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.