Tesla Weekly

Issue 26

Editor's Welcome


This week in Tesla news.

DaveT, Editor

Model S Model S


Tesla Model S repeats as Consumer Reports top car

"Although there were many 'impressive' new models this year, the magazine said, 'none was able to eclipse the innovation of the Tesla.' The $89,650 Tesla that Consumer Report tested is 'a technological tour de force, a high-performance electric vehicle with usable real-world range, wrapped in a luxury package.'

"Tesla’s achievement is tempered by the fact that it sells only has one model, compared with the full vehicle lineups offered by other automakers, said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports' director of automotive testing. But Fisher said he anticipated that the Model X sport-utility that Tesla plans to start selling later this year will also be good because it shares many of its components with the Model S."

latimes.com

Tesla #1 In Service According To Consumer Reports

"With a score of 93 overall, Tesla is ranked #1 in service in the latest Consumer Reports survey of owners. Tesla is the only automaker with the top rating in all four categories: quality, price of repair, timeliness and courtesy."

insideevs.com

VP Jerome Guillen: P85 next-gen seats delayed due to port issues

"We were overwhelmed by the high demand for P85D in general, and specifically for the next gen seats. As a result, we’ve had to ramp up our production capacity dramatically. Unfortunately, due to an ongoing labor conflict at the west coast ports, we have disruptions in getting inbound critical material to build the next gen seats. The lead times from many of our suppliers have doubled due to the port situation and that have prevented us from both giving you an accurate lead time to change, and allowing us to start building your new seat. We now have line of sight and we are planning to have built and replaced your seat by end of May at the latest (unless we have a complete shutdown of the ports which remains, unfortunately, a possibility)."

teslamotors.com

P85D Owner Advised By Tesla To Avoid Range Mode To Prevent Sudden Power Loss, Some Cars Losing Power

"A Tesla spokeswoman let InsideEVs in on the straight scoop on what was happening with the P85D power loss situation – specifically that Tesla is dealing with incidents on a case-by-case basis: 'A small number of dual motor vehicles have experienced reduced torque in a single motor. In each one of the very few cases, vehicle systems remained fully powered and the car continued to be drivable. Tesla is not advising customers to turn off range mode. We are assessing each case to determine the root cause and are working directly with affected customers while we diagnose their vehicle.'"

insideevs.com

Legislation would let Tesla sell in Texas

"A group of state lawmakers on Thursday filed legislation that would allow Tesla Motors to sell its luxury electric cars at as many as 12 stores in Texas, renewing the California-based company's challenge to a state law protecting auto dealers. New legislation — House Bill 1653 and its companion, Senate Bill 639 — would allow manufacturers that have never sold their cars through independent dealerships in Texas to operate the limited number of stores. It's modeled on deals Tesla has forged in other states, including New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania."

wfaa.com

Gigafactory Gigafactory


Tesla Gigafactory: New Photos Show Progress On Gigafactory Plant In Nevada

"Photographs taken yesterday by local resident and electric-car advocate Bob Tregilus show that more of the main building is framed in and roofed."

It appears as though roughly one quarter of the full area of the two-story plant has now been framed and covered, but obviously there is still a huge area to be erected and closed in.

greencarreports.com

Elon Musk Elon Musk


Elon Musk signs book deal with Penguin

"We're told it's a book about Earth and Mars. It will be half about the issues facing us on Earth — sustainability issues in particular. The second half will be about the idea of a multiplanetary existence — about what's possible, about the adventure of experience. Musk told a source of ours that he plans to write the book all by himself, without a ghost writer, and that he is ready for it to take a while, perhaps a couple of years."

businessinsider.com

Pump, new documentary film includes interview with Elon Musk

"The film explores the history of petroleum-based fuel consumption, the use of the Internal combustion engine and the geopolitics involved with petroleum. The film then explores in-depth on the alternative energy options for vehicles that are either readily available for use or can be on a mass scale."

itun.es

Other News Other News


Apple's Jony Ive and Tesla's Elon Musk 'inseparable' in conversation at Oscars afterparty

"A source tells AppleInsider that both Jony Ive, Apple's famed designer, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk were among the attendees at Madonna's A-list Oscar afterparty on Sunday — an extremely exclusive event where all press and photography are strictly prohibited. Ive and Musk were observed speaking 'really close' and 'basically inseparable' from each other for a period that seemed to stretch on for roughly 30 minutes, this person said. The source said that Ive was walking around with a few people at the party before he was approached by Musk and their conversation began. The two were said to have exited the party together at around 5 a.m."

appleinsider.com

Deal reached in West Coast dockworkers dispute [Tesla supplier imports affected]

" Negotiators reached a tentative contract covering West Coast dockworkers on Friday evening, likely ending a protracted labor dispute that snarled international trade at seaports handling about $1 trillion worth of cargo annually. The breakthrough came after nine months of negotiations that turned contentious in the fall, when dockworkers and their employers began blaming each other for problems getting imports to consumers and exports overseas."

usatoday.com

GM Has No Plans To Use Open Source Tesla Patents | GM Authority

"During the 2015 Chicago Auto Show, we had the opportunity sit down with Bill Wallace, GM’s director of global battery systems... while he acknowledges the engineering prowess that went into building the Tesla Model S, General Motors has no intention of using the California company’s now-openly-sourced patented technologies currently."

gmauthority.com

Previous issue

Issue 25

Feb 20th 2015