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In China, Tesla Model S is missing one basic feature

There were questions about the nav system in the Tesla Model S when the vehicle launched in the US, and there are still people who don't like it. But here's the thing: the US version at least has a nav system. With the luxury electric vehicle now available in China, drivers are discovering that the car is shipping without a working navigation system at all.
As China EV blogger Alysha Webb reports, Tesla's explanation for the lack of a nav system is that "Google maps are not supported." At least the company is working on an alternative map database for the land where Google doesn't work right. We've confirmed with Tesla PR in the US that Webb's report contains an official Tesla response, which includes the following:
Currently there isn't a navigation system in Chinese Model S as Google maps are not supported in the country. However, teams are currently working on a solution with Chinese text and voice recognition. We plan to introduce navigation to Chinese cars later this year (as already communicated to our customers). Once it's available, maps will be pushed to customers' vehicles through software updates.

Tesla breaks 28-year-old monthly sales record in Norway

Someone may want to try to translate "Gigafactory this!" into Norwegian. Tesla Motors just set the all-time monthly sales record for a single model in Norway, The Wall Street Journal says, citing Norwegian transportation officials. And that's for any type of model, gas-powered or not. The California-based electric-vehicle maker, which is planning a massive Gigafactory battery plant in the US as it prepares to unveil a lower-priced model, sold 1,493 Model S sedans in Norway last month. The sales total more than doubled the No. 2 selling Volkswagen Golf (624 units) and beat a 28-year-old monthly sales record set by the Ford Sierra (1,454 vehicles). And March marked the second straight month an electric vehicle took Norway's best-selling crown, which was won by Nissan for its Leaf in February. That's heady stuff, and it gets headier when you factor in Norway's population of only about 5.1 million people. That means that on a per-capita basis, that'd be like Tesla selling about 94,000 Model S vehicles in a month in the US. By comparison, Ford sold "only" about 71,000 of its best-selling F-Series trucks last month. With cheap and abundant hydroelectric power, Norway heaps lots of incentives for its EV buyers, including perks such as free parking, an extensive recharging network, use of bus lanes and free ferries and road tolls. With EV subsidies tallied at about $8,000 per vehicle, the country reportedly may reach its limit of providing incentives for 50,000 EVs by mid-2015, or about two-and-a-half years ahead of schedule. And for that, Norwegians, blame Tesla.

Electric Miata smokes Tesla Model S at the track

Yes, folks, you read that headline right. A souped up battery-electric version of a Mazda Miata took down a Tesla Model S on a quarter-mile drag strip. And it wasn't even close. Road Test TV was kind enough to post a video of a forest-green Miata (and its very stoked driver) doing a quarter-mile run in a rather brisk 9.27 seconds, beating the Model S sedan by a whopping 3.5 seconds in the process. And the Mazda crossed the finish line moving at 142 miles per hour, or 40 miles per hour faster than the Tesla was going when it finished the race. It's a good thing for the Tesla owner that they weren't racing for pink slips. Granted, the comparison is probably an unfair one because the Tesla was a stock, production vehicle (the P85 Performance model, but still), whereas who knows how the Miata was juiced up and how much cash it took to do the job. It's sort of like putting, say, an automotive writer against Usain Bolt because we ate the same breakfast and share 99 percent of our DNA. Still, the video does lend a certain credence to the idea that a battery-electric, super-light, rear-wheel-drive Miata would be a lot of fun, or at least a heck of lot more fun than any other Mazda out there. We're just sayin'. Check out the 100-second video below, and remember not to blink. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.