Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Tesla Roadster sets world EV record of 313 miles on single charge]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/29/tesla-roadster-sets-world-ev-record-of-313-miles-on-single-charg/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/29/tesla-roadster-sets-world-ev-record-of-313-miles-on-single-charg/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/29/tesla-roadster-sets-world-ev-record-of-313-miles-on-single-charg/#commentsFiled under: ,

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.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>breakingglobal green challengeGlobalGreenChallengeTeslatesla motorstesla roadstertesla roadster range recordtesla-motorstesla-roadsterTeslaEvTeslaMotorsTeslaRoadsterTeslaRoadsterRangeRecordThu, 29 Oct 2009 08:03:00 EST<![CDATA[Tesla hires ex-Ford exec as new CFO]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/05/tesla-hires-ex-ford-exec-as-new-cfo/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/05/tesla-hires-ex-ford-exec-as-new-cfo/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/05/tesla-hires-ex-ford-exec-as-new-cfo/#commentsFiled under: ,


Click above for a high-res gallery of the Tesla Roadster.

Tesla Motors continues its hiring spree by bringing on Deepak Ahuja to serve as the company's CFO. Ahuja comes by way of the Ford Motor Company, where he was heading up the project to bring small European Ford's to America. Prior to that, Ahuja carried various other important financial roles with Ford and Mazda. Tesla's goal of becoming "the next great American automobile company" is a brash one, but much more likely to pan out with the proper people at the helm. Considering the rate at which Tesla Motors has been bringing on talent, including the recent addition of Franz von Holzhausen as Design Director, it is clear that the budding automaker takes its goal rather seriously. See the full press release after the break.

Gallery: First Drive: Tesla Roadster


[Source: Tesla Motors]

Continue reading Tesla hires ex-Ford exec as new CFO

Tesla hires ex-Ford exec as new CFO originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>deepak ahujaDeepakAhujateslatesla cfotesla motorstesla motors cfotesla roadstertesla-motorstesla-roadsterTeslaCfoTeslaMotorsTeslaMotorsCfoTeslaRoadsterTue, 05 Aug 2008 08:27:00 EST<![CDATA[Tesla files suit against Fisker Automotive]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/15/tesla-files-suit-against-fisker-automotive/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/15/tesla-files-suit-against-fisker-automotive/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/15/tesla-files-suit-against-fisker-automotive/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



As we recently reported, rumors have been swirling regarding Henrik Fisker's involvement with Tesla Motors and its upcoming electric sedan prototype known as the WhiteStar. As is often the case, there's apparently some truth to the scuttlebutt, as Tesla has filed a lawsuit claiming that Fisker Automotive is using stolen design ideas from Tesla sourced when Fisker Coachbuild was employed by the young EV automaker for the styling of its sedan.

According to Tesla chairman Elon Musk, "We could not use the Fisker styling. The styling was substandard compared to what he unveiled for his product. He gave us an inferior work product, and it's obvious why." In the process of working for Tesla, the lawsuit contends that Henrik Fisker and a few of his associates stole design ideas and confidential information related to the design of hybrid and electric cars. Fisker has since announced his upcoming Karma hybrid-electric sedan. Tesla seeks to have Fisker Automotive stop using any design ideas garnered from its relationship with Tesla, and any money paid to Fisker Coachbuild returned along with other unspecified damages.

Gallery: First Drive: Tesla Roadster


Gallery: Fisker Karma


[Source: The New York Times]

Tesla files suit against Fisker Automotive originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>breakingfiskerfisker hybridfisker karmafisker-karmaFiskerHybridFiskerKarmalawsuitsueteslatesla motorstesla roadstertesla white startesla whitestartesla-motorstesla-roadstertesla-white-startesla-whitestarTeslaMotorsTeslaRoadsterTeslaWhitestarTue, 15 Apr 2008 10:28:00 EST<![CDATA[Tesla Motors founder Martin Eberhard fired!]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/02/tesla-motors-founder-martin-eberhard-fired/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/02/tesla-motors-founder-martin-eberhard-fired/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/02/tesla-motors-founder-martin-eberhard-fired/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Late Friday evening, Tesla Motors issued a brief statement that company founder Martin Eberhard was transitioning from his management role as President to the company's advisory board. This announcement came barely a day after the announcement that Ze'ev Drori had been tapped to be the new CEO, taking the reins from interim boss Michael Marks. Drori is now also taking up Eberhard's title as President.

After the announcement it became clear that Eberhard did not relinquish his duties voluntarily. He is no longer even on the board of directors and the advisory board gig is at best ceremonial. The company isn't saying much, but in a posting on the Tesla Motors Club message board, Eberhard made it clear that it wasn't his choice to leave the company. A number of executives have apparently left the company in recent months as engineers have struggled to overcome transmission problems that have delayed the production launch of the Roadster. At the same time that they are trying to get their electric sports car into production, engineers are trying to finalize the specifications of their next product: the "WhiteStar" sedan.

While people are moving in and out of offices in San Carlos, Tesla is planning to have its first media drives with the print publications this week, while us on-line types will have to wait a few more weeks for our turn at the wheel.

[Source: Tesla Motors, Tesla Motors Club, via AutoblogGreen]

Tesla Motors founder Martin Eberhard fired! originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 02 Dec 2007 20:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>breakingmartin eberhard firedmartin-eberhardMartinEberhardFiredtesla-motorsSun, 02 Dec 2007 20:43:00 EST<![CDATA[EXCLUSIVE! AutoblogGreen experiences the Tesla Roadster in its natural habitat]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/19/exclusive-autobloggreen-experiences-the-tesla-roadster-in-its-n/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/19/exclusive-autobloggreen-experiences-the-tesla-roadster-in-its-n/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/19/exclusive-autobloggreen-experiences-the-tesla-roadster-in-its-n/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


click above image for a high-res gallery of the Tesla Roadster

Anyone familiar with English B-roads can understand why classic British sports cars evolved the way they did. These roads rarely seem to go in a straight line for more than a few yards at a time and are narrow with little or no runoff area. As a result, cars that came out of Morris Garages and Colin Chapman's shop were generally small, light and extremely nimble. They didn't have a lot of power, but when you follow Chapman's creed of "Add Lightness!", you don't really need a whole lot of power.

Some years after Chapman's death, the engineers at Lotus returned to the company's roots and created a small, lightweight minimalist descendant to the old Seven in the form of the Elise. Fast forward to this decade and a search for a small, quick sportster in the classic British mode, but with no emissions. Since none existed, Martin Eberhard and Elon Musk launched a company to create one, and Tesla Motors was born. AutoblogGreen experienced a short burst in the car on a runway when it debuted this past year, but that's like riding a horse at the petting zoo. You need to bareback that thoroughbred out on the plains to see what it's really like. We still haven't gotten behind the wheel, but are promised some wheel-time right after those old school print guys, which means we'll hopefully get to publish our review before they have a chance to print theirs. But we did get to experience the Roadster in perhaps the best American analog to an English B-road: storming up a California canyon road. For a full, drooling report on the experience, head over to AutoblogGreen and don't forget to check out the in-car video, as well.

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

Gallery: Riding in the Tesla Roadster

EXCLUSIVE! AutoblogGreen experiences the Tesla Roadster in its natural habitat originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>darryl-siryfeaturedlatigo-canyon-roadmartin-eberhardtesla-motorstesla-roadsterMon, 19 Nov 2007 12:03:00 EST<![CDATA[Tesla Roadster deliveries pushed back to 2008! 245 mile range confirmed]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/25/tesla-roadster-deliveries-pushed-back-to-2008-245-mile-range-co/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/25/tesla-roadster-deliveries-pushed-back-to-2008-245-mile-range-co/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/25/tesla-roadster-deliveries-pushed-back-to-2008-245-mile-range-co/#commentsFiled under: , ,


click above image for more pics of the Tesla Roadster

New Tesla Motors CEO Michael Marks sent out a letter to all their customers yesterday confirming both some good and bad news. The good news is that the efforts of Tesla's engineers over the last several months have resulted in the recovery of most of the range that had been lost to weight increases and other engineering changes. The Roadster has now been validated on the EPA combined cycle with a range of 245 miles (252 city and 236 highway). Your mileage will of course vary. They have also made structural improvements and one of the validation prototypes has now passed the side impact test that caused problems for an earlier version.

On the downside, prospective buyers will have to wait longer for their cars. Tesla's revised production schedule now has them only building a small number of production cars by the end of this year with the first fifty being delivered in the first quarter of 2008. Once production ramps up a bit they plan to turn out another 600 cars by the end of the 2008 model year. You can read Marks' letter to buyers here.

Tesla Roadster deliveries pushed back to 2008! 245 mile range confirmed originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>tesla-motorstesla-roadster-production-delayTue, 25 Sep 2007 17:56:00 EST