Seth Weintraub

Updated with whole interview in Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSF4tdzcIqs

From Businessweek:

At Tesla, Popple could rely on early adopters eager to pay a premium for an electric car. As the new chief executive officer of Proterra, which makes an $850,000 electric bus, he’s got a tougher audience: municipal governments that are used to paying as little as $300,000 for a diesel-guzzler. They’re reluctant to invest in the promise of energy savings down the line. Proterra argues that the wait isn’t long. “We’ve seen paybacks against diesel and hybrids in as little as two years and as long as six years,” says Popple. He’s persuaded some powerful backers. On June 18 he announced a $40 million round of investment led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (where he remains a partner), GM Ventures, and the Pritzker family’s Tao Invest, bringing Greenville (S.C.)-based Proterra’s total outside funding to $100 million.

Big news today on the Solar City Blog (presentation) The company that shares a few board members with Tesla announced it was acquiring a high tech solar panel manufacturer Silevo for $168 million in stock, $9 million in cash, and an assumption of $23 million in liabilities to help sew up its value chain and bring the best solar panel production in-house. Moreover, Solar City is in talks with New York to build one of the world’s largest solar panel production plants in the world with a 10GW/year production schedule and plans to build bigger subsequent plants a few years down the road.

The lofty and ambitious goal? Making unsubsidized solar competitive with Natural Gas and Coal.

Goal is for unsubsidized solar power to cost less than grid electricity from coal or fracked gas

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2014

Full post is below with additional tweets from Musk above. 
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English: Tesla Model S (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From the Tesla forums:

Dear Model X reservation holders,

Falcon wing doors, all-wheel drive, and the most stylish way to combine an SUV’s utility with a sports car’s performance. Model X will be a production car that exceeds the promises made when we first showed the concept.
In the fall, we’ll start building Model X prototypes on a newly expanded and integrated production line at our factory in Fremont, CA. The first Model X cars for you, our reservation holders, will be produced starting in early 2015.

We’re pleased to confirm that the falcon wing doors will be a defining feature of this exceptional car. Not only do these doors look amazing, but they also make getting in and out of the Model X so much easier than would a conventional front-hinged door. You can even do it standing up.

We’ll also deliver a level of functionality and practicality that will exceed what you saw on the concept vehicle. We can confirm that all-wheel drive will come standard for Model X, and you’ll have the option to add a third row of seats to carry more passengers. You’ll also be able to fold down the second and third rows to create a flat platform for storage. When it comes to charging and long distance drives, Model X will be able to take full advantage of our rapidly growing Supercharger network.

These features combine to offer power, speed, and space – all packaged in an all-electric vehicle that looks and drives like it comes from the future.

We’ll have more to say about Model X in the coming months, so stay tuned for updates. Thank you for your confidence in Tesla.

If this is a form letter, sent to all reservation holders, it could be bad news because the latest previous Model X delay put deliveries at the end of this year, not some time in ‘early 2015’. Also one of the images of the Model X has rear view mirrors and the other has cameras. WTF

Nissan and BMW, two of Tesla’s main competitors, are keen on talks with the US carmaker to co-operate on charging networks, sources at the three companies told the Financial Times.

Problem: As far as I can tell, not one Nissan or BMW can make it the 100 or so miles between Tesla superchargers so hold your nose cause here goes the cold water.

Agreeing on a DC quick-charging standard does, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk says, “lift all [electric] boats”

During the Q&A on yesterday’s Patent sharing newsupdate CEO Elon Musk spoke briefly about speaking to BMW on patents.

For high-speed charging in particular, I think that’s a great area for commonality among manufacturers. In fact, the team from BMW was visiting Tesla last night. We talked about potential ways to collaborate, and one of them was on the Supercharging network. We’re more than happy to have other manufacturers use our Supercharging network and / or to build superchargers and install them, and then maybe have some sort of cross-use agreement.

BMW spokesman Kenn Sparks confirmed the meeting. “Both companies are strongly committed to the success of electro-mobility and discussed how to further strengthen the development of electro-mobility on an international level.”

Infrastructure is an area where, as Musk puts it, cooperation truly does “raise all boats”.  I particularly interested to see what Tesla does with CHAdeMO adapters and sharing that network.

In a post on the company blog, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company would open up its patent portfolio to companies who wanted to build electric cars “in good faith”. The devil is in the details but until then the post by CEO Elon Musk, is below.

According to CEO Elon Musk:

[tweet https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/476956174697254912]

Prediction:  The news will allow 3rd parties to build superchargers (yay!) and also allow other brands of Car to charge at Tesla locations.

The news comes ahead of Tesla’s Japan rollout where the competing CHAdeMO standard rules for DC fast charging.  The Tesla CHAdeMO adapter is still unavailable for purchase but we’ve seen a few in use.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPTXrj_vmw]

A big advantage of Electric cars in being slippery is that they don’t have undersides of internal combustion engines. That doesn’t diminish the accomplishment by both Toyota and Tesla for making incredibly aerodynamic cars that boost fuel efficiency, especially at high speeds.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StXkpKGLFDw]

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D2gvUTyfsY&list=UUosNuCC96Oicg_3CqBCfuRg]

Interesting visit from Texas Governor Rick Perry to California where he arrived at a meeting in a Silver Tesla Model S. Perry hopes to get the Gigafactory nod from Tesla and perhaps steal some other Tesla business from the Golden State.

[tweet https://twitter.com/GovernorPerry/status/476500595742748673]

The strange part is that you still cannot sell a Tesla in a Tesla store in Texas.

  Gas2:

A stretched wheelbase version of the Tesla Model S could debut later this year ahead of a 2015 debut, we’ve learned through a Tesla insider. The longer Model S will serve both as a livery vehicle in the U.S. and Europe, as well as to appeal to Chinese consumers who place a premium on rear legroom.

Stretching the wheelbase would also allow for a much bigger battery pack. 105kWh?

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmaq1CbB8yo]

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIcH2psRJVc]

Driving on the wrong side of the road never looked so good 😉

NJ.com via Engadget:

In a unanimous vote, the state’s Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee passed a bill that not only gives Tesla the right to resume sales in its two existing New Jersey showrooms, but also allow it to open two more. It’s a big win for electric car makers in general, as it allows any company that sells zero-emission vehicles directly to customers to open up to four stores in the Garden State. It effectively puts the 1970 law that requires cars to be sold through dealerships on notice, but there were also calls for the state to better protect the dealer “status quo.” The FTC has already said such amendments hurt competition, but has no real power to enact change. It must rely on lawmakers, like those in New Jersey, to draw their own conclusions and restore the sales rights Tesla believes it deserves. The bill will need to pass a few more of New Jersey’s legislative processes to become law, but things are looking up for Tesla.

WSJ:

There are roughly a dozen companies making electric skateboards, versus just a handful a few years ago, according to people in the nascent industry. There are skateboard lights, skateboard locks, skateboard storage racks, and boards made from recycled fishnets. The skateboard, it seems, has become a hotbed of innovation.

None of this stuff is aimed at what you might call real skateboarders. Instead it is for the growing number of urban professionals who don’t want to drive to work. Kyle Doerksen, inventor of the Onewheel, illustrated this distinction while touting his contraption’s powerful brakes.

Where the Segway left off, the motoized skateboard comes in. The venerable skateboard is certainly not as stable but for those of us who grew up perfecting our balance and who still have some of that skill left, this is a great and dare I say, fun mode of transportation (even up hills). The Li-Ion tech just makes the boards lighter.

Just make sure there are smooth streets without potholes and rocks on your commute.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDwEFvOh9co]

Original is here on Tesla’s Site

• Still no casualties or even serious injuries in a Tesla through 344 million miles driven despite the fact that one went off a cliff and another hit cement barriers going 110 mph (causing one of the famous fires).
• Tesla/Musk’s goal is that people like the Model S more than their house and that is already sometimes the case.
• Personalization of Model S coming in next update: I mean it is ranging from the highly functional to the not that much, you’ll be able to name your car and it will show up in the mobile app as that name. Car learns your behavior and it just automatically adjusts to what you want.

  New tech includes Traffic-based directions and calendar integration and anticipating where you are going alerting you if there is traffic along the way are going to happen making Tesla a competitor with Google and Apple in the car space. Tesla cars will be operating collaboratively as a network, sort of a cloud sourced intelligence as to the traffic information.  Tesla’s as data points now are probably almost useless but when the cheap model comes out…

• Speaking of new model, it won’t be called the model E because when Ford found out, they went and trademarked it and then threatened to sue. So FORD KILLED S-E-X-Y. Never fear Tesla is trademarking some other names that they like.

The rough transcript is provided below via Seeking Alpha

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Green car reports put together this list with Tesla itself so it is probably pretty exhaustive. But you have to also wonder how many improvements they’ve made i their production that doesn’t necessarily make for an option just a better car:

Tesla Model S hardware changes from January through December 2013

• Power folding mirrors (now included in Tech Package; can be retrofitted to vehicles built after August 1, 2013)
• Red brake calipers (now included in Performance Package)
• New wheel option: 19-inch Cyclone / Turbine Wheel (joins previous 21-inch Cyclone / Turbine and 19-inch Aero wheel options)
• Cold-Weather Package (cannot be retrofitted)

• Fog Lamps (improved design illuminates a low, broad area below the low-beam’s light path; can be retrofitted to any Model S)
• Parking Sensors (can be retrofitted to any Model S)
• Ultra-High-Fidelity Sound Package (cannot be retrofitted
• Three-Zone, Three-Mode Rear Seat Heaters
• Wiper-Blade Defroster
• Washer-Nozzle Heaters

• Performance Plus Package (upgraded dampers, bushings, stabilizer bars; rear tires 20 mm wider and staggered for better acceleration on low-grip surfaces)
• Premium Leather Trim (adds leather on the top pad and lower area of the instrument panel, the door panel, the lower pillars, the armrest, and the driver-side airbag cover)
• Premium Interior Lighting (ambient lighting elements in passenger cabin and rear load bay)
• Mobile App availability

In an email sent to folks in Australia, Tesla officially announced Model S pricing to start at AU$91,400

Those prices are roughly equivalent to the Audi A6, BMW 528i, and Mercedes E 250 which are priced significantly less in the US so it seems genuine that Tesla isn’t trying to gouge its prospective Australian customers.

This one was in Hong Kong (the former British colony)

Saw a @TeslaMotors Model S in Hong Kong for the first time — both at a road show and on the road today! pic.twitter.com/UQKwxayG58

— Richard Lai (@richardlai) May 28, 2014

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqSDWoAhvLU]

Google today revealed that it is going to be making self-driving cars.

The prototypes shown off at the re/code conference for the first time look to be electric, though there isn’t a specific mention of the drivetrain at the event or in the Google Blog Post.

Ever since we started the Google self-driving car project, we’ve been working toward the goal of vehicles that can shoulder the entire burden of driving. Just imagine: You can take a trip downtown at lunchtime without a 20-minute buffer to find parking. Seniors can keep their freedom even if they can’t keep their car keys. And drunk and distracted driving? History. 

We’re now exploring what fully self-driving vehicles would look like by building some prototypes; they’ll be designed to operate safely and autonomously without requiring human intervention. They won’t have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal… because they don’t need them. Our software and sensors do all the work. The vehicles will be very basic—we want to learn from them and adapt them as quickly as possible—but they will take you where you want to go at the push of a button. And that’s an important step toward improving road safety and transforming mobility for millions of people. 

It will be interesting to see where Google goes with this. Will they end up building their own cars or will they just provide the brains to other cars?…or perhaps a mix like they currently do with Android cell phones.

Self-driving cars from Google

Whatever the case, the relationship between friends and mutual admirers Larry Page and Elon Musk might have just gotten more interesting.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCoUhy2Ypb8]

Good to know from a safety standpoint and also a good look at the inside of the Model S.

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A post shared by Tesla (@teslamotors)

Hard to imagine a better endorsement. Another shot of the car in route, below:
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