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The White House granted General Motors and Chrysler a reprieve Friday when it authorized $17.4 billion in emergency loans. President Bush said the alternative – the collapse of two American icons – was “not a responsible course of action.”
It’s impossible to say whether loans from the Treasury Department’s $700 billion financial stabilization fund will revive Detroit. No one knows whether Chrysler – which paid off its 1979 bailout loan and handed a nice profit to the federal government – can return from the brink again.
But the administration and Congress clearly charted a “responsible course” in preserving the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program. The $25 billion ATVM provides new and established automakers and suppliers with incentives so they may build fuel-efficient vehicles and get them to customers faster. It could also become a cornerstone of job creation for future generations: U.S. manufacturing in the 21st century is likely to be based alternative-fuel, advanced technology vehicles that reduce our carbon footprint and reliance on foreign oil.
Tesla Motors has applied for about $400 million in low-interest loans to support two future projects. One would help finance a manufacturing facility to make an all-electric, zero-emission five-passenger family sedan – the precursor to a $30,000 all-electric, zero-emission subcompact. The second loan would help finance an advanced battery and powertrain manufacturing facility to supply Tesla’s EV powertrain to other automakers, both domestic and foreign.
The Tesla Roadster gets 244 miles at a cost of roughly $4 per charge, liberating drivers from petro-state dictators, OPEC-mandated price fluctuations and Big Oil oligopoly. It’s the only highway-capable, all-electric, zero-emission production car for sale today. Given such disruptive technology, it’s easy to understand why Tesla is – no pun intended – a lightning rod for debate. Some pundits say Tesla is somehow at odds with the rest of the industry.
In fact, the opposite is true. Tesla, which is already selling powertrains for use in other automakers’ vehicles, has a deeply vested interest in a robust economy and proliferation of viable automakers. If any manufacturer in Detroit, Tokyo or Stuttgart ceases operations, Tesla could lose a potential partner.
Last week, Tesla delivered its 100th vehicle — a humble but symbolic milestone confirming Tesla as the newest member of the global auto sector. Tesla profits from a dynamic industry – and I hope the bailout provides a catalyst for positive change in Detroit. Thanks to the ATVM, I also look forward to a profusion of fuel-efficient technology — breakthroughs that will ultimately benefit corporations, consumers and the earth.
Posted in the categories: Company, Public Policy
To all who claim the US automakers mistakes are the only reason the industry is suffering -
AP 7:17 a.m. PT, Mon., Dec. 22, 2008
NAGOYA, Japan - Toyota Motor Corp. projected its first-ever operating loss since it began such reports, acknowledging Monday that its nine-year stretch of global vehicle-sales growth had stalled.
Crashing auto demand, especially in its key U.S. market, and the profit erosion from a surging yen proved too much for Japan’s top automaker, which had been booming on the success of its fuel-efficient models, including the Camry sedan and Prius gas-electric hybrid.
The 100th Roadster was delivered on Dec 9th, 2008. The latest I heard, Tesla was around the 120 mark.
Go Tesla Motors!
It would be great if Tesla could provide a real-time “delivery counter” to enable everyone to keep tabs on how many vehicles have been delivered to date. This seems to be the keenest area of interest as Tesla ramps up production.
I expect and hope a resurgent economy in 6-12 months will re-accelerate Tesla’s initiatives. It would be interesting to know what the order book and backorders look like at the moment!
i think that all Tesla fans and those who believe that an all-electric car is the path to a greener future need to contact the government decision makers who will review Teslas’ $400 application. Can anyone provide me with an address and congressman to mail/email my thoughts?
it seems to me it will be a long wait before a maintenence-revenue-based auto industry leads us in this direction as empiracal results so far have shown pure electrics require much less maintenance. And their relationship with the oil companies with regular fuel and lubrication needs are not likely partners either!
The main industrial stakeholder should be the local electric utility but they have pocketed any profits as salary rather than investing in more advanced infrastructure. perhaps with pressure from Obama, and us this may change this year.
My Tesla (bright Orange) arrives this year!
Excellent points. People are finally accepting the realities of our complex economy. Bash old tech if you like, but we are still dependent upon it until we segue to something new / better. The oil price shock we got this summer should awaken us all to the reality of the interdependence of so many different aspects of our economy, so that pundits and politicians alike will learn to bite their tongues before attempting to throw any company or industry under the bus.
Godspeed, and I’ll be paying you a visit when the sedan is in the showroom.
My company is intent to commercialize RET, its high efficiency multi-fuel thermal engine. It is a Green engine. In a Telsa without the huge battery weigth, and RETs characteristics, it will maintain its stated performance, yet achieve over 100 MPG. 150MPG if you drive optimatlly. Its ultralight weight means one could have a drop-in unit that could extend its range indefinitely using diesel fuel stations worldwide, as needed. Or, for selfcontained overnight, or off-use charging without plugging in. JR CEO Sannerprojects, Inc (USA, Maryland)
I am fascinated with your company and projects. The roadster is fabulous and your plans for a family car and a compact look very nice. You seem to have assembled a really savvy team. I would hope that you plan a small compact 4×4 SUV in the future as well. I am also wondering if you are working with nano-tech solar collectors with an eye toward using them on the roof. It would be great to be charging with the sun when parked or even when driving long distances.
It would be nice if you would post some concept sketches on this site so that we can keep up with some of the vehicles you are planing in the future and perhaps get on a waiting list for one. I’d love to get off gas if I could have a small 4×4!
It was also be nice if you would put information on your site about how someone could invest in your company.
Thank you and best of luck with your projects in the coming year!
I enjoy reading your technical updates regarding the roadster and other potential vehicles. I DO PLAN TO BUY, but living in a small town I want to see intastructure for charging in place. I drive about 1000 miles per week and I am looking forward to “plugging in” and not “filling up.” Thanks for your products and keep pushing the envelope on alternatives to gasoline engines.
Hi there,
The car looks great. Now think about this. How much leather seats add to the idea of a car for a better world. How about slaughter of animals to make the trim?
I can buy this car as long as the seats are cruelty free. Thinking “green” is cool. Now can you go deeper than that? I challenge you to.
Good luck!
Tesla Motors needs to hurry up the cakes! I’m ready for my all-electric family sedan!
As long as we humans eat meat leather seats are just good way to use leftover skins. And as humans are partially predatory animals we will be eating meat until world food sources are too scare to afford growing meat animals. Many necessary proteins we need are animal-based. It would be less green not to use those skins for some practical use like coats and seats.
Furs are different matter completely, those we don’t eat and don’t need.
So be green and buy Roadster.
Lexus,
You can buy it with Microfiber seats www.teslamotors.com/display_data/teslaroadster_specsheet.pdf
Olá.
First desire excellent a 2009 voces. Second, it would like to know what they had found of the idea that I sent in the year passed on a on alternator to the back axle of roadsterMY.
I still use to advantage to know if already they had thought about the possibility of opening of a concessionaire in Curitiba/Brazil?
Great I hug to all
Wiliam Castelli
For a real aero-dynamic vehicle, have a look at this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dv-gl6RCGc
William Caselli,
Yes they do have an alternator on the back axle, it is part of the original design. They call it regenerative braking.
Hello
I have read that you are about to sell a family EV.
Also you seem to have financial difficulties
Why not thinking of a partnership with Dassault, a french plane maker (Falcon business planes), also owned of th CLEANOVA concept, which is the hart of a EV. There is a familly Cleanova, partnership and production in China, etc…
“Cleanova” is an industrial concept consisting in adapting an electrical heart for an EV, not a final product
This website shows the french minister of environment driving a Cleanova III, and some News about it (sorry, this is in french).
ev1fr.unblog.fr/tag/cleanova/
Dassault has money to invest, likes technology and the USA, has R&D centers, is NOT interested to be a car manuacturer but is interested to industrial partnerships, so may be you both can do something together ?
PJPompee:
Tesla is not having financial difficulties. They can get all the investment money they want, many bloggers here would be glad to invest. The financial difficulties alluded to by the press were to make the company profitable, by reducing costs and raising the price of the car. This cannot be solved by throwing more money at it.
To help you raise the $400 million you need maybe you should put a donation box on your site. Both Ron Paul and Obama did that and they raises a ton of money. I’m sure people would support your electric cars as they’ll do us more good then any polititian.
Also, putting the email address of the people in Gov. that we could write to help you get the $400 million might help too. Just an idea:)
I agree with Dave above. A donation box for contributions could add up to a lot, and I know Tesla has a lot of fans.
I don’t know how much or how little press this has gotten, but you guys should take a look at this Energy By Motion idea out of Hungary… Apparently, (with my limited scientific knowledge), it uses the rotational energy generated by consistently turning electomagnets to maintain its own turning and generate extra power, or some such idea. They’ve already got one powering their entire building, and it requires no power, generates its own power, and apparently, they’ve got some ideas and prototypes to make this work for a car, too!
news article about it:
peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Energy_By_Motion_(EBM)
And their official website:
www.gammamanager.com/
Mr OConnell,
I think it is great that you are offering your developed drive train to the automotive industry. Just looking at your system it is clearly something that could “very easily” be incorporated into almost any existing or future automobile/truck design and that’s great. But! I’d like to see you develop something else. A “retro-fit” power train that would work as a conversion kit for almost any existing automobile or truck or SUV or ??? built in the last 10 to 15 years. I believe you should work with the new “Green Oriented Government” to get them to offer to car owners, that have commuter travel needs and you guys, tax incentives, tooling development grants, grants to car owners that want to retrofit their vehicle or other in the box or out of the box incentives that will “rapidly” move this technology from the political gooble-de-halibut world out into the real world of day to day driving. These folks are the ones that use the most gasoline, in the USA anyway, and providing them with the conversion tools needed would be right in line with the “go green infusion money” the Obama team wants to use to get our economy back up and running. The car owner would benefit, the auotomotive shop that would do the conversion would benefit and maybe even new car owners with gas engines could get their new car retro-fitted by the car dealer that sold them the car and they would benefit as well. This might even be a way for you to bypass the car companies if they choose to dilly and dally with your offers. The greatest benefit doing this is it will cause the oil consumption by the USA to begin to go down. I’m out here poor as dirt and would have no hope of gain in any of this, other than I would like my 1996 Ford Ranger pickup truck to be all electric. For you guys though, who are vested in this, I truly believe the early bird will get the golden worm. And all of us, rich, poor or in the middle, will be better for it.
Thanks for reading,
Mike Moring
Milton, Florida
Are there expected specs, prices and target dates for the all-electric sedan. Will you be using regular folks for beta testing prototypes? I live in rural southwwest NM in an area where cars are often tested. I would be very interested even with my carrying most to the cost. Presently, I heat our home and generate its electricity with solar panels, so one could say I would use solar generated power to recharge the car’s batteries.
Cheers, Lloyd Barr
I am anxious to see if Tesla will soon turn the great technology to replacing the current semi fleets into all electric vehicles. With a trillion miles a year these huge transports log, turning them into all electric using the Tesla technology would put a huge dent in the oil dependence of America, and a ripple effect in the economy better than any stimulus package now contemplated. I also am hoping for a sooner-than-later family car we all can buy. Along with that, more stores and support throughout the country. That will be the best statement by the company of confidence in the product and the most inexpensive marketing. Doing those things would yield the equivalent of a major league home run in a little league ballpark.
The solution to the requiments of clean atomic reactors lies in thorium as a fuel.1 there is 250,000 years of this avalable,at energy levels 20 x greater than currant eletric production on earth. there is no prodcution of waste from this form of reactor.232 is by nature a far more normal matteral
Tesla is the bees knees! whack a couple of solarf panels onto that sunny roof of yours, and bam! a solar powered car… so dahm sweet… save the world, save sackloads of cash, save the american way of life and be unbelievably rad all in one go - - - man telsa, you guys are the shiz, break it up kids. . . this is tesla.