In case you haven't been paying close attention, things at Tesla Motors have been in a bit of an upheaval of sorts as of late. We've been following the story of the Silicon Valley startup since its inception and have seen the roller coaster ride make its various ups and downs along the way. From the first set of specifications and images of the electric Roadster though the initial round of funding provided by Elon Musk and the subsequent removal of Martin Eberhard, a company founder who has still not gotten his own Roadster, there has been a sense that Tesla may have gotten in a bit over its head, a bit too soon. Now that vehicles are (very slowly) rolling out the doors, it's a good time to sit back and reflect on what it took to get the Roadster to this point, and that is exactly what Fortune magazine has done. Click here for their entire article.

A few juicy details were mentioned in the article, especially related to the upcoming Model S. As you may be aware, the new mid-size sedan is now expected to be built in California, but the most interesting tidbit from the article is that the new model may in fact be a hatchback. Score one for practicality, and consider us even more interested in seeing the new model in the flesh.

[Source: Fortune]

In the first two parts of our discussion, Tesla Motors Chairman Elon Musk described how he came to be a part of Tesla Motors and how he influenced the development of the Roadster. It's important to note that he never described himself as the designer or creator of the Roadster. Rather he considers himself the co-architect of the sports car.

With production of the Roadster now sort of underway and the updated drivetrain hopefully coming soon, it's time to look forward. As the self-declared Product Architect, Musk is playing perhaps an even bigger role with the next product, a sedan that we've known for some time by the code name WhiteStar. We had hoped to see WhiteStar this spring but that obviously hasn't happened yet. In the conclusion of our discussion, Musk gives out some hints about what to expect and what Tesla has learned over the past five years. Read on to learn more about what's coming next.

Make sure you read Part 1 and Part 2.

Yesterday we told about news from Tesla Chairman Elon Musk that the Silicon Valley EV startup had struck some sort of deal with Daimler. We speculated that it might be an engine supply deal for the range-extended version of the WhiteStar. Tesla Marketing VP and primary spokesman Darryl Siry declined to comment on the deal and Daimler has apparently said nothing. Lucky for us, one of our readers pointed to where Fox Business News had the video up on their site so that we could see exactly what Musk said. Unfortunately, it appears that at least on the topic of the Daimler deal, Musk said nothing beyond what we had already heard and there isn't much to be drawn from his statement beyond our existing conjectures.

However, watching the rest of the clip, it became clear that in typical Fox (and almost all of traditional media fashion) they weren't about to let facts get in the way of a good story. Reporter Liz Claman started off the puff piece by introducing Musk as the creator of the Tesla Roadster. Now whatever you may think of Musk and what has transpired at Tesla over the past 10 months, calling him the creator of this car is blatantly wrong. Martin Eberhard had the vision for Tesla and he and the team of engineers are the ones who created this car. Musk then goes on to describe the Roadster as "the only production electric car for sale in the United States of any kind." This is most definitely not true. It may be the only really desirable EV but there are plenty of others of various descriptions. Obviously all the neighborhood electric cars out there are for sale and are drivable on many roads. They certainly aren't in the same class as the Roadster but they are electric. And of course we must grudgingly acknowledge the Zap Xebra here as well even though it is technically a motorcycle. Nonetheless this is not a promising start to the five-minute interview. And given that we know of only two cars that have been delivered to customers (one of which was Musk himself) calling the Roadster in production is still very much a stretch. We know almost no one watches Fox Business News but this is ridiculous and don't even get me started on this reporter. The video is after the jump.

Click image for photo gallery

While we've been hearing about the Tesla WhiteStar sedan for a long, long time, the idea of combining a Tesla Roadster with a BMW 5 Series is too good to pass on. With the kind of backing that Tesla has and the sheer amount of hype surrounding their first product, the Roadster (above), we're expecting great things if and when the WhiteStar sedan finally makes an appearance. Later this spring is the when unveiling should take place.

On to Number 2.

Click above for high-res live gallery of the Fisker Karma

For more than year, fans of Tesla Motors hoping for a more practical and affordable (relatively speaking) electric vehicle have been waiting for details on project WhiteStar. Rumors have run the gamut from something based on a Ford Fusion (no dice) to outright cancellation (not yet). The only consistent element has been the intention to build a battery-powered four-door sedan. The latest rumor to crop up has been that the styling of the car was the work of one Henrik Fisker. You might recall that Fisker unveiled a styling buck for a planned plug-in hybrid sedan bearing his own name at this years Detroit Auto Show.

As the story goes, Fisker was contracted by Tesla to design the bodywork for the WhiteStar, then later dismissed by the San Carlos company. Tesla VP Darryl Siry declined to confirm or deny the veracity of the story. Our sources however indicate the final look of the WhiteStar retains nothing of Fisker's drawings. Siry has confirmed that Tesla will reveal the WhiteStar later this spring after they have begun customer deliveries of the Roadster. The new sedan will start off as a battery-only vehicle but it is being designed to accommodate a range extended configuration as well.

[Source: Street Import Online, via Autoblog]

Will Tesla soon have competition in the electric supercar market from Zap? They just might, if you believe the almost unbelievable statistics Zap! is claiming in their press release (a really big if). Information at this point leads us to believe that Zap!, like fellow electric carmaker Phoenix, will be using batteries purchased from Altairnano. Claims from Zap! indicate that their vehicle with these batteries will be able to travel 350 miles between charges, after a charge time of only 10 minutes. Phoenix claims a similarly short charge time for their vehicles with the Altairnano batteries.

Other interesting "green features" of the vehicle include solar charging from the vehicles glass. We have pondered the possibility of this before, and now it seems it may become a reality. Don't expect the solar charging to add a significant amount of drive time however, perhaps the vehicles accessories won't drain the batteries so fast. Don't expect a great deal of luggage space, however, the vehicle does have 4 doors, making it a more practical choice than some other potential electric vehicles. The dimensions of the vehicle indicate it will be slightly larger than the Toyota Prius. Here is one statistic that the Prius can't touch... how about up to 644 horsepower and a top speed of 155 mph? This performance would come with all-wheel-drive courtesy of a motor in each wheel.

Click for more about the vehicle, and another concept drawing.



[Source: ZAP via Insidegreentech]

As my fellow blogger Sam pointed out recently, Darryl Siry, Vice President of Marketing for Tesla Motors, recently wrote on their site's blog that "The Media Need to Toughen Up on the Subject of EVs". This is true on many levels, and it could be argued that the media needs to toughen up when it comes to reporting in general. But, this is not the subject of this particular editorial. But, in the spirit of doing exactly what he asked the media to do, let's consider some of the hard questions facing hopeful electric vehicle manufacturers in the coming years.

Darryl mentioned, as did Tesla Motors CEO Martin Eberhard in Sam's interview, that Tesla perceives themselves as different than other new electric vehicle manufacturers. Indeed, they see themselves as more like GM, Ford, Toyota and Nissan. Are they? I am not sure, as they have yet to produce a single vehicle for public consumption, as compared to the almost too numerous to mention vehicles those other companies have sold. This begs the question, is Tesla getting ahead of themselves? Are they really competing directly with GM and Toyota?

Continue reading my thoughts after the break.

An earlier post here on ABG brought attention to the fact that President Bush viewed the Phoenix Motorcars SUT and a plug-in hybrid version of the Toyota Prius at request of the White House. We discussed the vehicles and why they were there, which was in an effort to promote alternative fuels and the technology required for their use to meet the goals outlined by the President in his State of the Union Speech. Now, we will analyze what the President said regarding the vehicles and the goals as set forth.

First, the President viewed a Toyota Prius which had been converted to plug-in capability. This was accomplished with the help of an extended battery pack with the necessary electronics and hardware to plug into an outlet. The presenter mentions that the vehicle returns about 45 mpg in hybrid mode and can run solely off electricity for about 40 miles. As pointed out in the video, 78 percent of the population could use this car for their commute running solely on electric power. President Bush said, "So, this is becoming a reality." The presenter answered, "It IS a reality, we drove this car here."

Please click through the break to continue reading this posting.

[Source: The White House]

The bidding war is over, and Albuquerque, New Mexico is now officially the location of the new WhiteStar electric sedan factory. This location is not a complete surprise, as we reported two days ago, but I'm sure folks in North Carolina and elsewhere are disappointed.

The WhiteStar plant will employ 400 people, and Governor Richardson is glad to report they will be "high wage" jobs that pay between $24,000 and $100,000 a year, and have "excellent benefits and stock options." Construction on the plant will start, at the latest, by April. There's no word on when the first WhiteStars will roll off the line, but Tesla Motors has never been a company that moves slow.

Tesla's official notice on the plant opening is here.

Related:

• New Mexico official reportedly preparing for Tesla to open factory in Albuquerque
• Tesla close to deciding on a location for new factory

[Source: Tesla Motors]

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that the first Silicon Valley based car-maker is close to selecting a location for a factory to build their second model (WhiteStar). By early March they are expected to choose between two sites with one being the East Bay city of Pittsburg. They are looking at all the usual issues that come with such a decision, such as labor costs, distance from suppliers and of course the single most important factor, the tax breaks they get from the local and state governments. Albuquerque, NM is reportedly the other finalist, with the state of New Mexico offering up $20 million in bribes, incentives. The Tesla roadster will be assembled by Lotus at their plant in Hethel, England alongside the Elise upon which it is based. The WhiteStar sedan that is being developed at the new Michigan Tech Center, will be assembled at the new plant.

Related:

• Tesla WhiteStar plant coming to ... somewhere in America
• Official announcement on Tesla's Michigan Technical Center

[Source: San Jose Mercury News]

The other day I posted a story based on an article from TheCarConnection that speculated that the next Tesla model could be a crossover vehicle. One of the commenters wondered whether such a vehicle might be based on the Lotus APX concept that was shown last year. I took this intriguing idea to the source and asked Tesla. According to Darryl Siry, the new VP of Marketing at Tesla, they currently have no plans to build a crossover, and the next vehicle they're working on is a 4-door, 5-passenger sedan that they've previously announced. They are working with a variety of suppliers to design and build a totally new car in such a short time (about three years from now), and they are planning a factory of their own. The location of the manufacturing facility is still TBD, but ABG will of course keep you up to date as things develop.

[Source: Tesla Motors]

One of the worries I have about Tesla Motors and the tremendous hype surrounding the upcoming Tesla Roadster – a legitimately tremendous vehicle – is that the realities of the company's offerings won't be as cool or as dramatic as the visions we've all read about and salivated over for the last five months. In that time, I have heard criticism about the EV start-up that says the guys in charge aren't totally committed to anything beyond the Roadster, even though Elon Musk and Martin Eberhard and others have been repeatedly saying - to AutoblogGreen and other news sources - since the beginning that they are.

This is a long-winded way to say I was a bit worried when I saw the headline to this story from Inside Bay Area: "Musk's next frontier: Space" (Musk is one of the main funders of Tesla Motors and helped design the Roadster but now spends a lot of time with Space X). I have not been a doubter that Tesla would really bring us the amazing $50,000 and $30,000 electric family cars in the next few years, but I did worry when I read that. Of course, I needn't have sweated even the slightest bit. I think the editor just wasn't paying much attention to the story beyond the first three paragraphs.

The article, by Matt Nauman, is really just a feature on Musk and Tesla Motors. There's not a lot that will be new to AutoblogGreen readers (although I had forgotten that the Roadster's code name was Dark Star and the family sedan is code named White Star), but I found it a good read (a lot better than this one, from the Pattaya Daily News, which was also written/updated in late December but has absolutely no new news). In the Inside Bay Area article, Musk confirms that the sales goal for the $30,000 electric sedan will be 100,000-plus units a year once it's released and disses Detroit's ability to build an electric car. "They [Detroit] know about eight-cylinder gasoline engines. They have no idea how to build a high-performance, AC-induction electric motor. Or how to build the very sophisticated drive electronics that are necessary to power that," he said.

The thing I take away from the Inside Bay Area article (and headline) is that I should just continue to trust that Tesla Motors will be delivering on their promises and realize that Musk is capable of bringing great electric cars to market while working on rockets. He's just that kind of guy, as he detailed in this blog post. Oh, and I need to let editors be editors.

[Source: Inside Bay Area]

When Tesla Motors unveiled their all-electric Roadster in July, they announced that a more affordable family EV sedan would be coming in the near future. The English website Autocar recently heard more details on the sedan from Tesla VP Mike Harrigan.

While still pricy at £30,000-£40,000, (about US$58,000-$77,000) the Tesla sedan (not yet named) will offer the same gas station-free experience as the roadster, and the £40,000 version even has a longer range than the sports car (the £30,000 sedan is capable of 200 miles between charges, the $100,000 Roadster gets 250 and the £40,000 sedan gets 300 miles). The sedan will look similar to the BMW 5-series, be made of lightweight steel (not bonded aluminum like the Roadster) and be sold around the world. The rear-wheel drive sedan will have the electric motor in the front, and between 10,000 and 20,000 units will be produced each year.

A revamped Roadster (also costing around $100,000) will be ready in about 2010.

I love the idea of a long-range electric family car, but the price is high for most families, though, don't you think? We'll wait for more details on battery life and final cost and see where gas prices are when the sedan is released before we can determine if this car is economically reasonable. A Tesla sedan's cool factor and environmental benefits are not in question.

[Source: Autocar via Pistonheads]