tesla

If you've invested over $100,000 into a Tesla Roadster, you might want to sign up for an alert to avoid your battery dying.

Electric-car blogs have been buzzing today over a report about a potential problem with Tesla Motors' electric cars that could turn an expensive battery pack into a "brick."

The Understatement blog said that five Roadster owners had their battery charges go to zero and that the only recourse was to replace the $40,000 battery pack. In the one case cited, the batteries died after six weeks of being idle and in another … Read more

Feds issue strongest position yet against distracting car tech, Tesla Model X has us excited, and confounded. Is Washington state penalizing electric car drivers? And we drive the 2012 Subaru Impreza.

In a shareholder letter released in conjunction with its fourth-quarter results, Tesla gave some tantalizing details about buyer interest in the Model X electric SUV. The company received 500 reservations for the Model X, at a refundable cost of $5,000 each, after the car's unveiling on February 9.

Model X deliveries will not begin until 2014. Tesla expects to produce 10,000 to 15,000 Model X vehicles per year. Although Tesla has not announced the price of the Model X yet, it should be on par with the previously shown Model S electric sedan.

The company also … Read more

While some states are still rolling out rebates for the purchases of new hybrid and plug-in vehicles, the Washington State Senate on Saturday passed a new law to make electric car owners pony up an extra $100 annual fee.

The reasoning behind the law is that although electric vehicles use the same roads as gas-powered vehicles, the owners don't pay gas taxes because they drive right past the pumps.

The Associated Press reported that Washington's gas tax, which is 37.5 cents per gallon, is the state's largest source of transportation dollars.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. … Read more

Commentary Tesla Motors is helping destroy the notion that electric vehicles are green cars with unfortunate compromises.

The company last night unveiled the Model X, a sleek-looking cross between a minivan and SUV with clever "falcon wing" doors and a new electric all-wheel drive system. People can start placing reservations tomorrow for the Model X, which is expected to be available late next year with prices in the $55,000 to $75,000 range before tax incentives and rebates.

Beyond making an attractive crossover, Tesla has shown how electric vehicles open up new design possibilities. The Model X … Read more

LOS ANGELES--The highlight of the Model X introduction, Tesla's SUV, was not the electric power train, but what the company calls the falcon-wing doors.

The manufacturer being Tesla, it was a given that the Model X would be an electrically driven vehicle. So during a preview for a small group of journalists at Tesla's design center in Los Angeles, Tesla CEO Elon Musk focused on the innovative side doors.

These doors lift up from the sides, then hinge in the middle before gaining their full height. Unlike gull-wing doors, Tesla's doors can open in much narrower spaces. Musk said they give the Model X the largest door openings of any passenger car. Impressively, he was able to stand in the car, his head underneath the open door, without crouching.… Read more

Tesla hits us with an orgy of new cars, Spotify heads into Ford dashboards, a new superfast wireless to rock cars soon, and we drive the 2012 VW Jetta GLI.

Those who have been waiting anxiously for anything on the Model S, the next electric car from Tesla, will enjoy this new video about the car. And those who doubt Tesla's ability to make a car can view ostensible proof that the Model S will be roadworthy.

In keeping with its high-tech startup nature, Tesla released this 2-minute video on Vimeo, rather than buy expensive ad space during the Super Bowl. The video does read like an advertisement for the car, with a mix of manufacturing and running footage intermixed with apparently thoughtful statements by the car's designer, … Read more

Green Car Journal dubbed the Ford C-MAX Energi winner of the 2012 Green Car Vision Award yesterday at the Washington Auto Show. This is the second consecutive year Ford has won top honors; the Ford Focus Electric garnered the award last year.

The Ford C-MAX Energi, which will be available in late 2012, is built on the same global C-car platform as the Ford Focus and future Ford models, the automaker said.

The C-MAX Energi bested four other finalists, including the BMW i3, the Cadillac ELR, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell, and the Tesla Model S.

"The C-MAX Energi delivers … Read more