Tesla Sues the BBC and Top Gear for Libel Against the Roadster

Tesla Motors announced yesterday that it has sued BBC's Top Gear TV show for “libel and malicious falsehood.” The American automaker’s action refers to a Top Gear episode aired on December 14 2008, when Jeremy Clarkson tested the Tesla Roadster.

According to Tesla, the show “contained lies and misinformation about the Roadster's performance, behavior and reliability.” Tesla Motors considers the breakdowns of the Roadster that allegedly occurred during the Top Gear episode were “staged” and that the statements made during the show are untrue.

More specifically, Tesla claims Top Gear misrepresented that:

1. The Roadster ran out of charge and had to be pushed into the Top Gear hangar by 4 men.
2. The Roadster’s true range is only 55 miles per charge (not 211).
3. One Roadster’s motor overheated and was completely immobilized as a result.
4. The other Roadster’s brakes were broken, rendering the car undriveable.
5. That neither of the two Roadsters provided to Top Gear was available for test driving due to these problems.

Read more »

Tesla Roadster Starts 3,000-Kilometer Tour in Australia

The "Oz Goes Electric" tour is an event staged by Tesla Motors with the aim of allowing fans from Australia's eastern coast to get a closer look at the electric-powered sports car. Starting from March 16, the Tesla Roadster will journey 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles), which is the longest roadtrip ever to be undertaken by an EV in Australia, according to the company.

Read more »

Meet the Artega SE, Germany’s Answer to the Tesla Roadster

The world of electric sports cars may soon welcome a new member; the Artega SE. Revealed in pre-production form at the Geneva, the ‘electrified’ version of the Artega GT is powered by two electric motors mounted on the rear axle that develop a combined output of 280 kW or 380HP. Each motor operates independently from one another and drives one of the rear wheels.

Read more »

Tesla Losses Soar to $154.3 million in 2010, Despite Gains in Revenue

Tesla Motors has just released a preliminary, unaudited financial report concerning the year than ended on Dec. 31, 2010. The company reported losses of US$51.4 million in Q4 2010 and US$154.3 million for 2010, which was almost triple the US$55.74 million loss for the year ending Dec. 31, 2009.

Read more »

Tesla to Extend its Lineup with an All-Electric SUV by 2014

*Opening Photo: Tesla Model S

Lately, the folks over at Tesla have been very busy developing the upcoming Model S sedan and, together with Toyota, the all-electric version of the RAV4 compact SUV. But there’s more, as according to an LA Times report, the California-based automaker is also working on a small SUV of its own, currently named Model X.

Read more »

Tesla Model S Road Testing Underway [with Video]

It has been a long journey, but it looks like the Tesla Model S all-electric sport sedan is one step closer to series production as the California-based automaker announced it is moving on to the final road tests. The first phase called Alpha, which began in 2010, includes both computer simulations and test-drives of prototype vehicles. There will be a Beta phase as well.

Read more »

Fulton Innovation Wirelessly Charges Tesla Roadster

A few days ago we brought you the news that GM will begin offering in-car wireless charging mats for mobile phones as an option from Q3 2012. These devices, that are making big waves at trade shows both in the U.S. and around the world, do away with the pesky cords and bulky adapters of old, replacing them with two conductive metal plates (i.e. one on the back of your phone and one in your car).

So imagine if you could charge your electric car this way. It should be simple, right? You’d just need to upscale it to suit charging a bigger battery. Well, at the 2011 CES technology trade show in Las Vegas, Fulton Innovation showed such a gadget by wirelessly charging the be-all and end-all of electric vehicles: the Tesla Roadster.

Read more »

Brabus Plugs into the Tesla Roadster with New Sport Green Package

In an effort to provide added value to its customers, Brabus’ Zero Emission division joined forces with German electricity company RWE and created the Green Package for the Tesla Roadster. Along with a host of exterior and interior upgrades, the 'green' package includes a quick charging station for the owner’s garage and 30,000 kilometers (18,641 miles) worth of electric power from RWE. And there’s more; with every purchase, buyers also receive a one-year pass for free use of all public RWE charging stations.

Read more »

Tesla Recalls 439 Roadsters Over Potential Fire Hazard

Tesla Motors has initiated a voluntary safety recall on its battery-electric Roadster 2.0 and 2.5 models following the discovery of a potential fire hazard involving an auxiliary power cable.

The California-based automaker said it became aware of the problem after a single incident where an auxiliary cable "chafed against the edge of a carbon fiber panel in the vehicle causing a short, smoke and possible fire behind the right front headlamp of the vehicle."

Read more »