Speaking at the annual shareholders meeting in Mountain View, California, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company will begin rolling out their second model, the Model X, in the next three to four months. The model which was first shown in 2012 and was supposed to start production in 2014, has been hit with a number of delays and problems for various aspects.

Musk said engineers are working on a number of parts of the Model X including the Falcon Wing doors just right before production models begin rolling off the line.

“The Model X will be a better SUV than the Model S is a sedan,” said Musk.

Source: Bloomberg

Lone Star State lawmakers have reined in Tesla's hopes of selling to Texans. Two bills allowing the Palo Alto-based electric carmaker to open Tesla Store's have died in the state legislature, in the face of dealership opposition.

Tesla's direct-sales approach has raised the ire of dealership associations nationwide, who worry this jeopardizes their decades-old sales model based on franchise laws.

Similar laws are on the books in states such as Michigan, Arizona, West Virginia, and until recently, New Jersey. Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk reportedly hired up to 20 lobbyists in Texas and made $150,000 in campaign contributions.

Despite support from former governor Rick Perry, the bills were unable to overcome Texas' powerful dealership lobby, whose support of franchise laws in a state priding itself as a bastion of free-maket economics and limited red tape was deemed "very un-Texan" by Musk in a 2014 interview.

The Texas Auto Dealers Association has spent over $278,000 lobbying against Tesla, with some individual dealership owners and groups contributing hundreds of thousands more.

Texas is home to the country's second largest high-tech workforce and is the U.S.' largest technology manufacturing exporter. Tesla's absence among the likes of industry pioneers such as Dell and Texas Instruments is notable. The state competed for the brand's 'Gigafactory' but lost to Nevada.

The state's legislature holds bi-yearly sessions, meaning Tesla will need to wait until 2017 for similar bills to be introduced, just in time for the Model 3's debut.

Source: The Verge

View attachment: Model_S_Press_WEB.jpg

Tesla's hotly-anticipated Model X continues testing in California and Los Altos shutterbug hushypuppy has snapped half a dozen photos of the electric carmaker's crossover rolling down city streets. The company has yet to reveal photos of the production vehicle.

The vehicle is vital to the Palo Alto-based carmaker's future. The twice delayed Tesla Model X has attracted over 21,000 pre-orders and is predicted to push Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares up 70%. Deliveries are expected to begin in Q3 2015.

High definition photos can be viewed at VWVortex.
Source: VWVortex; HybridCars.com

While Tesla is fighting for the right to sell vehicles direct to consumers in many states, the automaker will also be selling the Model S in new and temporary locations.

Fortune reports that Tesla will be opening mobile container stores in various locations this summer with the first location being Santa Barbara, CA during the Memorial Day holiday. Why is Tesla doing this? They hope to lure in wealthy customers to a vehicle during their summer vacation.

The mobile stores themselves are situated in two shipping containers and takes a few hours to setup. Once setup, the mobile stores look like the standard stores with a neutral gray and bright red paint scheme, along with a Model S.

The next stop for Tesla's pop-up store is in the Hamptons. After that, Tesla is keeping quiet on that.

Source: Fortune

The latest state to ban direct sales of vehicles is Michigan. Today, Governor Rick Synder signed a bill into law that would ban such automakers as Tesla from directly selling vehicles to consumers. This bill also allows dealers to make the decision whether or not to charge the transaction fee.

"This bill does not, as some have claimed, prevent auto manufacturers from selling automobiles directly to consumers at realign in Michigan. That is because this is already prohibited under Michigan law. The current law states that a manufacturer shall not "ell new motor vehicle directly to a retail customer other than through its franchised dealers…" the Governor wrote in a letter to legislators.

The bill updates a current Michigan law by removing the word 'its'. This elimination causes Tesla and any other OEM who decides to do direct sales in the state not to be able to do it. Instead they would have to sell through a network of franchised dealers.

Supporters of this bill includes the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association and General Motors.

"We believe that House Bill 5606 will help ensure that all automotive manufacturers follow the same rules to operate in the State of Michigan; therefore, we encourage Governor Snyder to sign it," GM said in a statement.

Tesla on their part isn't happy with this law and blasted GM for its support of the law.

"What's good for GM's customers is not necessarily good for Tesla's customers. What's good for gasoline cars is not necessarily good for electric cars. Tesla is selling a new product with a new technology,” the automaker said in a statement.

“The evidence is overwhelming that a traditional dealer-based approach does not work for electric cars. Moreover, GM distorts the purpose of the franchise laws (including in Michigan), which are in place not to cement a monopoly for franchised dealers but rather to prevent companies with existing franchises from unfairly competing against them. Tesla has never used franchised dealers, so these concerns are simply irrelevant."

Source: The Detroit News

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced some big changes for the Model S.

The first change is the introduction of all-wheel drive to the Model S lineup, which means the addition of a second electric motor up front. The system dubbed Dual Motor All Wheel Drive works out like this for their lineup,

• 60D and 85D - Front & Rear Motor: 188 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque; Combined: 376 horsepower and 326 torque.
  
• P85D - Front Motor: 221 horsepower and 244 pound-feet of torque; Rear Motor: 470 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque; Combined: 691 horsepower and 687 pound-feet of torque.
  

The P85D will take the place of the P85+ as the Model S flagship with a 0-60 MPH time of 3.2 seconds (0.7 seconds faster than the P85+) and a top speed of 155 MPH.

On the range front, the 60D sees a 17 mile increase (208 to 225 miles); the 80D gets a 10 mile increase (265 to 275 miles); and the P85D takes 10 mile hit (285 to 275 miles).

Pricing for the all-wheel drive models is as followed,

• 60D: $75,070
  
• 85D: $85,070
  
• P85D: $120,170
  

Also being announced was Tesla's Autopilot system. The system utilizes a forward-looking camera, a radar sensor, and ultrasonic sensors to give the Model S a 360-degree view of the surrounding road. At the current time, the system will be able to read speed limit and stay at that speed if the driver allows it. The system will also automate lane changes and park itself. Tesla says there will be more features coming to the Autopilot system in the future.

Source: Tesla, Motor Trend, Carscoops, Automobile Magazine

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

In a surprising move today, three top officials from the Federal Trade Commission have come out against the laws that ban automakers like Tesla from selling their vehicles directly to consumers.

Andrew Gavil, director of the FTC's Office of Policy Planning; Deborah Feinstein, director of the Bureau of Competition; and Martin Gaynor, director of the Bureau of Economics wrote in a blog piece on the FTC site that states the dealer franchise laws are a 'bad idea' since it doesn't allow consumers to shop in new ways.

"For decades, local laws in many states have required consumers to purchase their cars solely from local, independent auto dealers," the three said in the post. "Removing these regulatory impediments may be essential to allow consumers access to new ways of shopping that have become available in many other industries."

Dealers argue the franchise model works because they compete on price and offer long-term service. However, direct sales offer a threat and could cause other manufacturers to go down the same road. Dealers have turned to lobbyists to sue Tesla in court and urge state representatives to tighten dealer laws. This has only angered the public and legislators from both parties.

"How manufacturers choose to supply their products and services to consumers is just as much a function of competition as what they sell--and competition ultimately provides the best protections for consumers and the best chances for new businesses to develop and succeed," the three stated in the piece. "Our point has not been that new methods of sale are necessarily superior to the traditional methods--just that the determination should be made through the competitive process."

Now it should be noted that the posting is of the authors and not the FTC.

Source: Reuters, FTC

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

The long-hinted entry-level Tesla offering, the Model E could be shown earlier than anyone expected.

AutoBild had the chance to interview Tesla's Chief Designer, Franz von Holzhausen. Holzhausen revealed that the Model E could be shown at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, a full year ahead than what everyone was expecting.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been hinting at the Model E for awhile, saying that it would be the size of a BMW 3-Series, have a range of 200 Miles, and cost somewhere around $30,000 (after federal EV tax credits).

Holzhausen also revealed that work on the Tesla's next model, the seven-seat Model X crossover was coming to close.

Source: AutoBild

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

November 19th, 2013

Drew Dowdell

Managing Editor - CheersandGears.com

Following three high profile fires, two in the United States and one in Mexico, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration announced today that the agency has opened a formal probe into the safety or the Tesla Model-S electric car.

The investigation centers around "undercarriage strikes" where metal road debris run over by the car pierced the battery compartment and caused a catastrophic runaway reaction resulting in the total loss of the vehicle. In the NHTSA announcement, they point out that in all cases, the vehicle provided ample audio and visual warnings to the driver well before the battery

Tesla's vocal CEO and founder, Elon Musk, maintains that the Model-S is still safer than any gasoline powered vehicle available for sale and points out that thousands of gasoline powered vehicles have been destroyed by fires caused by ruptured fuel tanks.

Tesla announced today, before the NHTSA release, that it would be asking the agency to conduct an investigation into the fires. Additionally, Tesla would be amending warranty coverage to include damage due to a battery fire. Telsa will send a software update to all Model-S to use the air suspension to raise the ride height.

William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

August 24, 2013

Its all about the trademarks it seems these days. Case in point, Venture Beat via Reuters reports that Tesla has applied for a trademark with the name ‘Model E’, that refers to “automobiles and structural parts therefore.” The application was filed on August 5th and is currently waiting for approval.

This has caused most everyone to go into a frenzy and try to figure out why Tesla wants to trademark 'Model E'. The going theory at the moment is that 'Model E' will be the name of Tesla's next model. The new model will be a competitor to the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

We'll be keeping a close eye on this.

Source: Reuters

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

G. David Felt

Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com

Industry change is never easy or fast and yet Tesla has introduced their 2 minute fast charge system. From $50 to $80 dollars a robotic system would allow you to pull in after 200 miles and in approximately 90 seconds swap out your depleted battery pack for a fully charged pack beating the average fill time of 4 min for a petrol powered car.

See what the news and industry is saying about what Tesla is planning and believes they can make a profit on.

CNN Money

http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/21/autos/tesla-battery-swap/index.html

Daily Mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2346204/Tesla-Motors-introduces-robot-mechanics-replace-batteries-electric-cars.html

Wall St. Cheat Sheet

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/tesla-introduces-faster-gas-station-system.html/?a=viewall

Tesla Motors

http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger

By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

May 28, 2013

Tesla's CEO Elon Musk is very keen on building a electric vehicle that is cheaper than the Model S and doesn't have many of the drawbacks like the Nissan Leaf.

“With the Model S, you have a compelling car that’s too expensive for most people,” he said. “And you have the Leaf, which is cheap, but it’s not great. What the world really needs is a great, affordable electric car. I’m not going to let anything go, no matter what people offer, until I complete that mission,” said Musk during a interview.

The new vehicle will have a pricetag under $40,000, have a range of 200 miles, and come out within the next three to four years.

Source: Bloomberg

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

March 11, 2013

Tesla is quietly pushing back the start of production for their next model, the Model X.

Originally Tesla said production of the Model X crossover would begin this year, with sales beginning in early 2014. However in a filling with Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla push back the production date to 2014.

"We currently plan to start production of Model X in late 2014. We anticipate that we will make Model X available with 60 kWh and 85 kWh battery pack options, with pricing of each version similar to those of a comparably equipped Model S. We currently intend to target an annual production rate of approximately 10,000 -15,000 cars per year from our Tesla Factory," Tesla said in their filling.

So why the delay for the Model X? Tesla spokeswoman Shanna Hendriks told the Los Angeles Times the company is focusing on the production of the Model S, which is expected to reach 20,000 units this year.

Source: Los Angeles Times, Securities and Exchange Commission

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.