Tesla News

  • 2014 Tesla Model S in China

    Tesla has been hinting at a Chinese plant since 2014 and now the automaker has finally confirmed one. Following a meeting Tuesday with Chinese officials, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Shanghai would become the first location for one of its so-called Gigafactories outside the United States. The new plant will be operational in the next two years and at full capacity—expected in the next five years—will be able to build 500,000 cars per year, Tesla said. Full approval for the plant from the Chinese government is yet to be received, though an initial agreement was signed Tuesday by Musk...

  • Tiff Needell behind the wheel of a Tesla Model S race car
    Tiff Needell drives the Electric GT Tesla Model S race car

    British racing driver and television host Tiff Needell was present during last month's launch of the new FIA-backed, production car-based electric racing series known as the Electric Production Car Series (EPCS). The launch took place at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya where Needell got to test...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3
    Tesla chief vehicle engineer not returning from leave of absence

    Tesla has lost one of its top engineers in Doug Field, who will not return after taking a leave of absence from the electric-car maker in May. The Wall Street Journal first reported on Field's departure on Monday, the same day Tesla announced it had reached its goal of 5,000 Model 3 electric cars...

  • Tesla Model 3 all-wheel drive Performance rolls off a new assembly line in a temporary structure
    Tesla Model 3 production booms, automaker reports building 5,000 electric sedans last week

    Tesla took every hour—including a couple extra hours Sunday—to meet its self-imposed deadline of building 5,000 Model 3 electric cars in seven days. The automaker reported Monday that it had concluded the three-month period ending Saturday by building 53,339 vehicles, including 28,578...

  • EPCS Tesla Model S P100D electric race car
    Tesla Model S Electric GT car ready to race

    Formula E may be the premier league for electric car sports, but Electric GT's Electric Production Car Series (EPCS) wants a slice of the budding motorsport. Electric GT together with EPCS race team SPV Racing held a launch ceremony in Barcelona, Spain on Tuesday where the competition-ready Tesla...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range electric car, road test in greater Atlanta area, Feb 2018
    Tesla sues ex-employee who claims whistleblower status

    After Tesla CEO Elon Musk accused an ex-employee of being a saboteur, Tesla filed suit against former Gigafactory technician Martin Tripp on Wednesday in a Nevada federal court, according to a Thursday report in the Washington Post. The lawsuit accuses Tripp of stealing confidential photos and...

  • Tesla Autopilot

    The controversial Autopilot Buddy product, made for Tesla vehicles that feature the semi self-driving technology, has been ordered to be pulled off the market. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a cease and desist for the product's maker on Tuesday and called it a danger to other motorists, the The Detroit News reported. Autopilot Buddy is a weight that attaches to one side of the steering wheel. The weight mimics a driver's hands on the wheel, which reduces the frequency of safety alerts when the driver does not place his or her hands on the wheel. In a statement, the...

  • Tesla Model X in Boring Company tunnel
    Boring Company runs Tesla Model X in prototype tunnel

    The Boring Company tunnels will fit a Tesla Model X electric car. That's the latest bit of news from Elon Musk's underground adventure. The company posted a short video (taken vertically...) of a Model X moving through a tunnel on what appears to be the "skates" that propel the car. It's important...

  • First Tesla Model 3 AWD Performance produced
    Tesla now building cars in a tent, first AWD performance Model 3 built

    After announcing a 9-percent reduction in its full-time workforce last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter on Saturday to announce that the company is now producing vehicles on a new general assembly line housed in a tent. In addition, the first Model 3 all-wheel-drive performance model has...

  • 818 kit car with Tesla motors and a Volt battery rips down the quarter mile
    818C kit car packed with Tesla and Volt components is a drag racer's dream

    The ingenuity of those who want to go fast is something to be admired. Take, for example, one plucky company that combined Factory Five's 818C kit car with powertrain components from both a Tesla Model S and the Chevrolet Volt. The resulting Frankencar is an all-electric beast that's driven to and...

  • 2017 Tesla Model 3 "first production" car, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017
    Tesla cutting costs by eliminating 9 percent of workforce

    On Tuesday CEO Elon Musk announced the automaker is reducing its workforce by 9 percent in an effort to cut costs and become profitable. While Musk didn't mention how many employees specifically will be let go, Tesla's annual filing from December 2017 showed it had 37,543 full-time employees. Rough...

  • Tesla Enhanced Autopilot
    Investigators say Tesla Autopilot sped up before fatal Model X crash

    Federal investigators said Thursday that a Tesla Model X traveling on Autopilot in California sped up before crashing into an highway barrier, killing its driver and striking two other cars. A preliminary report was made available by the National Transportation Safety Board detailing the moments...

  • RemetzCar Tesla Model S shooting brake

    A handful of companies have announced plans to turn Tesla's Model S electric sedan into a sexy shooting brake. The first to announce such plans was Dutch firm RemetzCar, and the company has released new information on the project along with photos after completing its first bespoke shooting brake. The car looks quite good and the design has stayed true to the low-slung look RemetzCar first teased in concept sketches last December. The firm's engineer, Frank Reijenga, worked with the design team to firm up the final look, then began work to turn it into reality. The company used 3D rendering...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range electric car, road test in greater Atlanta area, Feb 2018
    Elon Musk reveals when $35K Tesla Model 3 could start production, admits brake issue

    Tesla's rollout of the Model 3 has been anything but smooth sailing, and thousands of customers are still waiting for one very important Model 3 variant: the base model. It's the car Tesla CEO Elon Musk has consistently promised would come with a $35,000 price tag and 220 miles of range. Now, Musk...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3
    AWD Tesla Model 3 detailed, Performance model sprints to 60 in 3.5 seconds

    Tesla is finally ready to give the Model 3 show more go. CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter early Sunday morning to announce specs for all-wheel-drive and Performance versions of the Model 3. Musk tweeted that AWD Model 3s will feature a dual-motor setup similar to the Model S. Reportedly, one motor...

  • Tesla Supercharger for city centers
    Thousands of more Tesla Supercharger stations coming

    In the coming days, we should have an updated map showing exactly where "thousands" of new Tesla Supercharger stations will pop up in the near future, per Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk responded to a vehicle owner via Twitter on Wednesday and said the "thousands" of new stations are currently under...

  • Tesla sets world record towing Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
    Tesla Model X sets world record towing a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

    Tesla has set a new Guinness World Record. One of the automaker's Model X crossover SUVs towed a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner for 987 feet to become the heaviest tow by a production passenger electric vehicle. The attempt took place in Melbourne, Australia with help from the country's national carrier...

  • 2018 Tesla Model S
    Heading abroad: Tesla takes steps to form Chinese operations

    Following news China will scrap limited ownership rules for foreign automakers by 2022, Tesla has taken the first steps to form its independent Chinese operation. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported Monday that Tesla has filed to set up a Shanghai division as the sole owner...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3

    For those eagerly waiting to place their orders for the dual-motor/all-wheel-drive or performance versions of the Tesla Model 3, the time has come. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that orders for both variants will open this week. It's unclear if the decision to open orders this week for both the AWD and performance models means Tesla is producing even more Model 3s per week. Previously, Musk said additional variants would not come online until the manufacturing plant was capable of building 5,000 cars per week. That's highly unlikely as the most recent figure was perhaps as high as...

  • Tesla potentially teases Model Y
    Tesla just teased a cloaked car, is it the Model Y?

    Tesla has released a hype video to show off the big things it has in store this year and in the near future. While the video's pleasant enough to watch, observers will note a teased vehicle around the 0:15 mark. Of course, it leads us to wonder: is the vehicle shown the Model Y crossover? The...

  • 'Revenge of the Electric Car' premiere: Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk on red carpet
    Elon Musk "super serious" about starting candy company

    Perhaps we'll soon see yet another ambitious project from Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk. The outspoken executive recently took to Twitter to announce he's "super serious" about starting...a candy company. Where did the idea for a candy company originate? It appears Musk and Warren Buffet, CEO of...

  • Teaser for Tesla Model Y electric SUV due for reveal in 2019
    Tesla pushes back start of Model Y production to 2020, says new plant needed

    Tesla's next model bound for production is the Model Y, a small SUV related to the Model 3. The company released a teaser for the vehicle last June and at the time promised a launch date in 2019. However, CEO Elon Musk said during Tesla's first quarter earnings call Wednesday that production of the...

  • Nikola One electric semi truck
    Nikola sues Tesla over patent infringement for Semi

    As if Tesla didn't have enough issues of late, Nikola Motors has filed a lawsuit alleging the company violated patents for its hydrogen-electric semi. Nikola claims the Tesla Semi is "substantially" similar to its own design. In the lawsuit, filed on Tuesday according to Reuters, Nikola esimates...

  • QWest Tesla Model S wagon
    Meet the folks behind the world's first Tesla Model S wagon

    A company by the name of QWest Norfolk based in the United Kingdom late last year completed development of a wagon conversion for the Tesla Model S. The company is a carbon fiber specialist and chose to use the lightweight stuff for the modifications on its Model S, with some of the carbon fiber...

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