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Tesla Motors, Inc.
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: TSLA
IndustryAutomotive
Founded2003
FounderElon Musk
Martin Eberhard
Marc Tarpenning
JB Straubel
Ian Wright
HeadquartersPalo Alto, California, USA
Key people
Elon Musk
(Chairman and CEO)
JB Straubel
(CTO)
ProductsTesla Roadster
Tesla Model S
Tesla Model X
Revenue
  • IncreaseUS$413.3 million (2012)
  • US$204.2 million(2011)
  • DecreaseUS$-394.3 million (2012)
  • US$-251.5 million(2011)
  • DecreaseUS$-396.2 million (2012)
  • US$-254.4 million(2011)
Total assets
  • IncreaseUS$1,114.2 million (2012)
  • US$713.4 million(2011)
Total equity
  • DecreaseUS$124.7 million (2012)
  • US$224.0 million(2011)
Number of employees
2,964 (December 2012)
WebsiteTeslaMotors.com
Footnotes / references
[1]
New Teslas at the factory in 2012

Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley-based company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components. Tesla Motors is a public company that trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol TSLA.

Tesla Motors gained widespread attention by producing the Tesla Roadster, the first fully electric sports car.[2] Its second model is the Model S, a fully electric luxury sedan. While still expensive, it is substantially cheaper than the Roadster.

Tesla also sells electric powertrain components, including lithium-ion battery packs, to other automakers, including Daimler and Toyota.[3] Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, has said he envisions Tesla as an independent automaker,[4] aimed at eventually mass-producing fully electric cars at a price affordable to the average consumer.

Overview

Tesla Motors is named after electrical engineer and physicist Nikola Tesla.[5] The Tesla Roadster uses an AC motor descended directly from Tesla's original 1882 design.[6]

The Tesla Roadster, the company's first vehicle, is the first production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production EV with a range greater than 200 miles (320 km) per charge.[7] The base model accelerates 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.7 seconds and, according to Tesla Motor's environmental analysis, is twice as energy efficient as the Toyota Prius.[8] Since 2008 Tesla has sold more than 2,250 Roadsters in 31 countries through March 2012.[9] Tesla began producing right-hand-drive Roadsters in early 2010 for the UK and Ireland markets, then expanded sales to right-hand-drive markets of Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.[10] ref name=Sales0611>Chris Woodyard (2011-08-03). "Tesla boasts about electric car deliveries, plans for sedan". USA Today. Retrieved 2011-10-04.</ref>[11] Tesla stopped taking orders for the Roadster in the U.S. market in August 2011.[12]

Tesla unveiled the Tesla Model S all-electric sedan on March 26, 2009 with an anticipated base price of US$57,400 before any government tax credit or subsidies.[13] The Model S will have three battery pack options for a range of up to 265 miles (426 km) per charge.[14] In October 2011, Tesla reached 6,500 reservations for the Model S[15] and retail deliveries began in June 2012.[16] The Model S is manufactured at the Tesla Factory in Fremont, California, an assembly plant formerly operated by NUMMI, a now defunct joint venture of Toyota and General Motors.[17] Tesla purchased a stake in the site in May 2010 for US$42 million,[18][19] and opened the facility in October 2010.

Tesla currently employs almost 3000 full-time employees[1] and is recruiting employees for positions in the headquarters in Palo Alto, California, at its European headquarters in Maidenhead, UK, and at an increasing number of sales facilities throughout North America and Europe.[20]

Corporate strategy

Current corporate headquarters in Palo Alto, California

One of Tesla's stated goals is to increase the number and variety of EVs available to mainstream consumers in three ways; by

  • selling its own vehicles in a growing number of company-owned showrooms and online;[21]
  • selling patented electric powertrain components to other automakers so that they may get their own EVs to customers sooner;[22][23]
  • serving as a catalyst and positive example to other automakers, demonstrating that there is pent-up consumer demand for vehicles that are both high-performance and efficient.

General Motors' then-Vice Chairman Robert Lutz said in 2007 that the Tesla Roadster inspired him to push GM to develop the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid sedan that aims to reverse years of dwindling market share and massive financial losses for America's largest automaker.[24] In an August 2009 edition of The New Yorker, Lutz was quoted as saying, "All the geniuses here at General Motors kept saying lithium-ion technology is 10 years away, and Toyota agreed with us -- and boom, along comes Tesla. So I said, 'How come some tiny little California startup, run by guys who know nothing about the car business, can do this, and we can't?' That was the crowbar that helped break up the log jam."[25] Musk won the 2010 Automotive Executive of the Year Innovator Award for hastening the development of electric vehicles throughout the global automotive industry.[26]

The Tesla Roadster has a base price of US$109,000,[13] €84,000 or £86,950 (not including numerous tax incentives, credits and waivers). Tesla's goal is to sell EVs to mainstream consumers at more affordable prices—but Tesla purposely aimed its first production vehicle at "early adopters" so that the company could optimize the technology before cascading it down to less expensive vehicles.[27] The company's subsequent car, the Model S sedan, began production for the 2012 model year with a base price of US$57,400 (or US$49,900[13][28] after a US federal tax credit), roughly half that of the Roadster.[29] The company then plans to launch a US$30,000 vehicle, codenamed BlueStar.[30] Tesla also builds electric powertrain components for more affordable cars including the lowest priced car from Daimler, the Smart urban commuter car; the lowest priced car to carry the Mercedes badge, the A-Class hatch back; and the lowest priced SUV from Toyota, the RAV4.[3]

Aiming premium products at affluent "thought leaders" is a well known business strategy in Silicon Valley and the global technology industry, where prices for the first versions of cellular phones, laptop computers and flat-screen televisions start high but drop in subsequent product cycles.[31] However, this approach has been relatively rare in the global auto industry, where the prevailing business model has been one of mass production in assembly plants optimized to build hundreds of thousands of vehicles per year with comparatively low sticker prices. According to a blog post by Musk, "New technology in any field takes a few versions to optimize before reaching the mass market and in this case it is competing with 150 years and trillions of dollars spent on gasoline cars."[32]

History and financing

In 2003, two independent teams, consisting of Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning and Ian Wright on the one hand, and Musk and JB Straubel on the other, both sought to commercialize the T-Zero prototype electric sports car created by AC Propulsion.

Since college,[33] Musk's primary goal was to commercialize electric vehicles all the way to mass market, starting with a premium sports car aimed at early adopters and then moving as rapidly as possible into more mainstream vehicles, including sedans and affordable compacts.[34]

Tom Gage, the president of AC Propulsion, suggested that the two teams join forces to maximize the chances of success. They agreed to merge their efforts, with Musk becoming chairman and overall head of product design, Eberhard becoming CEO and Straubel becoming CTO.

Musk took an active role within the company and oversaw Roadster product design at a detailed level, but was not deeply involved in the day to day business operations;[35] Eberhard acknowledged that Musk was the person who insisted from the beginning on a carbon fiber body, and he led design of components ranging from the power electronics module to the headlamps and other styling cues.[36]

In addition to his daily operational roles, Musk was the controlling investor in Tesla from the first financing round, funding the large majority of the Series A capital investment round of US$7.5 million with personal funds.

From the beginning, Musk consistently maintained that Tesla's long-term strategic goal was to create affordable mass market electric vehicles in order to have a material impact on oil consumption.[37] Musk received the Global Green 2006 product design award for his design of the Tesla Roadster, presented by Mikhail Gorbachev,[38] and he received the 2007 Index Design award for his design of the Tesla Roadster.[39]

Musk's Series A round included Compass Technology Partners and SDL Ventures, as well as many private investors. Musk later led Tesla Motors' Series B, US$13 million, investment round which added Valor Equity Partners to the funding team. Musk co-led the third, US$40 million round in May 2006 along with Technology Partners. Tesla's third round included investment from prominent entrepreneurs including Google co-founders Sergey Brin & Larry Page, former eBay President Jeff Skoll, Hyatt heir Nick Pritzker and added the VC firms Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Capricorn Management and The Bay Area Equity Fund managed by JPMorgan Chase.[40] The fourth round in May 2007 added another US$45 million and brought the total investments to over US$105 million through private financing.

In December 2007, Ze'ev Drori became the CEO and President of Tesla Motors. In January 2008, Tesla Motors fired several key personnel who had been involved from the inception after a performance review by the new CEO.[41] According to Musk, Tesla was forced to reduce the company workforce by about 10 percent to lower its burn rate, which was out of control in 2007.[42]

The fifth round in February 2008 added another US$40 million. Musk had contributed US$70 million of his own money to the company by this time.[43] In October 2008, Musk succeeded Ze'ev Drori as CEO. Drori became Vice Chairman. He left the company in December. By January 2009, Tesla had raised US$187 million and delivered 147 cars.[42][44]

On May 19, 2009, Germany's Daimler AG, maker of Mercedes, acquired an equity stake of less than 10 percent of Tesla for a reported US$50 million.[45] In July 2009, Daimler announced that Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments bought 40 percent of Daimler's interest in Tesla.[46]

In June 2009 Tesla was approved to receive US$465 million in interest-bearing loans from the United States Department of Energy. The funding, part of an US$8 billion program for advanced vehicle technologies (Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program), supports engineering and production of the Model S sedan, as well as the development of powertrain technology that Tesla plans to sell to other automakers.[47] The low-interest loans are not related to the "bailout" funds that GM and Chrysler have received, nor are they related to the 2009 economic stimulus package. The Department of Energy loan program was created in 2007 during the George Bush administration in order to get more fuel-efficient vehicle options to U.S. consumers and to decrease the country's dependence on foreign oil.[48]

The company announced in early August 2009 that it had achieved overall corporate profitability for the month of July 2009.[49] The company said it earned approximately US$1 million on revenue of US$20 million. Profitability arose primarily from improved gross margin on the 2010 Roadster, the second iteration of Tesla’s award-winning sports car. Tesla, which like all automakers records revenue when products are delivered, shipped a record 109 vehicles in July and reported a surge in new Roadster purchases.

In September 2009, Tesla announced an US$82.5 million round to accelerate Tesla's retail expansion in advance of the Model S.[50] Daimler participated in the round to maintain equity ownership from its initial investment.

Tesla Motors signed a production contract on 11 July 2005 with Group Lotus to produce "gliders" (complete cars minus electric powertrain) for Tesla.[51] Tesla Motors originally signed a production contract with Group Lotus good through March 2011, but the two automakers revealed they had extended the deal to keep the electric Roadster in production through December 2011 with a minimum number of 2,400 units,[52] when production is unlikely to continue mostly because of tooling changes orchestrated by one of its suppliers.[53]

2010 initial public offering

On 29 January 2010, Tesla Motors filed Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,[54] as a preliminary prospectus indicating its intention to file an initial public offering (IPO) underwritten by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J. P. Morgan, and Deutsche Bank Securities. In a standard S-1 update filed March 26, Tesla added fourth-quarter 2009 data to the initial filing. According to the update, Tesla sold 937 Tesla Roadsters to customers in 18 countries and generated US$126.8 million in revenue as of Dec. 31, 2009.[55] On May 21, 2010, Tesla announced a "strategic partnership" with Toyota, which agreed to purchase US$50 million in Tesla common stock issued in a private placement[56][57] to close immediately after Tesla's planned IPO.[58] Executives at both companies said that they would cooperate on "the development of electric vehicles, parts, and production system and engineering support."[57] Less than two months later, Toyota and Tesla confirmed that their first platform collaboration would be to build an electric version of the RAV4 EV.[59] In June 2010, it was reported that Tesla sold a total of US$12.2 million zero emission vehicle credits to other automakers, including Honda, up to March 31, 2010.[60]

On June 29, 2010 Tesla Motors launched its initial public offering on NASDAQ under the symbol TSLA. The IPO raised US$226 million for the company.[61] It was the first American car maker to go public since the Ford Motor Company had its IPO in 1956.[62][needs update]

Car models

Tesla Roadster

Main article: Tesla Roadster
Tesla began producing right-hand drive Roadsters in January 2010 and sells them in the UK, Australia and parts of Asia.

Tesla Motors' first production vehicle, the Tesla Roadster, was an all-electric sports car. Since 2008 Tesla has sold more than 2,250 Roadsters in 31 countries through March 2012.[9] The car had a range of 245 miles (394 km) per charge on average according to testing done by Tesla.[63] On Oct. 27, 2009, the Roadster driven by Simon Hackett drove the entire 313-mile (504 km) segment of Australia's annual Global Green Challenge on a single charge, at an average speed of 25 mph (40 km/h).[64][65] The Tesla Roadster can accelerate from zero to 60 mph (97 km/h) in under 4 seconds and has a top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h).

The base price of the car is US$109,000,[13] €84,000 or £87,945. The cost of powering the Roadster is estimated at US$0.02 per mile, compared with roughly US$0.25 per mile for a comparable gasoline powered sports car.[66][failed verification]

Prototypes were introduced to the public in July 2006, and the Tesla Roadster was featured on the cover of Time in December 2006 as the recipient of the magazine's "Best Inventions 2006—Transportation Invention" award.[66] The first "Signature One Hundred" set of fully equipped Roadsters sold out in less than three weeks,[67] the second hundred sold out by October 2007, and general production began on March 17, 2008.[68]

Since February 2008, when production first began, two new models have been introduced, one in July 2009, and another in July 2010. Both new models feature various upgrades.[69][70][71] In January 2010, Tesla began producing its first right-hand-drive Roadsters for the UK and Ireland, then began selling them in mid-2010 in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.

Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5, the company's fourth-generation Roadster

Tesla would sell the Roadster until early 2012, when its supply of Lotus Elise gliders was expected to run out, as its contract with Lotus Cars for 2,500 gliders expired at the end of 2011.[72][11] Tesla stopped taking orders for the Roadster in the US market in August 2011.[73][74] Featuring new options and enhanced features, the 2012 Tesla Roadster will be sold in limited numbers only in Europe, Asia and Australia.[75][76] The next generation is expected to be introduced in 2014 and will be based on a shortened version of the architecture developed for the Tesla Model S.[77]

Tesla began taking orders in January 2009 for the Roadster Sport, a higher performance sports car based on the Roadster.[78] The Roadster Sport price started at US$128,500 in the United States and €112,000 (excluding VAT) in Europe. Deliveries began in July 2009. The Roadster Sport was the first derivative of Tesla’s proprietary, patented powertrain.

The Roadster Sport has been acclaimed by Engineering Editor Kim Reynolds of MotorTrend, which recorded a 0–60 mph of 3.70 seconds and a quarter-mile test at 12.6 sec @ 102.6 mph (165.1 km/h). Reynolds called the acceleration "breathtaking" and said that the car's sales confirm "Tesla as an actual car company… Tesla is the first maker to crack the EV legitimacy barrier in a century." [79]

Model S

Tesla began production of its Tesla Model S sedan in 2012, and deliveries to retail customers began in June 2012.
Main article: Tesla Model S

Retail deliveries of the Model S in the U.S. began on June 22, 2012, at a special event held at the Tesla Factory in California.[16] The sedan was originally code-named "Whitestar." [80] Tesla is building the Model S [18] in Fremont, California in an assembly plant formerly operated by NUMMI, a now defunct joint venture of Toyota and General Motors.[17][81] As of September 2012, Tesla has already taken about 13,000 reservations for the Model S in North America and Europe, and plans to build 20,000 units per year in the Fremont Plant.[55] About 2,650 Model S vehicles were sold during 2012.[82]

The Model S has an anticipated base price of US$57,400. Tesla plans to sell the car worldwide and will introduce regional pricing closer to the beginning of deliveries in June 2012. Tesla is planning on having three options for battery packs, allowing customers to select from 160 mi (260 km), 230 mi (370 km) or 300 mi (480 km) per charge before it must be recharged.[83] The United States Environmental Protection Agency range for the 85 kW·h battery pack model, the first trim launched in the United States market, is 265 mi (426 km).[84]

On March 26, 2009, Tesla unveiled the Model S design to the public by introducing a concept version of the car in the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, California. This car included a touch-screen dashboard with wi-fi, mobile connectivity access and remote-programming abilities. It seats five adults (plus two children in rear-facing child seats) and has a 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) time of 5.4 seconds. The Model S Performance does it in 4.2 seconds.[15][85][86]

Tesla Board Member, Steve Jurvetson received the first Model S and described it as "like driving in a hyper space portal to the future." [87]

Tesla Model X concept unveiled in Hawthorne California.

On November 12, 2012, the Model S was awarded the Motor Trend "Car of the Year" award for 2013.[88]

Model X

Main article: Tesla Model X

The Tesla Model X was unveiled at the company's design studios in Hawthorne in southern California February 9, 2012.[89] Over a thousand people were in attendance for the unveiling at which Musk said the car would enter production in 2013.[90] In February 2013 Tesla announced that production has been rescheduled to begin by late 2014 in order to focus "on a commitment to bring profitability to the company in 2013" and also to achieve their production target of 20,000 Model S cars in 2013.[91][92]

Future models

Tesla Motors announced in June 2009, along with their loans from the DOE, that they plan to build electric family-sized minivans, electric SUV crossovers, and electric fleet vans for municipal governments.[93][94] The utility van and cabriolet are expected to be based on the Tesla Model S platform, along with the Tesla Model X crossover SUV.[95] The company is also planning to introduce a Tesla model known as BlueStar or third-generation car that will "be an Audi A4, BMW 3-series, Volkswagen Jetta type of vehicle that will offer everything: range, affordability, and performance with a starting price of US$30,000" that is targeted towards the mass-market.[96] Other projects under discussion include an electric truck and a self-driving car.[97]

Collaborations

Mercedes-Benz A-Class

Main article: Mercedes-Benz A-Class E-Cell
The second generation Smart electric drive uses a battery pack developed by Tesla.

Tesla, in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, is building electric powertrain components for the Mercedes A-Class E-Cell, an electric car with a range of 200 km (124 mi), and 214 foot-pounds force (290 N⋅m) of torque. The 36 kWh battery pack would contain approximately 4,000 individual lithium-ion cells.[98] Daimler was not expected to lease the electric version outside of Europe. The Mercedes-Benz A-Class E-Cell was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. Only 500 cars would be built for trial purposes in Europe beginning in September 2011.[99][100]

Smart Fortwo

Main article: Smart electric drive

In late 2007, Tesla began working with Germany's Daimler AG on powertrain components for an electric version of the German company's Smart two-seater city car. Tesla is producing the battery packs and chargers for an initial 1,000-unit fleet of EV Smarts. Daimler has not released details about the vehicle's pricing or timing. The two companies announced that they were working together on the Smart in January 2009.[101]

Toyota RAV4 EV

Main article: RAV4 EV Second generation
Toyota RAV4 EV second generation

Tesla Motors and Toyota announced in July 2010 that the two companies have signed an agreement to initiate the development of a second generation of the compact Toyota RAV4 EV. Toyota plans to introduce the model into the market by 2012.[102]

A second generation RAV4 EV demonstrator was unveiled at the October 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. Toyota built 35 of these converted RAV4s (Phase Zero vehicles) for a demonstration and evaluation program that ran through 2011. The lithium metal-oxide battery and other powertrain components are supplied by Tesla Motors.[103][104] The RAV4 EV battery pack, electronics and powertrain components in the production version (unveiled in August 2012) are similar to those used in the Tesla Model S sedan launched in June 2012, and the Phase Zero vehicles used components from the Tesla Roadster.[105][106]

Freightliner Electric Van

The company is supplying battery packs for Freightliner Trucks's Custom Chassis Electric Van.[107]

Facilities

Tesla Motors' headquarters are located in Palo Alto, California, where much of the development of the Tesla Roadster occurred.

United States

Tesla was founded in San Carlos, California, in Silicon Valley. Tesla opened its first retail store in West Los Angeles, Calif., in April 2008. The company opened its second retail store in Menlo Park, CA, in July 2008.[108] The company opened a display showroom in New York City's Chelsea Art District in July 2009.[109] It also opened a store in Seattle in July 2009. Tesla subsequently opened stores in Washington, DC; New York City; Chicago; Dania Beach, FL; Boulder, Colorado; Orange County, CA; San Jose, CA and Denver, CO.[21]

Tesla announced in August 2009 that it planned to move its corporate headquarters and build a powertrain development facility at 3500 Deer Creek Road, in the Stanford Research Park in Palo Alto, California. Tesla said it would finance the project in part through US$100 million of the federal low-interest loans. The new facility would occupy 369,000 sq ft (34,300 m2) on a 23-acre (93,000 m2) parcel previously occupied by Agilent Technologies. Tesla completed the headquarters move in February 2010. The powertrain facility will produce electric vehicle components for Tesla and for other automakers, including Germany's Daimler, which is using Tesla's battery packs and chargers for an upcoming electric version of its Smart city car. About 350 employees are expected to be based at the Stanford site initially, potentially increasing to 650. Stanford Research Park is also home to Facebook, Hewlett Packard, Xerox PARC and other Silicon Valley companies.[110]

Tesla Factory

Main article: Tesla Factory

Using US$365 million in federal low-interest loans, Tesla had planned to build a Model S assembly plant in California with a fully ramped-up annual output of 20,000 sedans.[111] Tesla did not announce a specific location, though unconfirmed media reports had focused on Southern California.[112] In mid 2009, many speculative media reports suggested that Tesla could occupy the NUMMI assembly plant in Fremont, CA, which General Motors and Toyota had signaled they planned to vacate. Tesla stated it would develop a brownfield site on existing industrial property—a preference of the federal government in approving candidates for interest-bearing loans from the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program.

On 20 May 2010, Tesla announced that it would partner with Toyota to produce the Model S at the former NUMMI plant.[17] The facility opened on October 27, 2010 as the Tesla Factory.[113]

Europe

Tesla's European headquarters are in Maidenhead, UK. The Roadster's chassis was assembled by the contract manufacturing division of Lotus Cars in Hethel, England.[114] The Roadster has a unique chassis, with the car being longer and wider and having lower door sills than the Lotus Elise. The two cars have a parts overlap of less than 6 percent.[115]

Regional sales and service centers

Tesla showroom in Munich, Germany.
The Tesla obelisk is used to identify the Supercharger network sites in California.

Tesla operates its own company-owned stores, saying it models its showrooms on those of retailers such as Apple and Starbucks.[116] In July 2010, Tesla hired former Apple and Gap Executive George Blankenship as Vice President of Design and Store Development to build Tesla's retail strategy and network of retail locations worldwide.[117]

Tesla opened its first store in Europe in June 2009 in central London's Knightsbridge district,[118] followed by Munich in September. Tesla opened a store in Monaco in November 2009 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Musk and car enthusiast Prince Albert II.[119] Tesla opened stores in Zurich, Copenhagen, Paris and Milan during 2010,[120] and a store at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto in 2012. In addition to these regional stores and service centers, Tesla has sales representatives in the Netherlands, Oslo, Vienna, Hamburg and Madrid.

Supercharger network

In 2012, Tesla Motors started building a network of 480-volt fast charging stations, named Superchargers, that were developed to allow the Model S sedans to make long distance trips, and planned to make them available in high traffic corridors across the continental United States. According to Elon Musk, “...we expect all of the United States to be covered by the end of next year” and he also said that Tesla owners’ use of the network would be free forever.[121] The company also plans to deploy Superchargers in Europe and Asia in the second half of 2013.[122]

The Tesla Supercharger network is exclusive to appropriately equipped Model S sedans, which were engineered to accept Tesla's specific form of rapid electricity transfer. Supercharging hardware is standard on Model S vehicles equipped with an 85 kWh battery and optional on Model S vehicles equipped with a 60 kWh battery. The Tesla Roadster is not equipped to charge from the Superchargers, but according to the carmaker, all future Tesla models will be able to supercharge.[123][124] The Supercharger is a proprietary rapid-charging station that provides almost 100 kW of power, with the potential to go as high as 120 kW in the future, allowing the Model S to replenish an 85-kwh battery in about one hour, or give it an additional 150 mi (240 km) of range in about 30 minutes.[122][123]

The first Supercharger corridor in the US opened access for free to its Model S owners in California in October 2012, and includes six stations placed along routes connecting San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. These stations are located at Folsom, Gilroy, Tejon Ranch, Harris Ranch, near Coalinga, Barstow, and Los Angeles, near Hawthorne Municipal Airport.[123] A second corridor was opened in December 2012, connecting Washington, DC to Boston, and includes two stations located in highway rest areas in Milford, Connecticut and Wilmington, Delaware.[124] The electricity used by the Supercharger in the California corridor comes from a solar carport system provided by SolarCity, and eventually, all of the Supercharger stations will be supplied by solar power.[122][124]

Partners

Tesla builds and sells its own cars, but unlike many traditional manufacturers it also operates as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), manufacturing electric vehicle powertrain components that other automakers may purchase and retail under their own brand names. Tesla has confirmed partnerships with two other automakers, Daimler and Toyota. Tesla also works closely with Panasonic as a partner in battery cell research and development. The company is supplying battery packs for Freightliner Trucks's Custom Chassis Electric Van.[107]

Daimler

Starting in late 2007, Daimler and Tesla Motors began working closely to integrate Tesla’s lithium-ion battery packs and charging electronics into the first 1,000 units of Daimler’s electric smart car. The two companies are expected to collaborate further, including working together on the Tesla Model S sedan. The collaboration is not expected to result in co-branded cars or the sale of Mercedes vehicles in Tesla showrooms, or vice-versa.

On May 19, 2009, Germany's Daimler AG, maker of Mercedes, acquired an equity stake of less than 10% in Tesla for a reported US$50 million.[45][125] As part of the collaboration, Prof. Herbert Kohler, Vice President E-Drive and Future Mobility at Daimler AG, took a seat on Tesla’s board of directors.[126]

On July 13, 2009, Daimler AG sold 40% of their May acquisition to Aabar Investments PJSC. Aabar is an investment company controlled by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which is wholly owned by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.[127][128] In March 2009, Aabar purchased a 9% stake in Daimler for €1,95 billion.

Toyota

On May 20, 2010, Tesla and Toyota announced a partnership to work on electric vehicle development, which included Toyota's US$50 million future conditional investment[57] in Tesla and Tesla's US$42 million purchase of a portion of the former NUMMI factory.[17][18] Musk said the Model S sedan will be built at the plant, which is about 20 miles (32 km) east of the company's headquarters in Palo Alto, California.[129] Tesla and Toyota also said that they intend to cooperate on the development of electric vehicles, parts, and production system and engineering support. It was announced that an electric version of the Toyota RAV4 would be mass-produced in 2012. The jointly developed RAV4 electric vehicle will be built at Toyota's Woodstock, Ontario plant.[130]

Panasonic

Panasonic Energy Company President Naoto Noguchi presented Tesla CTO JB Straubel with the first production Lithium-ion cells manufactured at Panasonic's facility in Suminoe, Japan.

On January 7, 2010, Tesla and battery cell maker Panasonic announced that they would together develop nickel-based lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles. Naoto Noguchi, President of Panasonic’s Energy Company, said the Japanese firm’s cells will be used for Tesla’s “current and next-generation EV battery pack.”[131] The partnership was part of Panasonic's US$1 billion investment over three years in facilities for lithium-ion cell research, development and production. Tesla disclosed that the new cell resulting from its collaboration with Panasonic will allow Tesla to continue using cells from multiple suppliers.[132]

In April 2010, Panasonic Energy Company President Naoto Noguchi presented Tesla Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel with the first production Lithium-ion cells manufactured at the new facility in Suminoe, Japan. The Suminoe factory will start producing 3.1Ah battery cells, the highest energy density cells available in the market. The facility will produce more than 300 million cells per year.[133]

On 5 November 2010, Panasonic invested US$30 million for multi-year collaboration on the development of next generation battery cells designed specifically for electric vehicles.[134]

Suppliers

Like virtually all production cars, the Tesla Roadster uses parts from around the world. Tesla's powertrain, which is proprietary, is designed and built in California. Tesla Motors maintains relationships with dozens of suppliers for other parts of the car, including Tesla's carbon fiber body panels which are made in France by Sotira. The panels are sent to England, where Tesla contracts with Lotus to build a unique chassis in Hethel, U.K. The cars are then sent to Menlo Park, California, where workers install all of Tesla's proprietary components. The battery pack is assembled in Palo Alto, California, using battery cells from Japan. The single-speed gearbox is built in Michigan by USA-based supplier BorgWarner.

When the company began in 2003, Tesla licensed AC Propulsion's Reductive Charging patent, which integrates the charging electronics into the inverter in a way that reduces mass and complexity. Shortly after the company's founding, Tesla Motors developed a powertrain well beyond what the company initially licensed from AC Propulsion. The company no longer employs any of AC Propulsion's original intellectual property.[32]

Lawsuits

Fisker Automotive

On April 14, 2008, Tesla Motors filed a lawsuit against Fisker Automotive, alleging that Henrik Fisker "stole design ideas and confidential information related to the design of hybrid and electric cars" and was using that information to develop the Fisker Karma, which was announced at the North American International Auto Show in January, 2008. Tesla had hired Fisker Coachbuild to design the WhiteStar sedan but decided against the design as it was considered "substandard" by Musk.[135][136] On November 3, 2008, Fisker Automotive Inc. issued a press release indicating that an arbiter has issued an interim award finding in favor of Fisker Automotive, Inc. and against Tesla Motors Inc. on all claims.[137] Tesla said the ruling was binding and would not pursue the case.[137]

Magna International

Also in March 2008, Magna International filed a lawsuit against Tesla claiming that it was never paid for services rendered. Tesla hired Magna to help design a 2-speed transmission for its Roadster. The Magna-designed transmission is not in use for the current model.[138]

Founder dispute

The founding of the company and who can rightly be called "founder" was the subject of a lawsuit filed in May 2009 and later dropped after an out of court settlement.[139][140] On May 26, 2009, Eberhard filed suit in San Mateo County, California against Tesla and Musk (Chairman and CEO of Tesla) for slander, libel and breach of contract.[141] Musk wrote a lengthy blog post that included original source documents, including emails between senior executives and other artifacts demonstrating that Eberhard was unanimously fired by Tesla's full board of directors.[32] On July 29, 2009, a judge in San Mateo County, CA, Superior Court struck down a claim by former CEO Eberhard, who asked to be declared one of only two founders of the company.[142] Tesla said in a statement that the ruling is "consistent with Tesla’s belief in a team of founders, including the company’s current CEO and Product Architect Elon Musk, and Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel, who were both fundamental to the creation of Tesla from inception."[143] In early August, Eberhard withdrew the case,[144] and the parties reached a final settlement on September 21. Some provisions are confidential, but the agreement includes a provision that the parties will consider Eberhard, Musk, Straubel, Tarpenning, and Wright to be the five co-founders. Eberhard also issued a statement about Musk's foundational role in the company: "As a co-founder of the company, Elon's contributions to Tesla have been extraordinary."[145]

Top Gear

Tesla unsuccessfully sued Top Gear for the review of their Tesla Roadster in a 2008 episode in which Jeremy Clarkson could be seen driving one around the Top Gear test track, complaining about a range of only 55 miles (89 km) before showing that car being pushed into the garage, supposedly out of charge. Tesla has filed a lawsuit against the BBC for libel and malicious falsehood, claiming that two cars were provided and that at any point, at least one of them was ready to drive. In addition, Tesla believes that neither car ever dropped below 25 percent charge, and that the scene was staged.[146][147][148][149] On October 19, 2011, the High Court in London rejected Tesla's libel claim.[150] The falsehood claims were also struck out by February 2012, with Mr. Justice Tugendhat describing Tesla's malicious falsehood claim as "so 'gravely deficient' it too could not be allowed to proceed." [151]

XP Vehicles Inc. and Limnial Inc. v. United States Department of Energy

On 10 January 2013 XP Vehicles Inc. and Limnial, Inc. filed suit in United States Court of Federal Claims against the Department of Energy. The complaint includes the assertion that "DOE’s ATVM Loan Program was nothing more than a veil for political officials to steer hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to government cronies, including Tesla..."[152]

Recalls

In May 2009, Tesla issued a safety recall for 345 Roadsters manufactured before April 22, 2009. Tesla sent technicians to customers' homes to tighten the rear, inner hub flange bolts. Using common verbiage from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, Tesla told customers that without this adjustment, the driver could lose control of the car.[153] The problem originated at the Lotus assembly line, where the Roadster glider is built. Lotus also recalled some Lotus Elise and Exige vehicles for the same reason.[154] Tesla reminded customers that millions of cars are recalled every year.[155][156]

On October 1, 2010, Tesla issued a second product safety recall in the USA affecting 439 Roadsters. The recall involved the 12V low-voltage auxiliary cable from a redundant back-up system (which in the unlikely event of the primary 12V power failing or dropping below a minimum threshold level, provides power to various systems; including the headlamps, tail lights, airbags, turn signals and hazard light). Tesla decided to initiate a recall after an incident where the low voltage auxiliary cable in a vehicle chafed against the edge of a carbon fiber panel in the vehicle causing a short, smoke and a possible fire behind the right front headlamp of the vehicle. This issue was limited to the 12V low-voltage auxiliary cable and did not involve the main battery pack or main power system.[157]

Board of directors

The Tesla board of directors As of 2013 consists of:[citation needed]

  • Elon Musk—Chairman of the board of directors, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla; former President of Paypal, founder, CEO and CTO of SpaceX; Chairman of the board, SolarCity
  • H.E. Ahmed Saif Al Darmaki—Planning & Development Director of Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority
  • Brad W. Buss—Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary and Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration at Cypress Semiconductor Corp.
  • Ira Ehrenpreis—General Partner, Technology Partners
  • Antonio J. Gracias—CEO and Chairman of the Investment Committee at Valor Equity Partners
  • Steve Jurvetson—Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
  • Herbert Kohler—Vice President E-Drive and Future Mobility at Daimler
  • Kimbal Musk—CEO of Medium, Inc., Co-founder Zip2
  • Larry W. Sonsini—Outside counsel and non-directing board member of Tesla; Chairman, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

See also

References

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