Instead, Tesla was part of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program, a program signed into law by Bush in 2008. The loan funds were awarded under the Obama administration in 2010 as well as “in the years that followed”. Tesla has made clear that both GM and Chrysler were given bailouts because they were bankrupt, while the ATVM program was only available to Tesla Motors because they were in good financial health.

According to Elon Musk:

“I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate. I hope we did you proud.” – Musk for Tesla

This move to repay the loans given to Tesla by the Department of Energy has made Tesla once again a totally privately funded organization. This is the first time since 2003 that the company has been funded entirely with private funds, mind you, and and this final payment was made using “a portion” of the approximately $1 billion raised last week by the company.

UPDATE: Clarified by a helpful reader, it’s not since 2003 that the company was entirely privately funded – instead it was privately funded from 2003 until 2010, then between 2010 and 2013 (now), it was funded in part by this government loan – now again it’s entirely privately funded.

This $1 billion came from a concurrent set of offerings of common stock and convertible senior notes – and $100 million of common equity was purchased by Elon Musk himself. Today’s payment – the final one, at that – equaled nearly a half-billion at $451.8M in all. This repays Tesla’s loan cash in full, with interest.

For those of you wondering – both GM and Chrysler have paid back their loans, too. But that’s not all the cash they got from the government, depending on how you look at it. Back about a year ago, President Obama mentioned that both company’s loans had been repaid in full.

According to Politifact, while the companies that were formed when the bailouts were made did, indeed pay that money back, the “old” Chrysler and “old” GM have not necessarily made that move – it may be that, all things considered, there will be no complete payment by the auto industry back to the government. But again, it’s all about your point of view.

Recently Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter dropping some teasing details about a future electric vehicle that he and Tesla are dreaming up. Musk said, “It has always been my dream to produce a low cost, compelling electric car. We are 3 to 4 years away. Wish it could be sooner.” That would put timeframe for Tesla’s next electric vehicle at approximately 2016 to 2017.

Musk then answered another question when people were curious what sort of pricing Tesla was considering for its future electric vehicle. Musk tweeted in response to that question, “$30k in 2013 $.” He also said that the new vehicle would have a 200+ mile range with some “really cool tech that we can’t talk about yet.”

I’d wager that really cool tech will be the hot-swappable battery packs that Tesla recently mentioned in an SEC filing or fast battery changing stations. Musk also tweeted that the vehicle would be about the size of the Audi A4 or BMW 3-series compared to the Model S being sized like the Audi A7 or BMW M5.

Musk even said that he thinks when we consider the savings the vehicle will give you in gasoline, that you can actually cross-shop a $30,000 Tesla EV with $25,000 gasoline-powered vehicles. Tesla could be right to assuming this future technology Musk isn’t ready to talk about has something to do with making it quick and easy to recharge or swap battery packs at a low cost.

SOURCE: Forbes

Tesla sells its popular electric vehicle via its own website, as well as its expanding series of retail stores. Such is the nature of Tesla Motors, and it is working well for them, doing all the work – right down to delivering the vehicle – on its own. Consumers don’t seem to mind. That hasn’t stopped North Carolina from going after the company – and others offering direct vehicle sales – via a legislative proposal.

Under the bill, which is being pushed heavily by the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association, no car maker would be allowed to directly sell its own vehicles within the state, thus eschewing traditional conventions of dealerships. Late yesterday, the NC Senate’s Commerce Committee approved the proposal – unanimously – to block such actions. Despite its unanimous approval, the resulting bill will be reduced in some ways, such as removing wording that designates any service providing a computer that is used to order a Tesla Model S as a dealership.

Not surprisingly, Tesla Motors isn’t happy about the approved proposal, nor the thought of being forced to offer its vehicles through state dealerships. The direct sales method of offering the buying public its vehicles is part of Tesla’s image – it gives the vehicle purchase that little something extra, a feel of being super special or getting something that transcends the normal.

In fact, Tesla Motor’s VP of Corporate and Business Development Diarmuid O’Connell compared being forced to sell through dealerships as being like selling a fine wine in a mall’s food court. “They’re trying to insulate the dealer franchise model from any competition. It’s a protectionist move to lock down the market so we have to go through the middleman – the dealer – to sell our cars.”

SOURCE: News Observer

The first quarter of this year saw Tesla producing their 10,000th Model S vehicle body – and they’d better get a move on if their suggestions of rates of orders are correct. Tesla Motors noted this week that they’ve reached an order rate greater than 20,000 per year worldwide, and not just in the United States. Tesla notes that though the Model S has only been delivered to North American customers at the moment, they’ve seen “significant potential” in both Europe and Asia.

The company has suggested that they’ll be building right around 5,000 Model S vehicles in the second quarter of 2013, some of them headed for Europe for delivery in the third quarter of the year. The company has also raised their target for sales on this electric vehicle to 21,000 unit deliveries by the end of the year, worldwide.

“I think we’ll see at least 10,000 units of demand per year in Europe, and at least 5,000 in Asia.” – Deepak Ahuja, Chief Financial Officer

“Do not take these numbers as final in any way, but if I’m asked to speculate I could say 15,000 units for North America, 5,000 for Europe, and 1,000 for Asia [by the end of the year].” – Elon Musk

In the announcement mass this week regarding their first quarter of 2013, Tesla also noted that they’d exceeded their targets for deliveries, made a significant expansion in gross margin, and generated a profit of $15 million. That is, again, the first time the company has made a quarterly profit in the entirety of the company’s 10-year history. Producing approximately 400 Model S cars per week certainly must have had shareholders either nervous or pumped up – that’s a lot of metal with potential to hit the road.

[via Tesla Motors Live Conference]

The company sold 4,900 vehicles during the three month period, raking in $562 million in revenue, which is up a whopping 83% from last quarter’s $306 million. After it was all said and done, Tesla profited $11 million, which is barely pocket change, but it marks the first time in the company’s ten-year history that they’ve finished in the black.

Throughout the first quarter, Tesla claims that they built “400 or more” Model S vehicles per week on average, and they beat their original guidance of 4,500 cars for the quarter, shipping almost 5,000 Model S cars during the past three months. The company also reduced the amount of time it takes to building a Model S, lowering that time by around 40%, which allowed them to build more units.

Currently, Tesla says that they’re receiving orders for new cars at a rate of around 20,000 per year globally. However, Tesla doesn’t sell cars outside of North America, but the company hinted that there is an interest in selling Model S cars to regions in Europe and Asia. The company made a lot of announcements this quarter, including a new financing plan and a new warranty program that aims for guaranteed customer satisfaction.

However, Musk is wanting self-driving technology that’s more like the autopilot system in airplanes, mentioning that the word “self-driving” implies that the car is “going to do something you don’t want it to do.” Instead, Musk says that autopilot would be perfect, and says that cars “should have it.”

While Bloomberg reports that Musk is currently in talks with Google, it seems as if he wants to implement his own system for self-driving cars, rather than just use Google’s technology. Musk says that “Google’s current approach is that the sensor system is too expensive.” Instead, he claims that “an optical system” would be better, which is an array of cameras that can tell what’s going on just by looking at the surroundings.

Toyota demonstrated a similar system to what Musk describes back in January, and the auto maker is also an investor of Tesla, so we could see the two companies work together possibly on a new self-driving technology. However, it’ll be a long while before self-driving and autopilot cars hit the mainstream. Until then, save up your money.

UPDATE: Elon Musk said over Twitter that making autopilot Tesla cars is “important,” but it’s not yet a “top priority” for the company. Musk says that production of autopilot cars is still a “few years” away.

UPDATE 2: Musk further comments via Twitter that the report from Bloomberg is “off-the-cuff” and that there is “no big announcement here.”

[via Bloomberg]

The dampers, bushings, and stabilizer bars are all upgraded, while Tesla switches the tires to Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. They’re 20mm wider than the regular 21-inch wheels, as well as being staggered for an extra turn of acceleration.

“Performance Plus takes one of the world’s best sedans into supercar handling territory, while also improving ride quality and range” Tesla crows on its site, billing the Plus package as a no-lose option beyond the hit your wallet takes. “After hundreds of iterations affecting every detail of the suspension, our vehicle dynamics team was able to achieve the rare outcome of simultaneously improving performance, comfort and efficiency.”

According to a message sent to preorder customers, the Plus pack has bigger front and rear stabilizer bars for more predictable handling, and increased lateral stiffness in the rear suspension with springs and dampers that work more efficiently.

Turning your four-door electric car into an eco-friendly beast comes at a cost, however. First off you need to opt for the Performance Model S, which is $87,400 to begin with, and you also need to have specified the 21-inch high-performance tires, at a further $3,500. Then the Plus pack is $6,500 on top.

[via Edmunds]

According to the report, Tesla Motors receives up to $35,000 in credits for every Model S electric vehicle it sells, a substantial number on top of the car’s sticker price. The credits have been a financial staple of the auto maker, and likewise gives it a boost that is unique to Tesla Motors – no other car manufacturer gets so much in credits. As Chrysler’s CEO pointed out last month, for example, its taking a $10k hit on every Fiat it sells in California.

California has been heavily pursuing zero-emissions vehicles, with that reality reinforced last month via the publication of a roadmap by the California Fuel Cell Partnership, in which it detailed the state’s plans for rolling out hydrogen stations and the number of fuel-cell vehicles it expects to see in the coming years based on current and estimated growth rates.

Despite accusations that California is playing favorites, the state’s Air Resource Board is quoted as saying: “We are in the air pollution business, not the car business. There is some jealousy of Tesla going on here.” As far as Tesla Motors goes, the maker saw Model S sales tally in at 2,650 last year, and expects the number of sales to jump drastically this year to 20,000 units. Such a number will bring in substantial environmental credits, which will then sell for an even more substantial amount to other car makers.

[via LA Times]

New loans will be extended by 11, going from 63 months to 72 months, in order to give buyers the ability to get lower monthly payments. The company faced recent criticism that their financing plan was a bit vague, and some of the math didn’t quite add up. For instance, the company said that the out-of-pocket cost of a Model S would be in the $500 range per month, but monthly payments would actually be around $1,200.

Furthermore, Tesla is now also guaranteeing a resale value of 50% after three years, which is up from 43% previously. Beforehand, the company agreed to match the resale value of the Mercedes S Class, but they’re now including any and all premium non-limited edition sedans, which sounds like a pretty sweet deal from the looks of it.

Musk admits that their initial financing plan “wasn’t quite right,” and he’s giving credit to the critics who called out the company on the confusing financing plans. Musk says that these people “were right,” and the company is “upping the ante by providing the best resale value guarantee in the automotive industry.”

Of course, we’re left with very little details, which means we can only speculate on what Musk and company will be unveiling tomorrow. However, in a reply on Twitter, Musk elaborated slightly on what the announcement would cover, and he says that tomorrow’s announcement will be “about getting a prior announcement right.”

This means that it involves either Tesla’s new financing option or their new warranty system. However, based on these two options, tomorrow’s announcement will most likely have something to do with the company’s new financing scheme, which seemed a little off in the first place. This new financing option would allow customers to own a new Model S for just $500 per month.

We’re guessing that Musk will clarify any confusion with this new financing plan. We’re not exactly sure if he’ll change the financing option altogether, or if he’ll simply explain himself better and say, “yup, you can own a Tesla for just $500 per month.” Considering how expensive Tesla cars are, though, we’re guessing it would take years and years to pay off the car with only $500 payments.

A long time ago, car dealers ended up getting their state lawmakers to pass legislation that would ban the direct sale of cars straight from the manufacturer. This was a precaution to prevent auto makers from undercutting the car dealers. However, Sterling McCall, who is a popular retired car dealer based in Houston, says that this kind of ban is hogwash.

McCall says that “we ought to welcome competition — and the innovation — that Tesla brings, just as dealerships already compete to sell more gas-powered, hybrid and natural gas vehicles from the country’s larger manufacturers.” McCall continues by saying that this is essentially something that the public wants.

However, it’ll be a hard fight Musk and company, as Tesla was recently denied a dealer license in Virginia for the same reasons that they can’t sell cars in Texas. Musk is currently urging lawmakers to introduce a new bill that would either reverse the ban, or simply allow direct sales in these states.

Tesla started selling its Model S vehicles back in the middle of 2012, and it has plans of delivering 20,000 of its vehicles this year. So far its shipments are limited to North American consumers. Customers are able to purchase a Model S thanks to Tesla’s financing tool that will allow customers to pick up a Model S for virtually no down-payment and with monthly payments of $500 a month for 36 months. Elon Musk also promises customers that they can sell their Model S back after 36 months for the “same residual value percentage as the iconic Mercedes S Class.”

However, despite Tesla’s growth in sales last quarter, it still won’t reach the sales of GM and Nissan, who both sold 30,000 of their rechargeable vehicles last year. Tesla, being a small business, is limited to sales in only the United States and Canada, and until it can sell its Model S vehicles to other countries, it may have a tough time. According to one analyst, its small size will put it under financial pressure. John Wolkonowicz, an auto analyst in Boston, states,

“Tesla’s small size, relative to GM and Nissan, will keep the electric-car maker under financial pressure. The auto business is all about capital intensity, you have to spend money to keep improving your products and develop new ones. A small little auto company like Tesla, I just don’t think they can do it.”

Regardless, Tesla is doing well so far. The company says that in its 10-year history, it will be reporting its first-quarter profit on May 8th. The company also plans on repaying its loan from the Department of Energy 5 years in advance. Tesla’s vehicles appeal to customers not just because of their build quality, but also because of the company’s policies that assure that its customers will receive high quality service when purchasing their vehicles. Alongside the financing tool, Tesla will also provide a complete warranty program that will cover “essentially anything that happens to your vehicle”. The program will last for 8-years after you purchase your vehicle.

[via Bloomberg]

The program spoken about here will work with current owners of the Tesla Model S and will cover essentially anything that happens to your vehicle just so long as you didn’t intentionally make it happen yourself. In fact, they go so far as to cover all damage excluding intentional damage, colission, or the opening of a battery pack by non-Tesla crew.

“Except in the cases of a collision, opening of the battery pack by non-Tesla personnel or intentional abuse (lighting the pack on fire with a blowtorch is not covered!), all damage is covered by warranty, including improper maintenance or unintentionally leaving the pack at a low state of charge for years on end.” – Tesla Motors

If you’ve got your car in for repairs, this program lets you grab a loaner car that, if you enjoy using more than the car you own, can be purchased at a price lower by 1% per month of age and $1 per mile. Using this program will allow the Tesla fleet on the road to never turn in to an “aging fleet of overused cars”, as they say.

“We’re focused on the things that needed the most attention, it started with the design and engineering of the car, then went to the production of the car… now we’re focusing on a warantee program for the world’s best car.” – Musk

This system works with the Model S, but we’re expecting it’ll be pushed to whatever other vehicles are released by the company in the future as well. If you yourself own a Tesla vehicle, please feel free to contact SlashGear with your input on the new warrantee system, whether your satisfied or not. Have a peek in our Car hub for more information on the vehicle universe in general and head down to the timeline below to track Tesla’s change in the very recent past!

That opposition echoes similar complaints by dealership groups in Texas that the EV company should not be allowed to sell its cars directly to the public. Instead, they want the same independent dealership network as is the status-quo for cars currently to be kept.

The disappointing decision even came despite the Virginia DMV Hearing Office making a recommendation that Tesla be granted a license. “I further find that the operation of a Tesla owned dealership would be in the public interest” the Hearing Officer wrote, having deemed that “Tesla has presented additional and persuasive evidence that there is no dealer, independent of Tesla, that would be available in the community or trade area” that could sell the Model S and other cars under the franchise model in a way in-keeping with public interest.

That proved unconvincing for Virginia’s DMV Commissioner, however, who overruled the Hearing Officer and rejected the request.

Tesla is currently fighting with legislators in Texas who have said the company cannot operate a direct-to-consumers network of its own. Instead, it must work on a franchise system, with a middleman in-between, something Musk has argued is inefficient and not in the best interest of drivers.

Musk is urging to lawmakers in Texas to pass legislation that would allow electric carmakers to sell directly to consumers, rather than using a franchised car dealership. Musk attended a news conference today in Austin, and said that current laws requiring cars be sold by third-party dealerships is hurting Tesla.

Texas is particularly important in this case, because it’s estimated that the state would make up between 15% to 20% of Tesla’s total sales in the US, but the chances of the law getting reversed is slim to none, as a majority of auto dealerships in Texas are opposed to the law changing, and that’s bad news for Tesla.

In the meantime, if a Texas resident wants to buy a Tesla vehicle, they have to contact a company representative in another state to arrange a purchase of the car, as well as arrange shipping the car to the Texas resident’s house, which doesn’t seem too complicated, but having physical locations in Texas could potentially increase Tesla sales in the state.

Tesla cancelled plans for a cheaper,smaller battery version of its Model S vehicle, but later on it announced a revolutionary financing product to help make its Model S vehicles affordable to customers. Apple’s next two iPhones were said to be in production while Steve Jobs was still alive, and in related news, Apple issued an apology to China over its “unfair” warranty policies. The Pirate Bay also took the crown as the world’s largest file-sharing website.

Verizon and AT&T are reportedly placing a joint bid for Vodafone. Apple’s iPhone 5S is said to be currently in production, and AT&T, along with other carriers, states that the HTC One will begin shipping on April 19th. Windows Blue will reportedly be Windows 8.1 and be released within a few months, and Samsung’s new phablet will reportedly be called the Samsung Galaxy Mega and will have a 6.3-inch display. The 2nd-gen Nexus 7 is rumored to be released in July, and Samsung and Mozilla are working together on a new web browser engine. The USPTO invalidated Apple’s Bounce-Back patent once again, and Activision laid off 40 full-time employees after they finished development for its Deadpool game.

Facebook’s Event kicked off on April 4th, where it announced its new Android product, Facebook Home, which will be released on April 12th for multiple devices. It will have many features, like Chat Heads messaging and a Cover Feed lockscreen. It will be embedded on the AT&T’s exclusive HTC First, but you can easily disable the software with this guide. Be sure to check out SlashGear’s hands-on guide with both Facebook Home and the HTC First. Samsung is expected to launch “Experience Shops” in 1400 Best Buys to rival Apple’s mini-shops.

The full SXSW Google Glass demonstration video is now available for viewing. Images for the BlackBerry R10 leaked showing a low-end QWERTY Blackberry 10 device. An ITC Judge stated in a preliminary ruling that Samsung infringed on Apple’s text-selection patent, and a German court invalidated Apple’s slide-to-unlock patent. A Skype trojan has been reported to be going around globally, turning PCs into Bitcoin miners, and HP chairman Raymond Lane has decided to step down from his position. That’s all for today’s Weekend Wrap-up! Be sure to check out the Evening Wrap-Up tag portal for more in-depth news for each day of this week.

Investigators have spotted this vehicle in multiple instances from multiple angles, and have caught it in motion, so there’s no reason to think the abomination that is bubble gum pink isn’t wrapped around this otherwise glorious electric vehicle. While the custom Google Chrome rims are part of Brin’s original build, the rest will only be there so long as the Google head decides they’re still funny.

If you head down to the TeslaMotorClub forums you’ll find several ladies and gentlemen confirming that they’ve been up close and personal with the vehicle – and that it’s not painted this way, only vinyl wrapped. The largest photo you see above comes from user Trnsl8r who appears to have caught the vehicle in the wild, parked sideways awaiting its pilot. You’ll find zebra print seat and steering wheel covers ready to rock with a pair of pink dice and flames on both mirrors busting out.

No word at the moment whether or not the Bat Wings on the back of this masterpiece will be auctioned off for the needy. You’ll also find Google’s Nathan Johns posting an image from another angle up on Google+ and the photo of Brin driving the vehicle was taken by Brian Li, Five Visions Photography and posted to Forbes. Keep on rolling right!

Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on the Tesla Model S and stick around the Google tag portal we’ve got set up for all the greatest Sergey Brin adventures you can handle each and every afternoon!

Tesla is working together with Wells Fargo and US Bank, two of the largest banks in the United States, to release the financing product. Both banks will provide you with the financing (based on credit approval) for the 10% down payment you need to make when you purchase a Model S vehicle. The financing will be more than covered by the $7,500 to $15,000 tax credit provided by the US Federal and State government.

After paying virtually no down payment on your new vehicle, you’ll end up paying $500 each month for 36 months. That seems like a high cost, however, considering all of the benefits you receive from Tesla’s Model S, it seems a lot more than it actually is. You’ll be saving a lot of money from not having to buy gasoline. You will also be offered depreciation benefits for your vehicle amongst other things.

Tesla states that after 36 months, you can sell your Model S for the “same residual value percentage as the iconic Mercedes S Class”. That’s a statement that is guaranteed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself. He wants to assure customers that they are getting both a quality car as well as quality service from Tesla. Tesla has been doing extremely well this year, despite that incident it had with the New York Times. To catch up with the latest news regarding Tesla, check out our timeline below.

Even though the car will have a bigger battery than expected – good for 230 miles at 55mph, rather than the 160 miles of the smaller version – it won’t deliver that full range. Instead, Tesla will artificially cap the cheaper Model S using software.

Despite that, there are still some advantages to the strategy, including the ability to “upgrade” the car at some point in the future. Tesla will allow range-loving owners to pay to unlock the extra 20 kWh of potential in the power pack, at any point in the car’s lifetime. Meanwhile, acceleration will also improve, with the software-limited variant matching the 5.9s 0-60mph time of the 60 kWh car, a 0.6s improvement on what customers had been expecting.

It’s not the only bonus Tesla has announced today. The company has also been quietly baking its Supercharger hardware into the 60 kWh Model S, which means that those who later decide to pay to use Tesla’s growing network of cross-US high speed charging points won’t have to have equipment retro-fitted to their car. Previously, the Supercharger tech was only installed by default on the 85 kWh model; it’s a $2,000 option on the 60 kWh Model S.

For investors, though, it’s the big picture around Model S sales that will put the most smiles on faces today. Tesla has confirmed that deliveries of cars this quarter will exceed 4,750, up 250 on the estimates the company previously announced. The result is full-profitability in Q1, both GAAP and non-GAAP, Tesla says, having previously confirmed that it would repay its Department of Energy loans five years early.

Meanwhile, there’s more news afoot. Headline-loving Tesla founder Elon Musk teased a big announcement this coming Thursday, and the car company tells us today’s profitability and Model S tweaking news isn’t it.

The announcement of the announcement comes straight from the horse’s mouth: Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to say that he’s really excited for an “announcement coming on Thursday,” and that he’s “going to put [his] money where [his] mouth is in [a] major way.” Needless to say, we’re pretty curious as to what the company will announce.

Nothing major happened with Tesla recently that would suggest an announcement of any kind. It could have something to do with the company’s delayed Model X SUV, but we’re not positive on that. The company recently announced the delay of the Model X into late 2014 so that they could focus more on the Model S’s production during 2013.

There’s also that five-year loan that Tesla is planning to pay back to the US Department of Energy earlier than expected, but we can’t see any kind of major announcement coming out of that. Honestly, we think the announcement may just come out of thin air, and Musk and company may announce something that nobody saw coming. We’ll just have to wait and see come Thursday. Stay tuned.

Tesla said that it’s delaying production of its SUV in order to keep focusing on its Model S vehicle. Last year, the company said that the Model X would begin production at the end of this year, but the SUV will see around a one-year delay, with deliveries beginning sometime towards the beginning of 2015.

Tesla believes “there is increased volume potential” for the Model S, and in order to take advantage of that, the company will have to put the Model X on the back burner for now. However, the company says that they don’t expect a “material impact” on their profitability in 2013 or 2014, thanks to the intense interest in the Model S from consumers.

Of course, Tesla indeed doesn’t seem to be having issues with revenue, as their latest earnings report mentions a 500% increase in revenue compared to the previous quarter. The company said that they’re at the point where they can ship 20,000 cars per year, even if they only ended up shipping 3,100 vehicles last year.

[via LA Times]

Tesla first acquired the loan 10 years ago. The U.S Department of Energy granted Tesla $465 million to develop its electric cars. The loan agreement Tesla had with the Department of Energy stated that if it didn’t pay off its loans by 2018, the government would be able to purchase 3 million of Tesla shares at a discounted price. Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer, Deepak Ahuja, stated, ” The terms of the original loan had a very good incentive for us to pay off the loan early.”

With the new amendment to the loan agreement, they will be able to avoid the “vesting of that warrant.” Any cash that Tesla makes that is above their $200 million threshold will be used to repay their loans. Ahuja also stated that if there is any balance remaining by the end of 2017, the company will pay it all off as a “balloon payment.” Things are looking optimistic for Tesla that makes the company believe it will be able to painlessly finish paying off its loan.

Tesla is expected to sell 20,000 of its Model S sedans by the end of this year. Sales of Tesla’s Zero-Emission Vehicle credits reached $40.5 million in 2012, which is a phenomenal increase from the $2.7 million it made in 2011. Due to a California regulation, automakers have to produce a certain amount of electric/plug-in vehicles a year, and those who are unable to meet those demands can buy credits from companies like Tesla in order to meet their quota.

Beginning in 2015, Tesla will begin making accelerated payments on its loan. It plans on producing its next all-electric vehicle, the Model X, late next year, and it also plans on building around 15,000 electric vehicles each year. The company is doing extremely well financially, especially considering 2,650 Model S sedans sold last year, which go for around $50,000 – $100,000+ each after the $7,500 tax credit provided by the government.

[via Bloomberg]

You might think that your Ford will play any song in your playlist, assuming your Ford is equipped with Sync. The catch with the Ford system and the other systems on other vehicles is that you have to have the music stored on the cars internal drive or on your iPod or other device attached the infotainment system. According to Musk, the Model S will reach out onto the Internet and get any song available without you having to connect an iPod.

Musk doesn’t go into details of how the system works other than saying the car goes on the Internet and finds the music. That means it’s unclear whether the car has its own internal Internet connection, or if it’s connecting to a Wi-Fi connection inside the building, or if it’s connecting to the Internet via a smartphone. One thing that is impressive about the system is that it appears to be very fast.

The delay between asking for song and the song being retrieved and played appears to be no longer than the delay on other systems finding a specific track on your iPod playlist. This is a really cool feature, it’s too bad you have to spend hundred thousand dollars on a car to get it.

[via Bloomberg]

The loan proved to be very beneficial to Tesla, which is reaping the rewards of its efforts. The loan was provided as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program, and gave Tesla a means to revamp a California auto plant to makes it popular – and lately, controversial – Model S vehicle. The announcement was given alongside energy secretary Steven Chu.

The program under which Tesla received the loan has been a source of controversy, with many pointing out that one of the companies that received money under the program – Solyndra – was unable to repay it. In light of this, for Tesla to not only repay all of the money, but to do so well ahead of schedule will be a massive boon for the program.

Though the claims by Tesla are a positive thing, the company has not yet churned a profit. Other manufacturers who have received funds under the program are also expected to pay back the loans they received, with Chu specifically citing Ford and Nissan. Thus far, the Department of Energy has shelled out over $8 billion in loans, and only time will tell whether it pays off in the end.

[via MIT Technology Review]

Musk was obviously upset with the New York Time’s article, and even offered his own rebuttal to the article, much to the objection of his peers. He stated that, “I’d rather tell the truth and suffer the consequences, even if they are negative.” His statement worked because shortly after he spoke out against the New York Times, the New York Times issued an apology. Musk doesn’t want the writer of the article, John Broder, to be fired for his review, nor does he want his career to end, but he did say that Broder “fudged” the article.

Musk also talks about the production rate for the Model S. Musk says demand is continuing to grow. As the Model S is delivered to various regions in the country, there is actually more demand for the Model S, and the sales it has now isn’t solely driven by early adopters. Tesla currently produces 400 cars per week, and hopes to produce 20,000 by the end of this year. It also helps that consumers are given a $7,500 subsidy from the U.S government when they purchase a Model S. Without the subsidy, Musk believes that demand may drop 10%-20%.

Despite the damage done by the New York Time’s article, Musk is optimistic about Tesla’s future. It seems that demand for the Model S is still growing and eventually all of the controversy will be put behind the company. Musk also hopes that Tesla will be able to forgo help from the U.S. government in the future, and be a stand-alone company.

[via Bloomberg]

The company has reported that they delivered around 2,400 Model S sedans during the fourth quarter and made a $12.7 million principal payment on their loan from the Department of Energy. However, they have total liabilities of $989.5 million, including $452.3 million in debt (ouch!). Nonetheless, they seem to be producing Model S units at a steady rate.

The company is producing around 400 vehicles per week. Over the quarter, they produced 2,750 vehicles and over 3,100 vehicles during the full year of 2012. The company says they’re at a point now where they can “reliably” produce 20,000 cars per year, which means that 2013 should be a big year for Tesla. During the first quarter alone, they want to ship 4,500 Model S cars.

The company has not released any solid sales numbers yet, but rather just delivery figures. They delivered 2,400 Model S cars during the quarter, which is a majority of the total number of vehicles they shipped for the whole year, which is around 2,650. The company is wanting to ship a total of around 20,000 vehicles in 2013, and expects to make its first profit this quarter.

[via Jalopnik]

While it was New York Times reviewer John Broder that did the review of the vehicle, not Margaret Sullivan, it’s Sullivan who is tasked with a bit of cleanup here at the start of the second week of this PR massacre. In a rather lovely response to the situation made in the form of a Public Editor article on the web, Sullivan explains the lengths to which she (and the New York Times) went to figure out the best course of action in the situation. In other words: she speaks about what she did to figure out who was wrong, if someone was wrong, and what to do about it.

As it turns out, after having “read hundreds of emails and reader comments” on the situation, having talks with her brother (a “physician, car aficionado and Tesla fan”), Broder, Musk, two “key” Tesla employees, the tow-truck driver charged with picking up the vehicle after Broder’s review (and his dispatcher), other NYT journalists, and more, Sullivan found there to be a problem with precision and judgement. Sullivan notes specifically that Broder, in his review, didn’t use good judgement from start to finish.

It wasn’t that Broder “hoped the drive would end badly”, but instead that he didn’t precisely follow the rules, so to speak. Having not had a proper overnight charge the night before charging the vehicle in Norwich, Connecticut, for example, and keeping rather “casual and imprecise notes” through the drive, allowed Broder to be criticized heavily. Musk too, Sullivan found, made some rather “damaging (and sometimes quite misleading)” comments using these logs as they compared to the digitally recorded driving logs (as shown in the link earlier in this post).

The end result – or what could be expected to be the end result, if not final chapter in this particular saga – is Musk tweeting a simple acknowledgement of the article. “Appreciate thoughtful @Sullivew article” it stated, “Faith in @nytimes restored.” Sound alright to you? Have a peek at the timeline below regarding the extended saga to see more details throughout.

[via Engadget]

However, an anonymous source that claims to have access to the data logs of the car says that the car’s battery had enough juice to go another five miles or so, but the smaller 12V battery that powers accessories and such (and which gets its power from the main battery) ended up shutting down. When the NYT reviewer pulled into the service station, he ended up turning off the car, which was apparently something he wasn’t supposed to do.

However, if the reviewer was told not to turn the car off, then this whole fiasco may end up being his mistake, but if Tesla said nothing of the sort, the blame could fall on the company. So, essentially, neither Telsa or the reviewer are right, but neither of them are also wrong. It seems it’ll come down to what information Tesla gave the reviewer during the briefing.

While the tow truck driver hasn’t commented directly on the situation, dispatch at the towing company reports that the car’s battery pack was completely drained, and the tow truck driver was actually on the phone with a Tesla employee trying to figure out how to get the Model S onto the flatbed towing truck because the car was completely immovable due to the parking brake being inoperable.

[via Jalopnik]

Broder’s review of the Model S pulled up the car for its supposedly unreliable range, forcing drastic energy-saving driving styles and, eventually, a rescue on a low-loader when the Tesla couldn’t finish the journey. Unsurprisingly, Tesla wasn’t too impressed; however, unlike most cars, the Model S doesn’t just put its technology front-and-center, in the shape of the dash-dominating touchscreen, but in the on-board computer that keeps track of just about every element of the driving process.

So, Musk was able to point to battery charge statistics to show exactly what sort of range Broder experienced – and what the estimated remaining range displayed would be – as well as his average speed and driving style. The Model S even tattled on its cabin comfort settings, with the NYT writer supposedly turning up the heating even when he wrote that he reduced it to save power.

This isn’t the first time Tesla has pulled out hard data to demonstrate car reviewers haven’t been entirely upfront with the cars’ performance. UK show Top Gear incurred the wrath of Musk back in 2011, after the irreverent hosts claimed the original Tesla Roadster left them stranded whereas, according to the car’s own logs, there was still around 50 miles worth of charge left in the “tank.”

In a vehicle that’s one part car, one part motorised computer, that sort of tracking isn’t perhaps unusual. For the moment, Musk says, “data logging is only turned on with explicit written permission” in customers cars, with the policy to activate it by default in media loaners stemming from the Top Gear debacle. Nonetheless, it’s not hard to see the climate around driver privacy evolving toward a world where the default is quite different.

Schemes that exchange driving anonymity for other benefits already exist, though they’re generally targeted at new, young, or at-risk motorists. Several insurance companies now offer discounted plans for drivers willing to install a “black box” to track their usage: that ensures no driving at night, for instance, outside of a specific area, or in unsafe ways. For the target audience, who could be facing typical insurance costs running to thousands of dollars, it’s a tempting proposition.

Regular drivers, however, have grown used to the idea of the car – bar being stopped by the police or snapped on a speed camera – being a silent accomplice for their road habits. That anonymity is likely to be short-lived, however, particularly as onboard systems become more complex, self-driving technology grows in popularity and mainstream penetration, and human error becomes the biggest flaw in the mobility story.

It’s a generally-accepted inevitability that, when self-driving cars such as those in the pipeline from Google finally hit the road in earnest, they’ll be an insurance nightmare. If they crash, or run someone over, or if the occupants are hurt in some way, who’s to blame: the driver, or the car manufacturer? When the sort of mesh networks Toyota and others are experimenting with – which will allow self-driving cars to communicate between themselves – appear, that will have a big impact (cutting the meat factor out often does that), but it’s not likely to happen for a good few years yet.

Still, the cars don’t need to be entirely autonomous in order to demand logging. Intelligent cruise-control and traffic following technology which can maintain dynamic distances from other cars; assisted accident avoidance which boosts braking effort; radar guided self-parking: they all take some of the responsibility of the person in the driver’s seat, and give it to the computer under the hood instead. And, where computers go, logging comes hand-in-hand, and it’s not hard to envisage a time when comprehensive, Tesla-style record keeping will be mandatory from insurers, not optional.

Perhaps that’s not a bad thing. Maybe it’s about time we stopped thinking of the roads as the great freedom network, but instead a shared resource that’s as potentially dangerous as it is useful. Perhaps, just as car manufacturers are doing their part in making new models more and more intelligent – safer, and more environmentally friendly, too – it’s time we as the fallible meat-pilots behind the wheel did our part to tidy up our own game.

A cynic might well be justified in their pessimism, however, whether that might actually take place. Instead, expect a tug of war between expectations of individual rights and demands of group responsibility, helpfully confused by the mercenary ambitions of insurance firms. Nonetheless, just as smartphones get faster and tablets get skinnier, the move toward intelligent cars is likely to be inescapable. Today, that’s giving a New York Times writer a headache; tomorrow, it’s going to be us that the car is talking back to.

For instance, the onboard logs showing what charge the Model S had at points of the journey, and when Broder decided to recharge, indicate he took the car off the power connection earlier than stated in the original review. “The final leg of his trip was 61 miles and yet he disconnected the charge cable when the range display stated 32 miles” Musk argues. “He did so expressly against the advice of Tesla personnel and in obvious violation of common sense.”

Meanwhile, some of Broder’s claims about how he tried to minimize power consumption are also challenged. Musk points to the typical speeds driven at – 65 to 85 mph – and the average cabin temperature of 72F for the duration of the test, and the fact that the reviewer also actively turned the heating up when charge was getting low.

Broder is even accused of trying to artificially run down the Model S’ battery by more than it would typically, driving “in circles for over half a mile in a tiny, 100-space parking lot” in front of one of Tesla’s Supercharger power stations, in what Musk suggests is an attempt to fully drain the car. Tesla also points out the sheer number of charging points – both its own, and those run by other companies – along the length of Broder’s drive, as a counterpoint to the number of times the reviewer actually stopped to rejuice.

For his part, Broder wrote a follow-up article – prior to Musk’s breakdown of the numbers – in which he challenged some of Tesla’s defenses around the Model S’ performance. He maintains that the car is susceptible to cold weather, with an effect of reducing range, and claims nobody from the company gave the power-saving advice Musk refers to.

Tesla now says it will not be making further reference to the test drive, as it believes the data run-down “speaks for itself.” Whether it will put Broder behind the wheel for a second attempt, as the NYT author says Musk originally offered, remains to be seen.

Musk has taken issue with the New York Times story published last week because he says the story is inaccurate. New York Times reporter John Broder took a Model S on a trip where he claims to have completely charge the batteries and driven on cruise control at 54 mph. Broder says that the Model S lost charge and died before reaching his destination.

Broder specifically noted in the review that he charged the car until the display read “charge complete” and then drove conservatively. However, Musk says those claims are not accurate and he has logs from the car to prove it. Musk says that Tesla will publish the actual logs from the car Broder drove and the situation is not a he said she said, it’s black and white fact.

Musk says that the car logs show that Broder did not charge the car to full capacity before leaving for his trip. The logs also allegedly show that the reporter took an unplanned detour through Manhattan while driving well above the posted speed limits, thereby reducing the range. Musk says that these actions reduced the driving distance of the car rather than the cold or any range issues with the Model S. Broder and the New York Times are standing by their story saying that it is completely factual.

[via CNET]

The Model S app for Android gives users quite a bit of hands-off control of their car. Aside from the aforementioned ability to remotely warm it up or cool it down by turning on the heat or AC, users can also initiate a charge process (assuming it is plugged in), or stop it if desired. As the app’s description notes, this can even be done when it’s parked in the garage, thanks to the lack of dangerous fumes.

The app allows owners to keep track of the car’s location and its movements via an on-display map, particularly useful if you’re letting someone else borrow it and want to keep an eye on where they’re going. There are also some features that are good for security, such as the ability to honk the horn from your smartphone or tablet when the car is parked.

Drivers can also use the Model S app to flash the lights, which is useful for locating the car in a large parking lot or scaring away someone who might be trying to get into the vehicle unnoticed. The car’s panoramic roof can be set to vent or to close via the app’s controls, and, of course, the locks can be controlled. For those who download the app, keep in mind that is a beta version, and Tesla notes that there are some glitches with the user interface.

[via Google Play]

According to DragTimes, the The Model S Performance edition managed a 12.371 quarter mile at 110.84 mph, going 0 to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds, winning handsomely over a Dodge Viper SRT10 without any problem. Granted, the 12.371-second run was the best out of several runs, and the car was on a full charge. Still though, even without a full battery, the Model S ran 12-second runs regardless.

Even after a 78-mile trip driving at 70 mph, the Model S ran back-to-back 12.6-second runs at 108 mph. The car as roughly a 350-mile range on a full charge, so the battery wasn’t low by any means, but after a quick road trip, the car can still pump out torque like it’s nothing, which is impressive to say the least.

The Tesla Model S features a 416HP engine, and the entire car weighs in at 4,700 lbs., so it’s fairly surprising that it was able to go from 0 to 60 mph in less than four seconds. Back in November, the car was named Motor Trend’s 2013 Car of the Year, beating out the Cadillac ATS, Toyota Avalon, Porsche 911, BMW 3 Series, Ford Fusion, and the Subaru BRZ.

[via DragTimes]

AVADirect also partnered up with ASUS and used the company’s ESC4000 G2 Black 2U server platform to bring some respectable hardware to these new server units. On the inside, you can store up to 512GB of DDR3 RAM, with room for eight PCI-E 3.0 16x expansion cards (including those four Tesla units).

You’ll also find eight SATA ports with multiple RAID configurations, eight hot-swappable hard drive bays, and a 1+1 Redundant 1,620W 80PLUS Platinum power supply. That’s certainly a lot of firepower that must be treated carefully. AVADirect says that these new units are meant for render farms, imagine generators, rack-mounted graphics workstations, and multi-display workstations.

Of course, AVADirect will let you customize the new server system to fit your needs, and their website offers a ton of different configurations. However, the company’s recommended build costs just shy of $5,250, so if you’re serious about getting some major computing power in your hands, you better be saving up right this instant.

Page described how investors “always” speak to him about how they’re “going to spend too much money on these crazy things”, this referring to one-thought-crazy projects like YouTube, Chrome, and Android. Page continued, “Those are now the things they’re most excited about. … If you’re not doing some things that are crazy, then you’re doing the wrong things.” Continuing on with talk of Tesla Motors, Page praised their focus on commercialization.

“Take one company I admire, Tesla. They’ve not only made a really innovative car, but they’re probably spending 99 percent of their effort figuring out how to actually get it out to people.” – Page

With Tesla on the brain, Page spoke about the inventor whose tragic story may have incidentally made Google a possibility by turning its co-founder towards not just invention, but the marketing of inventions.

“When I was growing up, I wanted to be an inventor. Then I realized that there’s a lot of sad stories about inventors like Nikola Tesla, amazing people who didn’t have much impact, because they never turned their inventions into businesses.” – Page

Have a peek at the timeline below to see more of the musings of Larry Page over the past few weeks and months. Also have a peek at the Nikola Tesla Museum story from August of 2012 to get a better idea of what Nikola Tesla really did for our modern world, and see one more connection between the Tesla motor company and the inventor by the same name.

Vice president of sales for Tesla, George Blankenship, confirmed plans for 25 new retail locations opening throughout 2013, with half of them opening up outside the US. One of those stores will include the company’s first location in China, which is due to open sometime in the spring, so just a few months from now.

The company also stated that they’re still committed to blanketing the US with Supercharger charging stations for Tesla vehicles. Only eight of them are fully operational now, and most of them are on the west coast, but Tesla plans to also cover the east cost in the coming years. They also plan to eventually open up charging stations in the middle of the US, as well, which will allow Tesla owners to drive across the US without using a drop of gas or spending any money, since using the chargers will be free for Tesla vehicle owners.

Tesla announced back in November that they expect its Supercharger network to cover the entire United States by the end of 2013. We’re not sure exactly how many charging stations they plan to have opened in order to consider it the “entire United States”, but we’re guessing it means you’ll be able to drive anywhere without running out of juice.

[via Engadget]

Since 2009, the Model S has had a base price of $57,400, which could be reduced to $49,900 after tax credits. The car’s new base price is $59,900 before tax credits, a total increase of $2,500. Says Tesla, this increase is half the price jump that would be expected from general inflation over the last few years. The exception is in Canada, where buyers get a $2,600 price increase.

Those who have already made a reservation will not be affected by the price change. Likewise, those who make a reservation by December 31 will also nab the car at the original, lower base price. Reservations that have not been finalized must be finished in a certain amount of time after receiving a message requesting that they do so, however, otherwise they may get hit with the higher price rate.

Tesla’s Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Ownership Experience George Blankenship offered this statement. “We believe it is a positive reflection on our design process and disciplined, long-term planning that enabled us to increase prices for the first time in four years at only half the rate of inflation. As a company we will always strive to deliver our customers the most innovative cars in the world while minimizing price increases as we have done today.”

Tesla Motors was quick to list some important points about the upcoming change in its enthusiasts forum, however. First things first, the price hike will not be applied to anybody who already has a reservation that was made before the effective price change date. This means if you nab a reservation now, you’ll be able to get the Model S at the lower price point.

In addition to the price change will be some options package changes as well. According to the official forum post, this means that some equipment that is presently considered a standard option may become a component in an optional package after the change. Like the price change, this will not apply to those who already have a reservation, or make one before the effective price change date.

Those who are hanging in limbo with a deferred reservation will receive an email letting them know when the price change goes into effective. They’ll be able to avoid the increase and keep their current option package by finalizing their reservation and placing their order “within a fair, predefined timeframe.” There’s no word on when the effective price change date is, however, nor is there any information on how long deferred reservation holders will have to finalize their configurations before getting stuck with the new price.

[via Engadget]

“We have this idea for an electric truck that could really be a big improvement in truck technology” Musk said.  ”I’m really excited about bringing out a whole series of cars that address a wide range of consumer interests and needs.”

One obvious possibility is the amount of torque Tesla’s electric powerplants can deliver, considerably in excess of what gas engines are associated with. In fact, 100-percent of torque is available from the outset, with no ramping up to maximum power. That could pay dividends for the sort of tough driving conditions trucks are often associated with.

As for autonomous vehicles, Musk has ambitious hopes for who Tesla might one day partner with. “I do think it will be interesting to do self-driving cars, perhaps working in conjunction with Google, who’s quite close to us in Silicon Valley” he suggested. “Larry Page and Sergey Brin are longtime friends of mine, so it would be great to work with them, maybe to do self-driving.”

Already on the Tesla roadmap is a new crossover SUV and a replacement to the original Roadster, both expected to arrive sometime around 2016. The crossover will challenge BMW’s X3, while the new sports model will deliver “supercar performance, but not supercar pricing” according to Musk.

There were 11 judges in total, and all of them unanimously awarded the honor to the Tesla Model S. Testing included a 0 to 60mph and quarter-mile acceleration, braking from 60 to 0mph, figure-eight handling, high-speed loops that replicates LA’s freeways, and a winding track. Each phase eliminated vehicles based on various criteria, until only a handful remained.

Motor Trend’s editor-in-chief Edward Loh offered this statement. “We had an extremely competitive field for Motor Trend’s Car of the Year. However, the Tesla Model S floored our panel of judges. The goal of the award is to name the car that best meets our six criteria, and the Tesla Model S accomplished that best … To be the first car in the 64-year history of the award to be powered by something other than gasoline must mean it is very special. It is, and thus we’re excited to name the Tesla Model S our 2013 Car of the Year.”

What kind of competition was the Tesla Model S up against? Other contenders included the Cadillac ATS, Toyota Avalon, Porsche 911, BMW 3 Series, Ford Fusion, Subaru BRZ, all of which were finalists, as well as several other models. Car of the Year is one of several Motor Trend honors available to automakers, others of which include Best Driver’s Car and SUV of the Year.