Electric Cars
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President Barack Obama isn’t hiding his support for electric vehicles one bit, with the nation’s leader heading to Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday to visit one of a growing number of electric vehicle startups. Obama will be visiting Smith Electric Vehicles, a small firm specializing in building battery-powered commercial vehicles and the recipient of a $32 million grant from the DOE. Obama has been backing greater electrification of the automobile since his appointment to the White House but lately he has shifted his focus to pure electric vehicles like those built by Smith Electric...
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Sexy Red Electric Concept Displays French Dream For Sports EVs
Concept cars are often no more than an automaker's chance to dream about a future of fully autonomous vehicles, sweeping curves and Jetsons-style glass panels, but once in a while a concept is unveiled which has what it takes to make it to production. And these days, no concept would be complete...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Japanese Firm Lets EVs Refill Faster Than a Gas Car
What can you do in three minutes? Boil a egg? Buy a Coffee? Check your Mail? Visit the bathroom? Thanks to Japanese based JFE Engineering, you can now add half-charging your EV to the list, courtesy of its ultra-fast charge station. Designed to comply with the CHAdeMo standard developed by Tokyo...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Forget The Showroom, Your First EV Test-Drive Could Be A Rental Car
Imagine going on a vacation to London, or Paris. You've just got over the jet-lag and are feeling like exploring the city. You've done all the usual tourist activities and have some friends on the other side of town to visit. Do you navigate a strange subway system, take a taxi, or make your...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Chevy Volt: Freedom Drive Underway, GM Offers T-Shirts
Taking a break from the relentless drumbeat of news about Tesla Motors, its stock offering this week, and the latest model of its electric two-seater, the Roadster 2.5--we bring you a story about the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric vehicle. Specifically, a Volt is now en route...
John Voelcker -
IPO Nets Tesla CEO Elon Musk A Cool $24 Million
When Tesla (Nasdaq:TSLA) finally listed on Nasdaq on Tuesday its share price went from $17 up to $23.89 at the end of trading, a gain of almost 41 percent in just one day alone. Scores of profit takers would have been rejoicing; among them Tesla CEO Elon Musk who managed to walk away with a cool...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW's plans for the future have been dramatic and decidedly high-tech of late, including the U.S.-bound 1-Series ActiveE and the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept, itself headed to production in the next few years. Today, BMW has released a teaser for an all-electric car under the project name of the Megacity Vehicle. The new Megacity Vehicle, or MCV for short, does not exclusively represent one type of vehicle, but rather a range of technologies BMW could introduce across its fleet or even under a rumored fourth brand. As such, there will be several different variations, including...
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Why Is Tesla’s Stock Deflating After Only Two Days?
Good news for those of you who shorted Tesla Motors' stock: the electric car company’s shares are already falling in price as the zeal around its $226 million public debut begins to fade — after just two days. TSLA closed at $21.96 today, its third day of trading, after falling $1.87. Yesterday...
John Voelcker -
New York And Texas To Join 2011 Chevrolet Volt Launch Markets
The 2011 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric vehicle will be upon us soon, very soon in fact, but for a few select markets, the Volt will arrive much earlier than elsewhere. GM has confirmed that the Volt will be launched initially in California, Michigan and Washington D.C. this fall but...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BREAKING: The Tesla Roadster 2.5 Is More Than Just A Few Tweaks
Tesla have taken cues from the world of software design as it announces the latest set of upgrades to its world-famous Tesla Roadster. But unlike a minor software upgrade, the Tesla 2.5 model gives customers a whole lot more than a few performance tweaks. Just days after its IPO and with shares...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2011 Nissan Leaf Misses June 30 Deadline
We've been keeping you in the loop as High Gear Media--well, me in particular--angles to be among the first to drive and own the 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car. Since Nissan opened up the ordering process to potential buyers earlier this year, the company's been aiming to release more specifics on...
Martin Padgett -
VantagePoint’s Alan Salzman on Tesla and how VCs should think green
I just sat down with Alan Salzman, CEO of VantagePoint Venture Partners — perhaps better known today as the first venture capital firm to invest in Tesla Motors — to see how he’s feeling about the big win, and what it might mean for VPVP’s growing green strategy. As you can imagine, he was...
John Voelcker -
There was a time when 'electric vehicle racing' was nothing more than an oxymoron. While teams of dedicated engineers, speed junkies and volt-heads have lit up drag strips with custom-built EV quarter-mile kings for years, the concept of racing production electric vehicles has yet to take off. But Scandinavian EV company Think is about to change the status quo as it readies a race-prepared 2011 Think City to launch the 2011 CityEV class as part of the 2011 EV Cup. The CityEV class is one of three in the series of European races due to take place across six venues in 2011. The CityEV class...
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Tesla Building Next-Gen Roadster Completely In-House
Today was a big day for Tesla, with the company’s shares finally trading on Nasdaq and investors pouring in more than $226 million into its coffers. As with any major Wall Street listing, Tesla needed to submit an IPO filing to the SEC detailing its structure, future plans and just exactly where...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Tesla Stock Surges Nearly 41 Percent On First Day Of Trading
Wall Street investors rallied behind Tesla (Nasdaq:TSLA) today, with the electric car start-up’s share price surging nearly 41 percent on its first day of trading on Nasdaq. Tesla’s share price ended the day at $23.89 a share, a gain of $6.89 on its opening price of $17. Just the day before...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
As Governments Worldwide Tighten Fiscal Wallets, Are EV Programs at Risk?
The U.K. coalition government has warned auto industry that it cannot continue to offer financial assistance to enable it to fully recover from the global recession. In addition, concern has been raised that even purchase grants for plug-in vehicles may be at risk if the government is unable to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Last minute sprint boosts Tesla shares to $23.89, valuation to $2.2B
The Nasdaq is closed, and Tesla Motors [NSDQ: TSLA] is ending its first day on the market at $23.89 a share, a 40.5 percent increase over the $17 pricing it announced last night. This is a rock star showing for the electric car company, which has exceeded expectations that were already sky high. As...
John Voelcker -
Tesla IPO Raises More Than $226 Million
Tesla (Nasdaq:TSLA), or TSLA as it will trade under on Nasdaq, has been priced at $17 per share, allowing the electric car start-up to raise more than $226 million in its IPO. Investors were expecting the share price target range to be between $14 and $16 but the overflow of excitement saw Tesla...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Is one of the most anticipated EVs to launch this year nothing more than a plug-in-hybrid? Or has miscommunication led to a rumor that the 2011 Chevy Volt will run on gasoline only at highway speed? In an article for the U.K's Telegraph newspaper, motoring journalist Andrew English shared his experience behind the wheel of a european specification Volt, the Ampera. While English was pleased with the car's acceleration and handling to 50 mph he bemoaned the sluggish response of the Volt at higher speeds, blaming the flat torque curve of the electric motor. One of the lucky few to drive a...
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Five Things EVs Will Need To Do Before They Become Mainstream.
Let's face it. EVs are still a very small, very niche market. Expensive, short on supply and not even universally supported throughout the USA there are a whole series of achievements EVs will need to attain before they are considered regular cars. Here's the five most important things EVs will...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Elon Musk Draws Similarities Between Tesla, Google and Apple, But Are They Really Alike?
Unless you've been asleep for the past two months the chances are that you already know that Tesla Motors is about to launch it's IPO. You're probably also aware that predicted investment from the IPO is now at $178 million, up $78 million from original estimates. But just how is Elon Musk...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Why Early Adopters of EVs Won’t Suffer Range Anxiety.
If most mainstream media outlets are to be listened to we are a few short years from seeing stranded EVs dotting our major highways after running out of electricity short of the next charging station, but is this really an accurate depiction of what life with an EV will be like? While traditional...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Microsoft Offering Virtual Chevy Volt Test Drives With Kinect For Xbox 360
We’ve heard a lot about the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt, read up on all the specs, even seen a few videos of prototypes doing the rounds at GM proving grounds around Michigan, but sadly, for the great majority of Americans, getting a feel for what the Volt is really like to drive is still months...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Chinese EV Manufacturer BYD Announces New European Headquarters
Having recently announced plans for its U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles, Chinese battery specialists and electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has now announced that it will establish its new European headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. The Shenzhen-based automaker is likely to build its latest...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran