Tesla News
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"Jailbreaking" used to mean... well, breaking out of jail. In the modern world though, it typically refers to the process of cracking software codes to take greater control of applications and user interfaces. It's rife in the world of smartphones, and now it's possible with electric vehicles too--such as the technology-heavy Tesla Model S. ALSO SEE: Is Tesla Motors A Carmaker...Or Really A Grid-Storage Company? A central feature of the Model S--literally--is its enormous dashboard-mounted 17-inch touchscreen. It's a technical highlight of the car, allowing owners options from changing simple...
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Tesla Model S Sets Record For Single-Month Sales In Norway
In the last few years of electric car sales, the only records cars have been breaking are their own. Nissan, for example, has just had its best March ever for Leaf sales. And we know that global electric car sales have doubled each year for the past few years. But now, reports The Wall Street...
Antony Ingram -
What Are Tesla Model S Drivers Browsing In Their Connected Cars?
One of the alluring features of the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan is its always-on 3G 4G cellular connection and built-in Internet browser. But have you ever wondered what all those wealthy electric-car drivers are actually looking at on their in-car browsers? Now we know. Or at least we have...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Gigafactory Faces Skepticism From Panasonic, Analysts
Elon Musk, CEO of startup electric-car maker Tesla Motors, is no doubt used to skepticism. Now he faces new doubts over the company's plans for a massive "gigafactory" costing as much as $5 billion to manufacture more lithium-ion cells than any other plant in the world. DON'T MISS: Tesla's...
John Voelcker -
DoE Reboots Advanced Auto-Tech Loan Program That Funded Ford, Nissan, Tesla, Fisker
It's baaaaaaaaaaaack. U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced yesterday that the DoE had revised and updated its Advanced-Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program, which offers low-interest loans to carmakers and their suppliers. Any new loans, according to a Detroit News...
John Voelcker -
Memo To TV News Shows: Tesla Electric Cars Don't Make Engine Noises
If you watched 60 Minutes on Sunday night--perhaps wondering whether the show would target the Tesla Model S electric car--you may have been relieved. The segment, "Fast Cars and Rocket Ships," was nothing less than a laudatory paean to the vision and accomplishments of Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk...
John Voelcker -
Using cameras for side mirrors isn't a new concept--manufacturers have been fitting them to concept vehicles for decades. But when it comes to road use, laws all around the world require proper mirrors, with no loopholes available for camera and screen-based systems. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is currently seeking approval to overturn current U.S. regulations on mirrors, says Automotive News, allowing it to fit more aerodynamic camera-based systems--such as those found on the original Model X crossover concept. As car manufacturers seek greater efficiency from their vehicles, many are turning...
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NHTSA Closes Probe Into Tesla Model S Fires: "Defect Not Identified"
It looks like Tesla Motors' brief firefight is now over. Not only has the company announced the fitment of new parts designed to deflect road debris, the cause of two fire incidents towards the end of 2013, but the NHTSA has now closed its probe into the fires--absolving the Model S of blame. Last...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Model S To Get Titanium Battery Shield, Plus Deflectors: BREAKING
Tesla Motors announced this morning that it will fit three new underbody components to all Model S electric cars to add further protection against impacts from road debris, which caused a pair of fires in its cars last fall. Those two Model S cars were severely damaged when their battery packs...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model X Was Tougher To Design Than Model S, Musk Says
If the Roadster was Tesla's early gigging days and the Model S the debut release from a hot new band, the Model X crossover could be considered Tesla's 'difficult second album'. Elon Musk has even hinted so himself, suggesting the car presents "a harder design problem than the Model S". According...
Antony Ingram -
2015 Tesla Model X Crossover Reservations: 13,000, Maybe
For an electric sedan priced above the reach of many people, sales of the Tesla Model S have been rather impressive so far. That relative popularity should also carry over to the firm's upcoming crossover, the 2015 Tesla Model X. The Tesla Motors Club is tracking Model X reservations, and so far...
Antony Ingram -
Life With Tesla Model S: UPDATE On Pedal Placement Problem
Two days ago, I described in this article a frightening incident in my Tesla Model S. Approaching a downhill intersection, I inadvertently stepped on both the brake and accelerator pedals simultaneously. The car barely slowed, and it appeared I was headed for a collision with another car...
David Noland -
The modern car is just about unrecognizable against its counterpart of a few decades ago. Not in terms of shape or performance, but emissions. The whole industry, pushed hard by legislation, has drastically reduced exhaust pollutants. Hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric cars do their bit to reduce emissions further, operating some or all of the time with no tailpipe emissions at all. But according to Bloomberg, electric cars actually increase pollution in places like China, which produces the largest proportion of the world's lithium-ion battery cells--and, more importantly, their precursor...
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Good News For Tesla: AZ Bill Would Legalize Direct Sales As State Angles For Gigafactory
When the possibility of new jobs clashes with the desires of powerful campaign contributors, sometimes jobs can take priority. That may be what's happening in Arizona, where a new bill in the state legislature would legalize the direct-sales model of electric-car maker Tesla Motors--to the intense...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Tweets, Then Deletes, Electric-Car Sales Slap At Tesla
Oh, Nissan, you just shouldn't have gone there. As captured by Autoblog Green writer Domenick Yoney last Friday, the @NissanLeaf Twitter account posted the following message: It's okay #NewJersey, you can still #GoElectric with the #NissanLEAF #EV Sloppy punctuation aside, the tweet was a clear dig...
John Voelcker -
Tucson Wants Tesla Gigafactory, Gives Formal Proposal To Electric-Car Maker
Tucson wants to be the home of Tesla Motors' massive lithium-ion battery cell factory.
Stephen Edelstein -
Will National Parks Become A Black Hole For Electric-Car Visitors?
National Parks problem....black holes for our increasing electric vehicle tourists
George Parrott -
Electric-Car Coloring Book By Irked Tesla Employee Explains It All For You
As any electric car owner will know, there are still some surprising misconceptions about electric cars out there. One Tesla employee, annoyed at being asked the same questions over and over about electric cars--with the occasional ludicrous question thrown in--has created a coloring book about...
Antony Ingram -
New Jersey may become the latest state to ban Tesla's company-owned stores.
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Life With Tesla Model S: One Year And 15,000 Miles Later
Well, it's now been a year since I took delivery of my dark green 2013 Tesla Model S with the 60-kilowatt-hour battery. After almost four years of waiting, those first days after delivery were euphoric. As I recall, the words "greatest freaking car in the entire freaking Universe" (or thereabouts)...
David Noland -
The CA City You've Never Heard Of That's An Electric-Car Epicenter
Fremont is fast becoming a hub for electric cars, and it isn't known for much else.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Announces European Expansion Plans At Geneva Show
Tesla Motors will add more service centers, stores, and Supercharger stations in Europe this year.
Stephen Edelstein -
Is This A Tesla Model S AWD Prototype Caught Testing? (Video, Photos)
It's long been expected that sooner or later, the Tesla Model S electric sport sedan will be offered with all-wheel drive. Now, two different Tesla fans have captured photos and video of what appears to be a prototype test vehicle with external instrumentation driving around the San Francisco Bay...
John Voelcker -
How Financial Analysts (And Many Others) Misunderstand Tesla's Competitors
Startup electric-car maker Tesla Motors and its sleek Model S luxury sport sedan have generated more media coverage over the last three years than many well-established car companies. But at least some of that coverage is woefully, hilariously out of touch with the actual world of real people...
John Voelcker