Veteran employment push
Tesla announces its plans to become one of America’s leading employers of military veterans. Tesla’s workforce is increasing rapidly as it expands production of its Model S, prepares its launch of the Model X crossover SUV and enters new overseas markets. The company now has more than 6,000 employees, and of those, 300 — or roughly 5 percent — are veterans, including its logistics director, former Navy officer Adam Plumpton. An additional 600 veteran candidates are in the hiring pipeline. The Company says:
We want to be known throughout the veteran community as a great place to work.Veterans are a great source of talent for Tesla, and we’re going after it.
Norway sales drops stock
0 CommentsTesla shares fall 4% after a sharp drop in Norwegian sales in June, selling 536 Model S vehicles in June, a fall from the 1,493 it sold in March.
Customer smashes windshield
0 CommentsMinutes after taking delivery of a white Tesla Model S in Beijing, Yu Xinquan took a wrench and smashes the front windshield of the one million yuan (about $173,600) vehicle. The disgruntled owner expected to be one of the first in China to take delivery of the Model S when he placed his order last October and became furious with Tesla when he discovered that his car had not even been built when others in the country had already received their cars. Tesla offered the use of one of their showroom cars until the customers car was ready for delivery, but Mr. Xinquan refused.
First deliveries in UK
The first five reservation holders claimed the keys to their new cars from Elon Musk himself, at an event at The Crystal in London. Musk tells reporters that pre-orders are already going well in the UK, adding that there’s already a four-month waiting list for customers getting hold of cars. UK specifications largely match those in the US, and pricing begins at £55,280 before the U.K.’s £5,000 ($8,400) government grant towards going electric. That price puts it at around $92,800 at current exchange rates.
2014 Annual Shareholder Meeting
0 CommentsThe meeting commences at the Computer History Museum, 1401 North Shoreline Boulevard, Mountain View, California. Elon Musk asks the audience if they have any questions. The conference suddenly morphs into an awkward spectacle when a self-described “super-genius” Roy Philipose confronted Musk and asks if he could be named vice chairman.
I would like to come on board as vice chairman of Tesla
4 – 5 more years as CEO
At the annual Tesla general shareholders meeting Musk announces that he plans to stay on as CEO for four or five years, or at least through volume production of Gen 3, the mass market, $35,000-a-year car.
No one is a CEO forever. Eventually they carry you out.
Norway’s best-selling vehicle
Norwegians registered nearly 1,500 Tesla Model S electric sedans in March, beating out the entire Ford product range as well as out-pacing the runner-up Volkswagen Golf by more than double. The figures makeup more than 10 percent of all vehicle registrations in the country.
Will install high-strength battery shields
Tesla announces plans to reinforce the undercarriage of about 16,000 cars with high-strength shields to reduce the risk of damage from a crash starting a fire. The NHTSA did not ask Tesla to issue a recall for the Model S. Tesla said the retrofits are voluntary and that federal regulators did not find a “safety-related defect trend.”
NYT: Not fake
John Broder responds to Musk’s accusation:
My account was not a fake. It happened just the way I described it.
Border also notes that Elon Musk called him before the article went up on the Web, to offer sympathy and regrets about the outcome of his test drive. He said that the East Coast charging stations should be 140 miles apart, not 200 miles, to take into account the traffic and temperature extremes in this part of the country. He also offered Broder a second chance at a test drive in a few months, after additional Supercharger stations come online.
Musk: NYT review is fake
Musk takes to twitter to denounce the NYT review as fake:
NYTimes article about Tesla range in cold is fake. Vehicle logs tell true story that he didn't actually charge to max & took a long detour.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 11, 2013
Tesla blog coming soon detailing what actually happened on Broder's NYTimes "range test". Also lining up other journalists to do same drive.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 11, 2013
Musk notes in a later tweet that logging is not turned on for normal customers, only for journalists.
Daimler buys stake, $550 million valuation
German automaker Daimler buys a 9% stake in Tesla Motors for $50 million. The company’s post-money valuation is now $550 million. Daimler also expands its partnership with the company to put electric batteries into Mercedes-Benz vehicles. In a press release, Daimler says:
Tesla is the only production automaker selling a highway capable electric vehicle in North America and Europe.
Time: Roadster No. 2 best invention
0 CommentsTime Magazine votes the Tesla Roadster No. 2 in its list of inventions of the year.
Electric cars were always environmentally friendly, quiet, clean — but definitely not sexy. The Tesla Roadster has changed all that. After years of setbacks and shake-ups, the first Tesla Roadsters were delivered to customers this year…Reviews have been ecstatic…Even if the Roadster turns out to be a one-hit wonder, it’s been a hell of an (electric) ride.