Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is drawing fire over his request for a $350 million loan from the federal government. Although the company receives widespread support for its leadership role in the burgeoning electric car industry, critics argue that Tesla's request to use taxpayer money to help a company making cars for wealthy patrons is elitist and wrong.
Mercedes-Benz will unveil three electric concept vehicles at next month's 2009 Detroit Auto Show. The designs are small and sleek, with a sporty futuristic edge.
While the goal of most automakers is to make money making cars, it appears that electric car companies have another side pursuit—suing competitors. Is this all about the massive ego necessary to launch a car company? Or is it just something about electric cars? You be the judge, based on our rap sheet of high-profile lawsuits regarding electric and hybrid cars.
Electric car fans cheered this week’s announcement that Better Place, a startup based in Palo Alto, Calif., signed up the State of Hawaii to build a statewide recharging infrastructure for plug-in vehicles. But critics and some sympathetic supporters playing the role of Devil’s Advocates are asking tough questions.
The Michelin tire company is getting closer to commercializing its electric wheel concept. The company has been showing versions of the “Active Wheel” since 2004. The system contains virtually all the components necessary for a vehicle to propel or stop. The only thing missing is the source of energy. Check out our gallery of motor-wheel vehicles, dating from 1900 to 2008.
Electric cars get more than their share of press these days. Just consider the Tesla Roadster, or the Chevrolet Volt. But a quiet startup in California, Miles Electric, may bring the first fully electric sedan to the US market within 18 months—and it would be the first Chinese-made car sold here as well. In an exclusive two-hour interview, president and CEO Kevin Czinger discussed the company’s strategy, its market positioning, and the development of its Highway Speed model.
Electric cars have garnered a lot of media attention in recent months. Some consumers might get the impression that gas-free vehicles will be ready to take global roads by storm in the next year or two. But according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, production of all-electric vehicles will take another eight to 10 years before reaching the level of today’s hybrid cars.
Carlos Ghosn, CEO of both Nissan and French carmaker Renault, gave the keynote address to kick off the show’s media days. After nodding to the severe financial pressures facing all carmakers in the current market slowdown, he reiterated Nissan’s plans to offer an electric vehicle in the US and Japan in 2010 for commercial customers and large fleets, with showroom sales to consumers in 2012. Ghosn envisions as many as seven million pure electric vehicles being sold around the world by 2020.
The European tradition of coachbuilding—the manufacturing of carriages—dates back to the 1700s. These days, it refers to the high-end auto design firms, such as Rolls Royce and Ferrari, which build custom-designed specialty vehicles. Like nearly every automaker in the world, coachbuilders are going green, by designing and building all-electric vehicles. But don’t hold your breath for these cool electricity-powered rides to make it across the pond.
After accepting the position of White House chief of staff under Barack Obama, Rep. Rahm Emanuel said, “You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste. It’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.” Emanuel was speaking broadly about the economic crisis, but his statement holds even truer for the crisis facing Detroit automakers.
