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For Tesla, the energy-storage company, the magic is in batteries

Tesla Motors Chief Elon Musk has always been a big-picture guy, and the company's chief technology officer appears to be following suit. JB Straubel, who was a keynote speaker at the Joint Venture Silicon Valley symposium near the automaker's Northern California home base recently, says the company is just as much an energy-storage company as a car maker. And he said the rate of battery-technology improvement shows no signs of slowing down, according to Green Tech Media. Straubel estimated that battery performance has improved about 40 percent during the five years between the debuts of the Tesla Roadster and the Model S. Additionally, battery density has doubled during the past decade and continues to ramp up fairly steeply. He noted that further near-term improvements will come not from the size and shape of the cell, but from improved cathode and anode materials. Those energy improvements won't just help the cars. Tesla uses a two-megawatt-hour battery pack to supply as much as 10 percent of the peak energy used at the company's factory in Fremont, CA, and will double the size of that battery-powered energy capacity within the next few months, Straubel says. Automakers like Tesla and Nissan are licking their proverbial chops at the prospect of substantially improved battery performance paired with declining battery costs as more and more lithium-ion battery packs get produced. Late last year, Navigant Research estimated that lithium-ion battery costs would fall by almost two-thirds by 2020, down to a low $180 per kilowatt hour. That should make electrified powertrains price-competitive with conventional vehicles, as electric vehicles could then command a price premium as low as $2,000 compared to their gas-powered brethren.

Recharge Wrap-up: BMW integrates EV charging into streetlights, EV Fleet debuts electric pickup

BMW has unveiled prototypes of LED streetlights that also serve as EV charging stations. "Light and Charge is a simple and innovative solution to naturally integrate a reliable network of charging stations in the city," says BMW's Peter Schwarzenbauer. Connected to the ChargeNow network, they're simple to use, and would be readily available when tied to the lighting infrastructure. The two prototypes are currently in use at BMW World, with a pilot project planned for Munich in 2015. Read more at Green Car Congress, or in the (translated) press release below. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is accusing retailers of price gouging E85 to discourage its use. An RFA study found that retailers in St. Louis were marking up E85 as much as a dollar, roughly twice as much as the markup on regular gasoline. "Sneaky E85 pricing strategies ultimately give oil refiners the opportunity to wrongly claim that consumers are 'rejecting' E85," Says RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen, "and it gives them an opportunity to claim they can't comply with Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements above the so-called 'blend wall.'" Read more at Biofuels Digest. Charlotte-based EV Fleet has announced the Condor electric pickup (pictured). The vehicle-to-grid-ready Condor has a 1,000-pound payload capacity, and can travel over 100 miles on a single charge. The company plans to build 300 trucks a month when it revs up production next year, with sales targeted toward fleet managers. See the EV Fleet Condor in the video below, read more at Treehugger, or visit EV Fleet's website to learn more. Here's a bold claim. Mutual fund manager Ron Baron says that every home will have a Tesla vehicle in 25 years. The financial guru, well regarded for his predictive stock strategies, is confident about the long-term outlook for the electric carmaker. He feels that Tesla is far ahead of the electric car game compared to other automakers like BMW, whom he believes will end up switching focus from internal combustion to electric powertrains. Read more at ValueWalk. BMW Group presents innovative street lighting with integrated charging station for electric vehicles. Munich. As part of the Eurocities conference in Munich, discuss in from 5 to 8 November 2014 more than 500 representatives of major European cities on pioneering infrastructure projects, the BMW Group presents the prototype of a highly energy efficient street lighting that is both charging station for electric vehicles.

First Tesla Model S P85D owner says it's 'night and day' improvement

The first public owner of a Tesla Model S P85D says the model's autonomous-driving feature that more-or-less allows for the all-electric sedan drive itself hasn't been activated yet. We should all have such troubles. Southern California resident Kevin Babineau was indeed the first customer to take delivery of a Tesla Model S P85D, which features a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup. Babineau is a longtime car collector, with Humvees and a '69 Chevy Impala in his garage. He previously owned a Tesla Roadster, as well, according to an account he gives to Business Insider. Compared to a standard Tesla Model S and its already-impressive performance standards, the P85D is "night and day" different, Babineau said. The souped-up version is said to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in a tidy 3.2 seconds. Babineau paid about $130,000 for the quickness privilege, but as you can read in the article, it sounds like it was money well spent. "The emotions that come out of that kind of speed, in that short a distance, your body's not used to it," he said. Tesla unveiled the P85D in October. As you can see in the video below, it can be fun. A P85D driver (no, it doesn't look like Babineau) goes up against Ferraris and Lamborghinis in drag races, and takes them all down. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.