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Tesla Roadster 3.0 package prototype announced with 400-mile possibilities

Once a car company ceases to manufacture a particular model, it is relegated to history, largely forgotten by its maker. Sure, warranties are honored and recall-worthy items are (hopefully) taken responsibility for, but post-production improvements are left up owners and the aftermarket. With the announcement of the Roadster 3.0 package, Tesla once again reminds us it is not most car companies. Following a heads-up given by CEO Elon Musk last week on Twitter, the company has now shared some details of a new upgrade it will be making available for its electric sports coupe sometime in 2015. For a yet-to-be-disclosed price, owners can opt to have their cars upgraded with a 70-kWh battery, some aerodynamically-optimized body bits and low-rolling resistance tires. Together, the enhancements should offer a 40-50 percent range improvement and give Roadsters a 400-mile range under certain conditions. Originally, it came with a 56-kWh unit and was rated for 245 miles on a charge. Tesla tells us that "this is a retrofit package currently in its prototype phase", and so it still isn't clear whether the changes will allow Roadsters to be compatible with the Supercharger network, or whether the body kit will affect the outward appearance. We do know that this automotive augmentation does not also apply to the Model S, though it does give hope that those cars will also be on the receiving end of similar upgrades in the future. The California company plans to put its 3.0 package to the test sometime early in the new year, with a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Interestingly, it says that this will not be the last time it offers improvements for its original model. You can get more details on the update below. Roadster 3.0 The Roadster 3.0 package applies what we've learned in Model S to Roadster. No new Model S battery pack or major range upgrade is expected in the near term. Battery technology has continued a steady improvement in recent years, as has our experience in optimizing total vehicle efficiency through Model S development. We have long been excited to apply our learning back to our first vehicle, and are thrilled to do just that with the prototype Roadster 3.0 package. It consists of three main improvement areas. 1. Batteries The original Roadster battery was the very first lithium ion battery put into production in any vehicle. It was state of the art in 2008, but cell technology has improved substantially since then.

Mercedes may be working on a new electric car dubbed 'Ecoluxe'

Automobile has a lengthy piece this month on how the four German mass-market luxury manufacturers each plan to go after Tesla with their own electric vehicles. It was written by Georg Kacher, the magazine's European bureau chief, and the English version came a month after he wrote the German-language original for Autobild. Tesla isn't exactly a threat to the Germans, but, according to the report, the Model S is planting the right kinds of seeds in niches that are important to the luxury players. The thinking is that - in addition to needed electric vehicles anyway for stricter US regulations - it's better to start designing the machinery now. The article posited Porsche's attack would rest on the coming Panamera platform, but a big hurdle would be battery placement. Unable to find one large space for a lithium-ion pack, engineers would instead put batteries everywhere they could, for a supposed tally of some "108 battery pouches" throughout the body. A few days after the Automobile piece, however, Porsche publicly said it had no intention of challenging the Model S, because the enthusiastic driving the brand is known for doesn't jive with useful range. In Kacher's retelling, Mercedes' plans are even more ambitious, supposedly taking aim at the Model S and the coming Model X. It would do this with an investment in excess of $2 billion in a program called "Ecoluxe" – Mercedes has no brand division akin to BMW's i and Audi's e-tron. The new brand would create a four-strong family of bespoke electric vehicles: a smaller platform with a wheelbase around 106 inches and a larger one with a wheelbase around 118 inches. In addition, the range would have "provisions for rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and rear-wheel steering." The numbers are impressive: seating for seven in the larger vehicles, both longer than 16 feet, front and rear storage areas, ratings of up to 610 horsepower and production capacity of 80,000 units per year. When would we see such creatures? Perhaps as soon as 2019. We do know that if Tesla can knock the Model X over the outfield fence, automakers are going to have to do something. We don't know what the chances are that Ecoluxe is Mercedes' first move - but such a plan could help explain the weird Mercedes concept spied in October.

Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster update

A holiday present is coming for Tesla enthusiasts, according to a Tweet from Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk. Like all good presents, we don't know what it'll be, though. Musk only said that details for an improved Roadster electric vehicle will be announced later this week. Ever the master of suspense, Musk would not provide further detail. He only said that a number of "crisis issues ... pushed this out longer than expected." Whatever it is, make mine red, Santa. Earlier this year at Tesla's annual shareholder meeting, Musk said the automaker would do "something cool" with the Roadster before the end of the year, though, again, he wasn't specific. In the summer, Musk told the UK's Auto Express that the Roadster would get an upgraded battery that would give the convertible a 400-mile single-charge range. That would make the convertible's range about 135 miles longer than the top-of-the-line Tesla Model S sedan. While a new Roadster has been talked about, this update is for the first-go-round model, which was sold in the US between 2008 and 2011 and had a single-charge range of 245 miles. Whether the longer range is the only news or if there's something else in store (all-wheel drive? more horsepower?), we'll all have to wait just a little bit longer to see. Featured Gallery 2012 Tesla Roadster Final Edition View 10 Photos News Source: Twitter/Elon Musk Green Tesla Electric roadster

Recharge Wrap-up: Renovo Coupe at CES, Aussies tour US in Tesla Model S

Australians review the Tesla Model S in a Seattle to LA road trip video. The folks from CarAdvice drive the P85+ along the West Coast of the US, testing out the car, trying the Superchargers, stopping by some notable sites along the way and even making use of roadside assistance. While the video shows what it's like to take the Tesla on a US road trip, it gives viewers Down Under a glimpse of their own future. Tesla just began sales in a country that, while on the other side of the globe, also features long distances between cities and a new Supercharger network. Check out the video below or read more at Inside EVs. A UK taxi company is introducing the Nissan e-NV200 to its fleet. C&C Taxi, which has been using six Nissan Leafs in its Cornwall taxi service since early December, has added the passenger-ready e-NV200 Combi to its stable of cabs. Mark Richards, manager of C&C's fleet, is happy with its performance and money saved after over 1,000 miles of service so far, and plans to replace the rest of the diesel fleet with EVs. The Nissan e-NV200 Combi "does everything the Leaf does but is much bigger and offers more space," says Richards. "We'll definitely be ordering more." Learn more in the video below or read more at Hybrid Cars. Learn more about Nissan's fleet EVs at the company's website. The US Department of Energy has released a new report on EV charging behavior and its impact on the grid. The report, which covers grant projects from six different utilities, includes data from over 270 public chargers and 700 residential charging units. Most at-home charging took place at night during off-peak hours. There were some reports of problems with chargers and smart meters working together. Most public charging took place during peak hours, but was low compared to home charging. This means a longer cost recovery period due to the high cost of installation. See the report at the DOE website or read more at Green Car Congress. The Renovo Coupe will be on display at the NVIDIA booth at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) for its first public viewing. Renovo Motors CEO Christopher Heiser says, "These are very exciting times for Renovo and we think our new technology, coupled with NVIDIA's breakthroughs in automotive applications, has the potential to make a tremendous impact across the entire automotive industry." The Shelby Daytona-bodied Renovo offers 500 horsepower and 1,000 pound-feet of torque from two electric motors.

Elon Musk's Hyperloop idea still in motion

After teasing the concept in 2012, Tesla CEO Elon Musk released some thoughts on a high-speed transportation project called the Hyperloop in 2013. He then promptly renounced any claim on the idea and said he would not actually build the open source project. The hyperloop didn't die, though, and is still attracting new brainpower. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies was officially formed with a JumpStartFund late last year, a few months after Musk made the concept public. The company has since grown into a collective of about 100 engineers who have full-time gigs with companies such as Boeing, Airbus, NASA and, of course, Musk's own SpaceX, Wired says. Some students at UCLA are taking part in the design process, which is detailed in a new "crowdstorm" document. The idea behind the Hyperloop is to build above-ground tubes where passenger capsules devoid of friction (with the help of either air compression or magnetic levitation) can travel up to 800 miles per hour between cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. The HTT collective is already talking about having economy- and business-class capsules. The good news is that the group says the early predictions for Hyperloop remain realistic. That means a timeframe of about a decade to complete the first system with a price tag of between $6 billion and $10 billion is still on the table. For now, at least. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Inc. Announces New Designs, Crowdstorming Document and Core Team EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Inc. powered by JumpStartFund announced today the crossing of major milestones, bringing the company closer to the goal of creating a working high speed mass transit system. These milestones include the finalization of the company's 100 core team members and the publishing of a new crowdstorm document. Recently acquiring its 100 core team members, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is powered by the unique collaboration platform JumpStartFund. These 100 members are professionals, engineers and designers from some of the most esteemed organizations on the planet, including Boeing, Airbus, NASA, Harvard, UCLA, Stanford, and others, collaborating globally in the U.S., Asia, Australia and Europe. The company released a new crowdstorm document expanding on concepts and sharing the most recent developments produced by the company. Highlights from the paper include a detailed cost, route and safety analyses.

Tesla starts real-world beta testing of Model S battery swaps in California [UPDATE]

Despite at least one skeptic calling the Tesla Model S battery swap program the "Hoax of the Year" for 2013, the first real-life beta tests for the long-awaited technology are now available to Model S drivers on the road between San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA. Earlier today, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted, "Pack swap now operating in limited beta mode for SF to LA route. Can swap battery faster than visiting a gas station. Tesla blog out soon." [UPDATE: It's now available here and below.] Looks like that promise he made in October has been kept. Musk says that when you need to fill up your Model S at a Supercharger station with a battery swap station, "The only decision you need to make when you come to one of our Tesla stations is do you prefer faster or free?" We've known almost since we first learned about the Model S that it was designed with battery swapping in mind and, as previewed in June 2013, getting a fully charged battery pack swapped into your Model S from the special robots takes just a few minutes. While a sub-30 minute Supercharger charging session remains free, there is a cost associated with getting a new pack. How much is still undisclosed, officially, but it was previously predicted to be about the same as about 15 gallons of gas. At the time, that was around $60. Further expansion details for new battery swap stations and when the beta tag will be removed have not yet been announced. Battery Swap Pilot Program By The Tesla Motors Team At an event in Los Angeles last year, we showcased battery swap technology to demonstrate that it's possible to replace a Model S battery in less time than it takes to fill a gas tank. This technology allows Model S owners in need of a battery charge the choice of either fast or free. The free long distance travel option is already well covered by our growing Supercharger network, which is now at 312 stations with more than 1,748 Superchargers worldwide. They allow Model S drivers to charge at 400 miles per hour. Now we're starting exploratory work on the fast option. Starting next week, we will pilot a pack swap program with invited Model S owners. They will be given the opportunity to swap their car's battery at a custom-built facility located across the street from the Tesla Superchargers at Harris Ranch, CA. This pilot program is intended to test technology and assess demand.

Tesla Model S drivers put way more miles on their cars than Nissan Leaf owners do (we think)

Just a few weeks ago, Nissan announced that its customers have driven over a billion electric kilometers in the four years that the world's best-selling EV has been on the road. That heady milestone means, Nissan says, that the Leaf has saved 180 million kilograms of CO2 emissions around the world. The billion kilometers have been split among the 147,000 Leaf vehicles that Nissan has sold. Well, not really, since the billion kilometer total only counts Leaf EVs registered with CarWings, which Nissan says is 54 percent of the total sales. That's 79,380 cars and results in an average – and it's only a rough average, but what're you gonna do? – of 12,597 miles per car. Let's keep that number in mind for a minute. Today, despite going on sale a year and a half after the Leaf (June 2012 versus late 2010), Tesla Motors Tweeted today that Model S drivers have hit the same numerical milestone. Tesla didn't say how many of its vehicles were involved in its count, but we think that Tesla has sold at least 50,000 Model S electric vehicles globally (about 2,650 in 2012, 22,450 in 2013, 21,821 for 2014 through the end of September), so we'll estimate a rough average for each Model S of 20,000 miles. So, in case anyone ever needs numeric proof that a Model S is more fun to drive than a Leaf – that's the only possible thing this could mean, right? *ahem, longer range* – now you've got the data. {C} This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Nissan says "thanks a billion" to LEAF owners Nissan LEAF drivers registered on CarWings telematics have collectively driven ONE BILLION KILOMETERS worldwide* Globally, Nissan LEAF drivers have saved more than 180 MILLION kilograms of CO2 emissions* Over 147,000 Nissan LEAF vehicles have been sold globally to date ROLLE, Switzerland – Nissan has revealed that owners of the LEAF, its 100% electric car, have collectively recorded an impressive one billion kilometers on the CarWings telematics system worldwide – saving over 180 million kilograms of CO2 emissions* in the process. This incredible achievement comes almost four years since the LEAF was launched in 2010 as one of the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicles. It is now the best-selling electric vehicle in history, with over 147,000 LEAF vehicles sold globally to date, 31,000 of which have been sold in Europe.

Analyst slashes Tesla sales forecast by 40% due to fuel prices

While falling gas prices are cause for celebration among Americans, many of whom are seeing their budget for Christmas presents burgeon on account of the cheap fuel, it's decidedly bad news for Tesla Motors. The electric car manufacturer's fortunes are being seriously impacted by the low cost of petrol, with one of the firm's biggest fans on Wall Street, Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas, now slashing his expectations for the Palo Alto, CA-based company. Jonas has a long record of being bullish on the brand, but that hasn't stopped him from lowering his forecast for the company by a whopping 40 percent. In other words, Jonas thinks Tesla will only be able to sell 300,000 vehicles by the end of the decade rather than the half a million that was originally forecast. "While nobody buying a Model S today is doing so to save on their monthly expenses, the longer-term story is far more dependent on the volume success of the Model 3," Jonas wrote, according to CNN Money. "Oil price is a factor for Model 3." Gas prices might not be the only factor that could hurt the Model 3, though. Jonas seems to think that Tesla won't be able to sell its more affordable model for anything less than $60,000, which is a far cry from the $35,000 price that the company has targeted. Jonas doesn't elaborate on why Tesla might miss its target so drastically, but it does help to explain his bearish attitude – if gas prices remain low, there's not really any incentive for customers to join the Tesla family. That's doubly true when the cost of joining said family is twice as much as expected.

Recharge Wrap-up: Smart celebrates 5 years in China, France wants to quit diesel

Smart celebrated its fifth anniversary in China with a concert and two special editions of the Fortwo. The two editions include a China red version limited to five units and a Chinese New Year edition limited to 666 examples. Smart has 143 dealerships in 77 Chinese cities, with 60,000 cars sold so far. Daimler is also looking to expand its Car2go carsharing network in China using Smart vehicles. The anniversary celebration featured a live concert for 50,000 fans. Read more in the press release below. France has plans to build a nationwide EV charging network and retire diesel cars. Industrial group Bollore plans to build 16,000 public charging points in France, with the blessing of Finance Minister Emmanuel Macron, who says, "Through a private initiative with public support, we are accelerating our route towards having a truly national network of electric car charging points." Valls says, "In France, we have long favored the diesel engine. This was a mistake, and we will progressively undo that, intelligently and pragmatically." Read more at Charged EVs. Ninebot One is a self-balancing, hands-free electric unicycle. Think of it as a one-wheeled, no-hands Segway with some extra features. Like riding a bicycle for the firs time, it requires some getting used to, but the benefits seem worthwhile. Depending on the model, it offers up to nearly 19 miles of range on a single charge. It is fairly compact, using a single, 16-inch tire and it weighs about 30 pounds. Maximum speed ranges from 8 to 12 mph. It uses an app to track your travel and other stats. See what sort of training it takes to ride it in the video below, and learn more at the Ninebot website. A Tesla Model S owner has figured out a way to use a USB mouse with the car's center display. The car detected the mouse when plugged into the USB port, and placed a cursor on the display, allowing the user to control functions with the mouse. Trying some other USB devices, owners found that an external CD drive doesn't work with the audio system, nor does a USB keyboard. However, an owner was able to connect a USB floppy disk drive, for what it's worth. See it in action in the video below or read more at Teslarati. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Recharge Wrap-up: Chicago and NY taxis consider their own hailing apps; Zipcar extends one-way service in Boston

Chicago and New York are considering creating hailing apps for taxis. In order to keep up with rivals like Uber and Lyft, Chicago has approved plans for an app (or perhaps multiple apps) that allow users to hail a cab from their smartphone. A New York City councilperson has also proposed a similar app that has yet to be voted on. The Chicago plan, which is part of the city's Taxi Driver Fairness Reforms package, has the backing of a taxi union, as drivers would benefit from keeping pace with the technology and convenience other hailing apps provide. Read more at The New York Times. Zipcar is extending its point-to-point service test, called ONE>WAY, to all of its members in the Boston area. This service is available between Zipcar Pod locations throughout the area (including Logan International Airport), and includes a reserved parking space at the destination. Zipcar has 200 Honda Fit vehicles available at its Pods for ONE>WAY trips. "ONE>WAY remains true to our mission of enabling simple and responsible urban living by continuing to reduce congestion in cities as members are not circling the block searching for parking," says Zipcar President Kaye Ceille. Read more in the press release below. Two early investors in Tesla are raising a new investment fund worth $300 million. Nancy Pfund and Ira Ehrenpreis are raising a fund through DBL Investing called DBL Partners III. Pfund, through DBL, has invested in various cleantech companies, as well as Elon Musk's Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity. Ehrenpreis invested in Tesla through Technology Partners, and runs the World Energy Innovation Forum. The plans for the newest DBL investments are unclear, but it's not hard to imagine more green technology and more involvement with Musk. Read more at GigaOM. Andromeda Interfaces has released a video for its Electric Vehicle Interface Controller (EVIC). The EVIC is a display module that monitors efficiency and consumption and interprets that data for the driver. It works as a configurable dashboard with all the important data especially important and specific to EV driving, whether that's range, voltage, rpm, temperatures and the like. The EVIC is meant to be affordable, and suitable for aftermarket or OEM customers, as well as commercial and industrial EVs. See the video below for more information. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.