For independent electric car companies, it’s so long, automobile row. Some electric vehicle manufacturers have jettisoned the old model of franchise auto dealerships in an effort to change not only how we drive, but also how we buy cars. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Tesla Motors
Tesla Prepares for a Gap as Roadster Winds Down
Tesla Motors has spent eight years building a new kind of car company — one with Silicon Valley roots that makes slick electric vehicles and takes its retail cues from Apple rather than from traditional dealerships. As I wrote in this article for The New York Times, Tesla is now undergoing a makeover as it tries to evolve from a niche maker of expensive sports cars that has never turned a profit into a money-making provider of electric cars for the masses and a technology supplier to bigger automakers. Continue reading
Posted in Auto
Tagged Electric cars, Elon Musk, Lotus, New York Times, Tesla Motors
Tesla Sues ‘Top Gear’ Over Show About the Roadster
Tesla Motors, the electric vehicle manufacturer based in Silicon Valley, filed a lawsuit this week in Britain against the BBC’s popular “Top Gear” television program.
Suing for libel and malicious falsehood, Tesla took issue with a December 2008 episode that depicted problems with the brakes, cooling system and limited range of its Roadster sports car. I asked industry analysts and one of London’s leading experts in media litigation and libel cases about likely outcomes for the lawsuit. As one expert commented, the lawsuit stands to “call attention to certain details” that for Tesla might be better forgotten. Continue reading
Posted in Auto
Tagged BBC Top Gear, Electric cars, Litigation, New York Times, NYT Wheels, Tesla Motors
Tesla IPO: Will Tesla See a Powerhouse Public Offering?
Tesla Motors, the Silicon Valley electric car startup gunning to raise $185 million next week through an IPO and sales of shares to Toyota, has won over members of the Silicon Valley, Capitol Hill and Hollywood elite. But will the company, which has never turned a profit, charge up Wall Street with a blockbuster IPO?
I dove into Tesla’s regulatory filings and interviewed several analysts to weigh the comany’s prospects for a blockbuster, lackluster or middle-of-the-road IPO. Written originally for Earth2Tech, this article also appeared on Salon.com and NYTimes.com, and was featured in the New York Times’ DealBook blog.
Tagged Analysis, Earth2Tech, Electric cars, IPO, New York Times, Salon, Tesla Motors
Toyota Deal Not a Silver Bullet for Tesla’s Mass Market Goals
After sorting through Tesla’s amended S-1 filing, I wrote this Earth2Tech piece answering some key questions about electric car maker Tesla Motors’ deal with Toyota. Despite Toyota’s agreement to invest $50 million in the startup, ties between the two companies remain very limited, and hurdles remain for Tesla to start cranking out the Model S in large numbers at the old NUMMI facility in Fremont.
Posted in Auto
Tagged Earth2Tech, Electric cars, Regulatory Filings, Tesla Motors, Toyota
Tesla IPO: A Test for VC Model in the Auto Biz
If and when Tesla Motors goes through with its long-discussed goal of going public, I’ve argued over on Earth2Tech that it will offer a glimpse at the role IPOs will play in the nascent green car market, as the question remains: Is the classic venture capital model (invest early and find a big exit in the form of an acquisition or an IPO) viable for this sector, or will a green-car IPO be more about feeding big capital needs and branding? This article also appeared (through syndication) on BusinessWeek.com.
Tagged Analysis, BusinessWeek, Earth2Tech, Electric cars, IPO, Tesla Motors
