The story around the Tesla Gigafactory competition is fast moving, so of course as soon as I published yesterday’s story that the Gigafactory was being built at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, that Bob Tregilus (the source on that story) learned construction had halted at that site and the construction workers…
Where, oh where, is the Tesla Gigafactory going to be located? Where, oh where, will it be? Many of us are waiting not so patiently for Tesla Motors to speak the location, while others of us are going out in the field to talk with people, take pictures, and draw…
Tesla Motors is confirming previous plans for the Gen3 affordably priced mass market electric car, and has given us the official name: Model III (or perhaps Model 3). Hopefully everyone will stop saying “Model E” and now get on to debating whether the correct name is Model III or Model…
Tesla Motors is angry this week at Hyundai making bogus political allegations about Tesla’s Supercharger network, and at the U.S. White House for passing the buck in dealing with the battle over Tesla’s direct car-sales model. On the one hand Hyundai is making yet another astonishingly bad statement, and on…
Tesla Motors has opened their patent portfolio, hoping to encourage other automakers to use that technology to speed up electric vehicle development. At the same time we’ve learned BMW, Nissan and Tesla Motors are talking about collaboration around Tesla’s Supercharger system, despite a history of in-fighting between automakers on fast…
Tesla Motors appears to be in serious talks with at least two other automakers about electric car fast charging plans. Th talks bring together the three automakers with the most credible electric car development: BMW, Nissan and Tesla. The content of their discussions are hush-hush, but we know it’s related…
A single fast charging standard is best for electric vehicle owners – just like a single gasoline fuel hose has been best for gasoline vehicle owners. The gasoline industry could have evolved such that each car maker mandated a unique gasoline blend, that’s sold only through manufacturer owned gasoline stations,…
Earlier today, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk announced a new Patent model for Tesla Motors, and in writing my blog post I came up with several questions. What does it mean Tesla won’t sue other automakers so long as their use of Tesla’s patents are in “good faith”? Will Tesla…
Last week Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk hinted that Tesla was about to make a controversial announcement, and today we learned it’s a bombshell. Where most technology companies, whether they make cars or social networks on the Internet, use patents for defense from other companies, or as weapons to bludgeon…
Last week Elon Musk laid a bombshell during the Tesla Motors shareholders meeting, one that I barely mentioned in my report. I kind of brushed over it, writing a couple paragraphs about whether Tesla Motors should rebrand itself as a B Corporation because the company is seeking to create so…
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk just concluded the annual Tesla Shareholders meeting for 2014. As in previous years, it was the Q&A session that was most interesting, with Musk revealing some tidbits that perhaps hadn’t been said elsewhere, and generally answering concerns currently floating around the fate of Tesla Motors.…
The Japanese automakers have just announced a joint venture on charging infrastructure that points in a very good direction. The JV, Nippon Charge Service, LLC, is tasked with promoting “the installation of chargers for electric-powered vehicles (PHVs, PHEVs, EVs)” and “the installation of chargers, for the good of society and to…
Colorado Springs, May 9————One of the top competitions at the 2014 The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will be the quietest of them all. The talent-heavy Electric Modified Division already includes Nobuhiro Tajima, who won the Electric Division last year when he drove his Tajima Monster Sports Special E-Runner to a…
General Motors Brownstown Battery Assembly Plant’s LaTanya Clanton works on the Spark EV battery line Tuesday, May 13, 2014 in Brownstown, Michigan. GM is bringing all of its electric vehicle battery building capabilities in-house with production of battery systems for the 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV at Brownstown. The plant already…
How do “we” (our society, that is) determine the appropriate method for selling products? Why is gasoline sold at a gas station, cars at a car dealership, bread from groceries or bakeries, etc? Why don’t we just have stores that carry anything the merchant wants to sell that day? Why…
