tesla roadster
Business
Tesla Motors Generates Profit For First Time Ever
4:30AM Jack Loftus | Don’t look now but the stumbling Tesla Motors, the electric car company recently on the receiving end of a $US465 million government loan, has turned a profit for the first time in its six-year history. More »
Vehicles
What it Feels Like to Drive a Tesla Roadster
1:00AM Brian Lam | digg_skin = 'compact'; digg_bgcolor = '#f1f8fa'; digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/What_it_Feels_Like_to_Drive_a_Tesla_Roadster'; The Tesla dealership is quiet as a cage of sleeping panthers. A pack of the electric roadsters, in varying degrees of grey, are strewn across the show floor looking 200kph standing still. I imagine most of them are awaiting for a venture capitalist to pick them up and take them from meeting to meeting for the rest of their uneventful lives. But outside is a bright blue roadster ready for the 10 minutes Telsa and God have handed me. This is my long awaited drive in the Tesla roadster. More »
Vehicles
Tuner Adds Fake ‘Vrooom’ and ‘Pew Pew’ Sounds to Tesla Roadsters
7:32PM John Herrman | Popular Mercedes tuner Brabus has designed a Tesla modding package which adds — among other things — fake engine sounds to make up for the Roadster’s silent electric motor. You can opt for a traditional v-8 engine sound, a race car sound or even two “futuristic landscape” settings that may or may not make your Tesla sound like George Jetson’s spacewagon. You also get a few trim additions, some interior tweaks and, oh god, groundlighting. The whole package might be gaudy, but the fake engine sounds take the tacky cake. I’ll say it: they’re the electric supercar equivalent of spinner hubcaps. [NextAutos] More »
Vehicles
Totalled Tesla Takes the Throne For Most Wrecked Yet
10:32AM Jason Chen | We’ve seen Tesla crashes before, but none as severe as this current one. How did this one happen? A sales director was showing a potential buyer how the super fast, super cool electric gadgety vehicle cannot take wet turns at over 160kph. Better showing than telling, we always say. Luckily neither suffered extensive injuries. Who’s up for trying it again at 150kph? [Wrecked Exotics via Jalopnik] More »
Vehicles
Tesla Motors Gets a $US40m Cash Recharge, Probably Won’t Disappear
7:42PM John Herrman | Fresh off a pretty huge round of layoffs, their Detroit office closure and a flurry of rumours about their solvency, Tesla Motors has been promised $US40m in financing. Considering the fact that Elon Musk, mildly successful space invader and the owner of the company, had admitted just a few weeks ago that the company only had about $US9m in bank, this new investment probably means the difference between customers getting their cars on time and Tesla, well, dissolving. So, Tesla, you’ve got your money — can we have our sedan, please? [NYT] More »
Vehicles
Tesla Lays off 90% of Detroit Staff in Douchey Way
2:30AM Mark Wilson | Bad news for electric car fans and the guys who build ‘em. Tesla has let go 90% of their Detroit staff in the interest of “consolidating” their workforce in San Jose. The lucky 10% gets to relocate to California, no expenses paid, to keep their jobs. More »
Vehicles
Electric Tesla Roadster Wastes Tonnes of Energy When Parked
4:50AM Sean Fallon | Martin Eberhard, former CEO and co-founder of Tesla Motors, was surprisingly frank in a recent blog post about a major shortcoming with his new Tesla Roadster. Soon after receiving his vehicle, Eberhard noticed that the ESS pump runs coolant through the battery all the time—even when turned off (so long as it is half charged). More »
Science
Key to Cheaper Lithium Ion Batteries Could Be Inside the Microwave
1:42AM John Mahoney | Researchers at UT Austin have devised a new way to create lithium iron phosphate–the compound inside high-density Li-ion batteries being developed for cars and power tools–that uses microwaves to cut costs. The new method requires lower temperatures and less time via the nuking process–just like throwing that Tombstone in the m-wave rather than the oven. This opposed to your laptop battery, which uses lithium cobalt oxide and isn’t capable of the quick bursts of current needed to get something like the Chevy Volt rolling. All the better to crash your Tesla with. [Technology Review] More »
Vehicles
Only 25 Tesla Roadsters Left On Sale For 2009
8:00AM Gizmodo US Edition | Tesla Motors has finally begun deliveries of its awesome 100-percent electric Tesla Roadster, but eco-conscious sports car fanatics willing to plunk down the US$109,000 need to reserve one quick. The company said it only has 25 production slots left for the second quarter of 2009. Locking in a reservation will cost a refundable US$5000. An additional US$55,000 will give you a set production slot and delivery time frame. More »
Vehicles
