Tesla – Page 2766 – I wish I had more to offer

Elon Musk’s SpaceX And The Russian Space Program Are In A New Space Race, This Time It’s Nuclear

Russia to Musk, “Challenge accepted!” That is the message one gets when parsing the trash-talk from Russia as reported by BGR.

“Elon Musk and SpaceX won’t be leading the reusable rocket space race long, at least not if Russia has anything to say about it. Russia’s Keldysh Research Center has been working on a reusable rocket solution for nearly a decade now, and now it’s ramping up the hype with a new concept video showing how its spacecraft works.

“Speaking with reporters, Vladimir Koshlakov explained that Elon Musk and SpaceX pose no real threat to the group’s plans. Musk, Koshlakov says, is relying on technology that will soon be antiquated, while Russia is looking towards shaping the future of spaceflight.”

It is a little like what you would expect from heavyweight boxers just before a big match on pay-per-view. Except, in this case, it is hard to understand what the stakes are. The first space race was about national pride. Even then, it hardly matters which nation-state reached space first, or that first left a souvenir on the moon.

One would think we had gotten past all that with the success of the international space station. It stands as a testimony to what we can do when we go beyond artificial lines on a map and rise above political differences to be united as one people.

But that’s not what we were saying during the first space race. And it apparently doesn’t fly in the current one. What flies is Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster. Because where it is, we don’t need roads.

We can easily imagine a future where reusable rockets will come in handy. But there will be plenty of business to go around. In the end, it won’t matter who accomplished it first. As for bragging rights, it is a government versus an individual. And the individual is winning.

That said, the Russians know their way around space. And we can only benefit from their contributions. They also know their way around nuclear. So it only makes sense that they have managed to fuse the two.

Note that this isn’t the first time Russian space officials have verbally jousted with Musk over his ambitions. Vladimir Solntsev, Russia’s general director of RSC Energia, the country’s top spaceflight contractor, suggested that Musk was not going to be able to send paying customers into space and around the moon by next year.

Sontsev is not wrong about what he said. Musk does have the tendency to overpromise. We have not seen Musk’s designs. There is no launch vehicle and no spacecraft. Then again, Musk has one of his cars in space and headed for Mars. Your move, Russia.

Tesla Owners Group Donates Mini Teslas To Let Kids Get To Surgery In Style

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Published on December 20th, 2018 |

by Kyle Field

Tesla Owners Group Donates Mini Teslas To Let Kids Get To Surgery In Style

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December 20th, 2018 by Kyle Field

A group of Tesla owners in the UK pulled together to donate a few mini Tesla Model S vehicles to a local hospital. The new vehicles will be used by kids going into surgery to travel into their operating theatre in style.

Going in for surgery at such a young age must be terrifying. The few surgeries I’ve had as an adult scared the wits out of me. Having a fun way to get into the room can really help to set them up with a positive, fun attitude, which can make all the difference in how well they handle the stress. A positive outlook can also speed recovery times and get patients back up and running faster than they would otherwise.

The @TeslaOwnersUK group apparently raised money for the new kid-sized electric Teslas (link to Tesla store), but this could also be a great way for Tesla owner groups around the world to put their referral bonuses to work for a great cause as well. The current Tesla referral program gives Tesla owners a free kid-sized Tesla Model S or a free signature series wall charger after two referrals, and not everybody is going to have kids or need a charger when the time comes.

Tesla or Radio Flyer could also step up to donate a few thousand of the Mini Teslas to hospitals around the world, which would serve as great promotional products for both anyway. I always say that it’s best to get ’em while they’re young and impressional. It’s also fun to tell people that real Teslas are basically powered the same way, with an electric motor and lithium-ion batteries that charge by simply plugging them into any wall outlet. That means cleaner air and less cancer.

The donation is already having a carry-on effect, with other Tesla owners groups around the world looking at the donation as an example of how to make an impact.

Related: Even A 2-Year-Old Kid Can Learn To Drive Electric! (Mini Tesla Review)

Source: Twitter via Reddit

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About the Author

Kyle Field I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. TSLA investor. Tesla referral code: http://ts.la/kyle623

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Tesla shares could surge nearly 27% as it becomes ‘sustainably profitable,’ Baird says

Beck Diefenbach | Reuters
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla

Shares of electric car maker Tesla could jump sharply in the next year as the company starts making money more consistently, according to an analyst at Baird.

Analyst Ben Kallo reiterated his outperform rating on the stock and hiked his price target to $465 from $411. Kallo's new 12-month price target implies a 26.8 percent upside from Wednesday's close of $366.60.

Tesla shares rose 2.8 percent Thursday, to $376.79.

“We believe the narrative will continue to change from 'TSLA will never make money' to 'TSLA can be sustainably profitable,'” Kallo said in an investor note Thursday. “The narrative on TSLA, particularly in the middle of 2018, was as negative as we have experienced in our coverage, but we believe sentiment will continue to improve as the company proves it can be self-supportive, which should drive sustained share appreciation.”

Tesla reported a surprise third-quarter profit on Oct. 24. Since then, the stock is up more than 27 percent. That quarter was its third profitable one.

“We do not believe the strong Q3 results were a 'flash in the pan' and think TSLA could maintain profitability,” Kallo said. “Further execution will reinforce investor belief the company can be self-supportive, which should be a positive catalyst.”

Tesla shares have had a wild year. At one point, they were down more than 20 percent for 2018. They were also up as much as 22 percent year to date.

Tesla reached its 2018 high after CEO Elon Musk tweeted in August he had “funding secured” to take the company private. He would later walk back what he wrote in the tweet, agreeing to keep the company public. The Securities and Exchange Commission settled with Musk over charges stemming from his tweet. As part of the settlement, Musk agreed to step down as chairman for three years.

Moving forward, “we continue to believe there are several catalysts upcoming which could drive shares higher, and first-half 2019 results could benefit from easy comps given the Model 3 delay,” Kallo wrote. “TSLA could be entering a positive estimate revision cycle, which should coincide with several other catalysts, in our view, including start of European deliveries, initial production in China, introduction/production of new products, and inclusion in the S&P 500.”

—CNBC's
Michael Bloom
contributed to this report.

WATCH: How taxpayers have boosted Elon Musk and Tesla

How taxpayers have boosted Elon Musk and Tesla
10:06 AM ET Mon, 22 Oct 2018 | 07:43

Tesla Model S catches fire—twice—after flat tire in California

2018 Tesla Model S
A week after reports surfaced that a 2014 fire in a Tesla Model S was caused by a bullet fired from inside the car, in the battery of another brand new Tesla Model S caught fire in California.

The owner told local news crews that he was driving on Highway 17, which runs from San Jose to Santa Cruz, California when the low tire pressure warning suddenly went off. He pulled off the highway and waited for a tow.

DON'T MISS: First Tesla Model S Fire Caused By Collision With Road Debris (2013)

After the car was towed to a tire repair shop in Los Gatos, the owner began hearing hissing sounds from the car and went to investigate. When he got to the car, he found flames lapping underneath.

Fire crews came and put out the fire and waited six hours before towing the car to another repair shop in Campbell, California, where it caught on fire again.

CHECK OUT: Director's Tesla Model S catches fire in L.A.

The owner took delivery of the car three months ago and said the car had only 1,200 miles on it.

Coming so quickly after a low tire-pressure warning, the incident sounds similar to some cases in 2013 after the Model S first went on sale where battery fires were caused by cars running over debris in the road.

READ MORE: Tesla Model S To Get Titanium Battery Shield, Plus Deflectors (2014)

Tesla issued two recalls after those events to slow the spread of fire in the battery pack and give drivers more warning to exit the car, and to add physical safeguards below the front of the battery pack to prevent road debris from puncturing the pack at a vulnerable point.

It's not clear whether the latest case had a similar cause.

Another Model S belonging to stage director Michael Morris caught fire suddenly while driving in Santa Monica in June. Tesla says it is investigating both of the latest incidents.

The Audi E-Tron GT Targets Tesla Using Porsche DNA – Bloomberg

The Audi E-Tron GT Targets Tesla Using Porsche DNA Bloomberg The new 590-horsepower coupe will have a range of 248 miles. Go to Source

Porsche Taycan to Drive Farther, Charge Faster – Bloomberg

Porsche’s all-electric Taycan model, due next year, will let drivers travel about 400 kilometers (250 miles) after charging the vehicle for less than 20 minutes, Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume told Welt am Sonntag in an interview. A new 800 volt electricity supply system will power a car for about 100 kilometers after a four-minute… Continue reading Porsche Taycan to Drive Farther, Charge Faster – Bloomberg

Tesla Model S catches fire in California town: Fire Department

A Tesla caught fire Tuesday in a business parking lot in Los Gatos, according to the Santa Clara County Fire Department.

The silver Tesla Model S caught fire a little after 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Los Gatos Tire and Auto Repair at University Avenue and Industrial Way, fire officials said.

No injuries were reported, and the vehicle was not involved in a collision nor was there work being done on it, fire officials said.

More from NBC Bay Area:
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An employee of the tire shop said the vehicle was brought in on a tow truck, and he noticed a hissing sound coming from it, then within minutes, the vehicle was on fire.

Fire crews responded and extinguished the blaze, but the batteries continued to burn long after the larger flames were put out, fire officials said. Crews remained at the scene to keep the batteries cool and ensure they didn't reignite.

A witness, who did not wish to be named, was walking his dog and said he saw a big plume of white smoke. He did not see how the original fire ignited.

The entire front of the Tesla was charred. The adjacent building was not damaged, fire officials said.

A Tesla spokesperson said in a statement: “We are currently investigating the matter and are in touch with local first responders. We are glad to hear that everyone is safe.”

TSLA

—

Tesla Supercharger gets taken over by anti-Tesla pickup truck drivers acting aggressively

In what appears to be an act of protest against Tesla, a bunch of pickup truck drivers used their trucks to block access to a Supercharger station and reportedly yelled profanities about Tesla until they were removed from the premises. The incident happened in Hickory, North Carolina last weekend. A Tesla owner and Reddit user… Continue reading Tesla Supercharger gets taken over by anti-Tesla pickup truck drivers acting aggressively

Tesla offers to cover remainder of full tax credit if it can’t deliver by year-end

2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range RWD
Buyers interested in a Tesla have just one week to take delivery before the full federal tax credit gets cut in half—unless Tesla can't get the car delivered until the new year, that is. Then, Tesla says it will make up the difference.

There are some caveats, of course.

CHECK OUT: Tesla (again) says buyers must order today for full tax credit

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday that if Tesla committed to make a delivery and a customer made “good faith efforts” to receive the car before the end of the year, Tesla will cover the difference between the new $3,750 half-credit and the full $7,500 credit for 2018.

Musk has twice set deadlines for customers to order new cars to receive the full tax credit, the latest one being the end of November. The latest tweet refers to cars ordered before that point, if Tesla can't deliver them by Dec. 31. He didn't specify what efforts might constitute “good faith” in Tesla's estimation.

Last week, Tesla released all the cars that customers couldn't receive by the end of the year for immediate delivery to new customers. Musk said he would return the deposits of those customers who ordered the cars and couldn't receive them. He also noted that display and test-drive Teslas are available for immediate delivery at discounts off the standard MSRP.

DON'T MISS: Tesla sells 200,000th car, starting phaseout of federal tax credits

The federal tax credits were structured so that after any automaker sells 200,000 plug-in cars, the credits start a wind-down period. At that point, buyers can continue to claim the full $7,500 credit for the remainder of that quarter and for the full quarter following. After that, the credits are cut in half for six months, in half again for another six months. After that, they are eliminated altogether.

Tesla's full-tax-credit marketing campaign covers deliveries until midnight New Year's Eve. The clock is ticking.

Tesla Model 3 Configurator Opens In Denmark — Most Expensive Starting Price Of Any Market Yet

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Published on December 23rd, 2018 |

by Jesper Berggreen

Tesla Model 3 Configurator Opens In Denmark — Most Expensive Starting Price Of Any Market Yet

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December 23rd, 2018 by Jesper Berggreen

Receiving an email from Tesla on the 21st of December 2018 was the most exhilarating experience since I put down 10,000 DKK ($1,500) for a place in the queue on the 1st of April 2016, but the kick I got turned out to be a kick in the face. The starting price for a Tesla Model 3 in Denmark is — as far as I can tell — the highest in any market yet, and thus a whole lot more than I had hoped for.

Before I show you the numbers, I must admit that I fully understand Tesla’s strategy, because the European market is going to be huge for Tesla with the Model 3 entering the scene. This car is going blow the market to pieces. Right now the Renault Zoe, Nissan Leaf, VW e-Golf, and BMW i3 are quietly struggling to be on top, but that all ends with the Model 3. So, Tesla has to start as slow as it can in order to keep up later.

I went to look at the Model 3 first hand at the Tesla dealer here in Aarhus. It was a beautiful red multi-coat Long Range AWD version (I fit perfectly in the driver’s seat I might add). I asked the sales attendant how things were going with the orders just a few hours after the initial batch of emails were out. He could not give me any specifics, but he said his personal opinion was positive.

Clever dude. No specific information, but I could tell from his radiant smiling face that lots of Danes where clicking the order button!

Anyway, there I was, having realized that my wait was not over, by any stretch of my imagination. Here’s why:

Denmark Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD price without enhanced autopilot

That’s $70,785 for the black Dual Motor Long Range Model 3, which is the cheapest possible Tesla Model 3 without Enhanced Autopilot and before savings in Denmark right now. That’s for delivery in February/March. The price includes 25% VAT and — just to rub salt in the wound — $500 in registration tax.

This is more than a black Model 3 Performance with Enhanced Autopilot in the USA, which comes in at $70,000:

USA Tesla Model 3 Performance price with enhanced autopilot

Now, I do not mean to be whining about this too much, because I honestly have trouble finding enough cash for any EV right now, and I do understand the reason for Tesla to only offer the two top models in Europe at first. The demand is so strong for this car on the Old Continent that if Tesla had started with the Mid Range RWD, it would probably not have been able to keep up. This way, the fortunate folks with cash on hand can say, “Heck, let’s go with the AWD version, even though we don’t really need it,” and thus Tesla evens out the logistics. If I could, I certainly would. If Tesla had made an exception for Denmark and reserved a batch of Mid Range RWD for us, everyone else would have been pissed off.

By comparison, the same black Dual Motor Long Range Model 3 goes for €55,400 ($63,064) in Germany, which has lower VAT (20%) and I believe a €4,000 ($4,553) incentive.

All this just proves two things: Denmark is not a frontrunner in adoption of EVs, but also that all good things come to those who wait, and wait, and wait…

I found a used 2014 Model S 85 online for DKK 350,000 ($54,000). Hmm, maybe…

No, I’ll just wait…

About the Author

Jesper Berggreen Jesper had his perspective on the world expanded vastly after having attended primary school in rural Africa in the early 1980s. And while educated a computer programmer and laboratory technician, working with computers and lab-robots at the institute of forensic medicine in Aarhus, Denmark, he never forgets what life is like having nothing. Thus it became obvious for him that technological advancement is necessary for the prosperity of all humankind, sharing this one vessel we call planet earth. However, technology has to be smart, clean, sustainable, widely accessible, and democratic in order to change the world for the better. Writing about clean energy, electric transportation, energy poverty, and related issues, he gets the message through to anyone who wants to know better. Jesper is founder of Lifelike.dk.

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