receive $1.6 billion.

Despite receiving the smallest sum of the three automakers, Tesla is arguably the biggest winner this round, as the $465 million it may receive will allow the fledgeling EV maker to proceed with completing development and production of its Model S sedan. Recent investment in the company by Daimler was probably a big help in getting the loan approved, as companies had to demonstrate viability. And since the ATVM program favors re-tooling of older existing plants, Tesla will probably look at acquiring a closed factory from another company. Recent rumors had the company possibly getting a former McDonnell-Douglas factory in Long Beach, although there are plenty of other properties available.

The current Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings at General Motors and Chrysler made those companies ineligible in the current round. It's not known if any announcements will be made about loans for battery makers like A123 or EnerDel.

Gallery: ABG Quick Drive: Ford Focus EV mule

Photos Copyright (C)2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

Ford, Nissan, Tesla all big winners in DoE advanced technology loans originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elon fires back at Eberhard in Tesla lawsuit's latest twist

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:58:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Performance, Government/Legal, Green, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs

Shortly after Tesla Motors co-founder Martin Eberhard filed a lawsuit against Tesla Motors and its Chairman, Product Architect and CEO Elon Musk, the Silicon Valley automaker had this to say:

This lawsuit is a fictionalized, inaccurate account of Tesla's early years -- it's twisted and wrong, and we welcome the opportunity to set the record straight. Incidentally, Tesla will also be filing counterclaims and in the process present an accurate account of the company's history.

The first bit of record-resetting has shown up on the official Tesla blog. Not surprisingly, Elon Musk has lots to say in regards to the early years of the Roadster's development, and he seeks to offer his side of the story, along with a number of emails to back up his claims.

What does Musk say? Well, his initial response is a long, informative and interesting read. Here are some choice lines:

The facts are that when I requested through AC Propulsion to meet Eberhard, he had no technology of his own, he did not have a prototype car and he owned no intellectual property relating to electric cars.
At the time [early 2004], "Tesla Motors, Inc." consisted of Eberhard, Tarpenning and Wright, plus an unfunded business plan and they were looking for an initial round of funding to create a more advanced prototype than the AC Propulsion Tzero. While there was a basic corporation in place, Tesla hadn't even registered or obtained the trademark to its name and had no formal offices or assets.

Make the jump for more.

Gallery: Martin Eberhard's Founders Series Tesla Roadster

[Source: Elon Musk / Tesla Motors]

Continue reading Elon fires back at Eberhard in Tesla lawsuit's latest twist

Elon fires back at Eberhard in Tesla lawsuit's latest twist originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Tesla Motors valued at $1 billion

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: Green, Earnings/Financials

Wondering how much Tesla Motors might be worth on the open market? It would seem the actual figure would depend you who you ask. Based on the assumption that Daimler paid $50 million for nine-percent of Tesla, the Silicon Valley automaker would theoretically be worth $550 million.

According to SharesPost, a firm that bills itself as a community for private equity transactions and the central hub for private company research and valuation data, Tesla's value is actually much higher: roughly $1 billion. To come up with that figure, SharesPost contracted Next Up Research to create a report that supposedly takes into account current revenue from Roadster sales as well as expected revenue from the Tesla Model S and a future electric vehicle, codenamed Blue Star, which will be smaller and cost less than the S.

Next Up outlines the potential risks in investing in a startup automaker like Tesla, such as a "lack of significant cost or performance advantage" over conventional sports cars, the vast number of expected competitors and possible safety issues with using advanced lithium ion batteries.

Clearly, there are some major assumptions at work here.

Gallery: Tesla Model S: LIVE REVEAL

[Source: Earth2Tech]

REPORT: Tesla Motors valued at $1 billion originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BREAKING: Martin Eberhard sues Elon Musk and Tesla for libel, slander and breach of contract

Sam Abuelsamid — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:01:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal

The only thing surprising about Martin Eberhard's latest move is that it took so long to happen. Eberhard was co-founder of Tesla Motors along with Mark Tarpenning, and he was ousted from the company in November 2007 by then-chairman Elon Musk. Musk has never been one to hide his feelings about other people (or much of anything) - and comments he has made about Eberhard and his role in the company have clearly not gone over well.

To nobody's surprise, Eberhard has filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in San Mateo against Musk and Tesla Motors. In the suit, Eberhard accuses Musk of slander and libel, along with breaching the contracts that he and the company had with Eberhard. At 146 pages, we haven't yet had time to digest the entire complaint (though we do find it interesting that our coverage is mentioned in the lawsuit), but we have a sneaking suspicion this one is going to get ugly. You can read the filing in PDF form by clicking here.

ABG reached out to Tesla for comment, and spokeswoman Rachel Konrad provided the following statement:

"This lawsuit is a fictionalized, inaccurate account of Tesla's early years -- it's twisted and wrong, and we welcome the opportunity to set the record straight. Incidentally, Tesla will also be filing counterclaims and in the process present an accurate account of the company's history."

More as it happens...

[Source: San Mateo California Superior Court]

BREAKING: Martin Eberhard sues Elon Musk and Tesla for libel, slander and breach of contract originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Convoy of Tesla Roadsters in California commemorates 500th delivery [w/VIDEO]

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:20:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Hybrid, Performance, Green, Lifestyle

UPDATE: Added Speed and Motion HD Video after the jump

Tesla Roadster convoy - Click above for a high-res image gallery

Just what do you call a gathering of 30 or so Tesla Roadsters all in one place? A gaggle? A flock? After taking a look at the photos of such an event from our friends at Speed and Motion, we'll go with "convoy." This crowd was brought together to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Tesla's first retail store and the delivery of the 500th Tesla Roadster, meaning that the cars you see in the pictures below represent less than one tenth of total Roadster production so far. Elliot from Speed and Motion describes the experience this way:

What a treat it was to experience 60 miles along the streets and freeways of LA including a run through the scenic Malibu canyons. What surprised me was how quick (0-to-60 mph acceleration of 3.9 seconds) and agile in the corners this electric vehicle really is on the road. We made a pit stop at the Rock Store before heading over to for a wonderful for a barbecue at Greener Pasture Ranch, a Tesla customer's private home.

Riding in these cars is so peaceful and tranquil. It sure was a change from the loud and wild exotic cars that we are used to experiencing here at speedandmotion! One thing I can say for sure is the owners are such a spirited and lively group, not to mention car aficionados at heart.

See the rest of the photos here and be sure to click past the break for a couple of videos that were taken during the event along with the official press release.

Gallery: Convoy of 50 Tesla Roadsters

[Source: Speed and Motion]

Continue reading Convoy of Tesla Roadsters in California commemorates 500th delivery [w/VIDEO]

Convoy of Tesla Roadsters in California commemorates 500th delivery [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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