January 19
Tesla has been betting on word of mouth to promote most of its products and solar has been no exception since it has acquired SolarCity
Here’s how Tesla has been taking over neighborhoods with solar energy thanks to the help satisfied customers. expand full story
January 18
Tesla CEO Elon Musk dropped an email to employees last night at 1am PT, which was also released publicly and filed with the SEC, to announce important job cuts to control costs. It also served to temper profit expectations for TSLA stock holders.
[Update: TSLA stock down nearly 10% in early morning trading]
In it, he details the challenges ahead for Tesla as it tries to reduce the price of its Model 3 to the $35,000 price point and make its other products more competitive to fossil fuel equivalents. expand full story
December 26, 2018
Tesla had a booming year with the production ramp-up of Model 3 and since things are slow between Christmas and the New Year, I thought I’d do a quick post about Tesla’s 2018 year in pictures. expand full story
December 17, 2018
As advancements are made in both photovoltaic technology and solar-powered car design, efficiency rates have been skyrocketing. Nowhere has this been more apparent, or exciting, than in the field of solar-powered racing.
A team from the University of NSW just obliterated the previous solar-powered car efficiency record. The students crossed Australia from Perth to Sydney on just $50 worth of electricity.
November 15, 2018
Tesla Energy announced today that they are reducing the prices of their solar power systems by $3,000 to $5,000 for the average homeowner.
They cite improvements in “vertical integration” as the reason for the price cut. expand full story
August 1, 2018
Tesla’s referral program was set to finish tonight, but, as they’ve done many times before, instead it got a midnight update extending it for a little while longer. The program now goes through September 16th instead of July 31st, with prize availability unchanged from the last round of the program.
There are two big changes: first, the Model 3 Performance is now eligible for unlimited supercharging when ordered using a referral code, previously only available to Model S and X orders. Second, while S/X/3P cars ordered with a code before September 16th will still qualify for free unlimited supercharging for the entire duration of original vehicle ownership, cars ordered after September 16th will only get one year of free supercharging.
February 1, 2018
Tesla’s referral program got a midnight update today, just after the scheduled end of the previous round, which was due to end yesterday but has been extended three months. Buyers who use an owner’s Tesla referral code on a new Model S or X will receive unlimited supercharging, and owners who refer a new buyer will get various awards based on the number of referrals they get, capping out at 5. The program now runs through April 30th.
Tesla Solar is still included in the program as well. New buyers get an additional 5-year warranty on a Tesla Solar installation and referrers receive $400 cash or $750 in Tesla credit for the first four referrals, and a Founders Series Powerwall 2 for the fifth Solar referral.
The one new prize in this phase of the program is a chance to drive a Tesla Semi. This one has a lower barrier to entry – anyone who signs up for the Tesla newsletter through an owner’s code enters that owner and themselves into a weekly raffle giving both a chance to drive a Tesla Semi in a “race” around Tesla’s test track. There will even be additional prizes for the driver with the best track time.
November 20, 2017
After seeing the new Roadster in the flesh at Thursday’s Tesla Semi unveiling, I’ve had a lot to think about. Fred and Seth already both covered this car, but it’s so groundbreaking that I felt I needed to chime in.
And as a current Roadster 1.5 owner, which had been my dream car ever since seeing the first introductory website put up by Tesla way back in 2006, I’m writing this article as a sort of catharsis, a reliving of that night that I first saw the car I sorely wished could be mine but thought at the time I’d never have the opportunity to own.
November 7, 2018
Electric bicycles are great, combining a lightweight vehicle with near-effortless propulsion. But sometimes you just want to sit back and relax a bit more. That’s when an electric pedal car might be right for you.
Now there’s an interesting new option coming to the admittedly small US electric pedal car industry: the Screecher.
October 31, 2018
Electric vehicles enable owners to have more choices for the sources of energy to power their vehicles. EV owners have been known to adopt solar power at a higher rate than the rest of the popular.
Some of them even want solar directly on their vehicles – even though it’s not the most efficient place for it.
Hyundai and Kia have now unveiled a new solar roof for vehicles to launch next year. expand full story
