2020 Tesla Model 3 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Watch a young Elon Musk take delivery of his McLaren F1

Years before Elon Musk was launching rockets into space or trying to revolutionize the auto business with Tesla, he was just another Silicon Valley geek, albeit already a very successful one. This vintage video catches Musk in 1999 celebrating some of that triumph, as he takes delivery of none other than a McLaren F1. As the million-dollar supercar is lowered from the transporter Musk intones, "It is the moment of my life." We also get a snapshot of an interesting time in Musk's life. According to the clip, he had already sold the company Zip2 for $400 million in cash and had started at the online banking business X. After a merger, it eventually became PayPal, and the entrepreneur later walked away from the website with another massive check. Watch this brief moment of happiness as Musk takes delivery of the McLaren, because by the end of the video, his focus already seemed to have turned to his next business venture. News Source: EveryElonMusk Video via YouTube, Car and Driver Auto News Green McLaren Tesla Car Buying Green Culture Coupe Performance Supercars Videos paypal

Tesla says Model S fire started in battery pack; share prices falling

Yesterday's fire that engulfed a Tesla Model S, the first blaze involving the critically acclaimed electric sedan, was caused when a piece of road debris impacted the front of the car, damaging the battery pack and starting a fire, according to an email sent to AutoblogGreen by Tesla. Now, The New York Times has learned that the fire was indeed caused by debris that made "a direct impact ... to one of the 16 modules within the Model S battery pack," according to Tesla spokesperson Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean.
Despite the blaze, Tesla maintains that the battery packs did their job by isolating the fire, with Jarvis-Shean saying, "Because each module within the battery pack is, by design, isolated by fire barriers to limit any potential damage, the fire in the battery pack was contained to a small section in the front of the vehicle."
The nature of the fire, though, seemed to catch the Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority off guard. The department's report, which was obtained by the International Business Times and partially published on Jalopnik, claims that water used to put out the blaze seemed to intensify the fire, forcing the firefighters to use a dry chemical. Later, they found the battery pack still burning inside the front end. The report claims firefighters, "had to puncture multiple holes in the pack to apply water to the burning material in the battery," and also had to cut into the frame to douse the burning pack.

Recharge Wrap-up: Rimac Concept One vs. Bugatti Veyron, Tesla Autpoilot in the snow

Watch the Rimac Concept_One and the Bugatti Veyron drive head-to-head along the Croatian coast. Rimac Automobili founder Mate Rimac invited the Earl of Pembroke to drive his 1,088-horsepower EV, while he'd drive Lord Pembroke's Bugatti for comparison. Besides the scenic coastal roads shown in this first film, the pair also drove on a racetrack and an airfield. More episodes – and a drag race – are to come. Watch the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Watch how Tesla Autosteer operates in the snow at night, with no lane markings and no lead vehicle. While Tesla doesn't recommend using Autopilot in these conditions, it seems to manage rather well. Even thought the system shows that it doesn't always recognize the curb, the car doesn't instruct the driver to take control. It's possible that data plays a key role when there aren't other guiding factors on the road, and Tesla's high resolution mapping and the car's GPS could help navigate when there is little sensor input. See the video and read more at Electrek. Andromeda Power shows how a Nissan Leaf rescue car can charge a Tesla Model S. Andromeda Power uses its V2V Orca Inceptive onboard charger, which is meant for CHAdeMO to CHAdeMO charging. It requires a lot of equipment, including a CHAdeMO Tesla adapter, but it's definitely one way to feed a Tesla enough juice to get to the nearest charging station. Read more at Inside EVs. Hyundai increase the range of its Tucson Fuel Cell by 30 percent. The next generation of the hydrogen powered Hyundai is expected in early 2018, and range will jump from 265 miles on a full tank to 348 miles. That surpasses the Toyota Mirai's 312-mile range, but not the 366 miles of the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell. Read more at Green Car Reports, or from the Nikkei Asian Review. Related Gallery Rimac Automobili Concept_One View 35 Photos News Source: Electrek, YouTube: KmanAuto, Teslarati, YouTube: Wilton Classic & Supercar, Inside EVs, Green Car Reports, Nikkei Asian Review Green Bugatti Hyundai Automakers Nissan Tesla Green Automakers Autonomous Vehicles Electric Supercars Videos recharge wrapup