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Custom Tesla Model S features incredible light-up paint

One of the most fascinating things about documentaries which examine the bizarre creatures populating our Earth's oceans is the concept of bioluminescence. Deep down in the drink, there are jellyfish and other creatures able to emit their own light - often in beautiful, strobing patterns. And now, it's apparently possible to give your car a very similar look thanks to an electroluminescent paint called LumiLor from Darkside Scientific.
As you can see on the Tesla Model S in the above video, the paint allows the driver to animate the vehicle's exterior when it's dark in quite bright colors, but it looks completely normal during the day. On its website, Darkside Scientific claims that LumiLor can be applied in a variety of colors with a standard paint gun, but does require some added electronics to apply the alternating current that makes the paint illuminate. It even works on plastic, vinyl, glass and other materials. However, the one potential downside is the that company admits that LumiLor's brightness fades with continued use, but it doesn't say how quickly this degradation takes place.
Autoblog has reached out to Darkside Scientific to learn more about LumiLor, and we'll update this story when we hear back. In the meantime, check out this Tesla that glows eerily like a jellyfish deep in the ocean.

Tesla Model S successfully hacked by Zhejiang University team

The $10,000 prize for successfully hacking a Tesla Model S has been claimed. A team from Zhejiang University in China claimed victory at the Symposium on Security for Asia Network (SyScan360) event in Beijing by exploiting a "flow design flaw," whatever that means, to gain access to vital systems including the door locks, horn and window controls, while the vehicle was moving.
The group that was able to hack a Tesla reported its findings to the electric car automaker, so this security breach will hopefully be fixed in short order. The event was welcomed by Tesla, which said it "[supported] the idea of providing an environment in which responsible security researchers can help identify potential vulnerabilities."
Last year, potential security pitfalls of high-tech electric and hybrid cars came to light when the US Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (better known as DARPA) successfully hacked into hybrids from Ford and Toyota. Questions about the security of the Tesla Model S have been raised before. If you're wondering why all this might be such a big deal, we suggest you watch this.

Wall Street loves Tesla's Elon Musk, values the brand higher than Fiat

Tesla's value on the stock market far exceeds the number of vehicles it contributes to the automotive market. According to a report from Automotive News, Tesla is currently valued at $8.8 billion. Almost unbelievably, though we've never claimed to have a firm grasp on the inner workings of the stock market, that's a full billion dollars more valuable than Fiat and three times more valuable than PSA Peugeot Citroën, says the report.
How unfathomable is that statistic? Consider the fact that Tesla, a ten-year-old company, just managed to turn its very first profit last quarter and has produced fewer than 10,000 vehicles in its lifetime. How does that compare to an automotive giant like Fiat? Well... it doesn't - The brand sold 44,772 Fiat 500s in the United States alone in 2012, and it owns or controls the Chrysler portfolio of brands along with Ferrari and Maserati... not to mention the hundreds of thousands of cars Fiat Group sells yearly in the rest of the world.
Granted, the number of vehicles sold by a brand is just a small portion of its value, but you may still wonder, Why is such a seemingly small player in the global automotive marketplace such a big deal on Wall Street? According to AN, it has a lot to do with its controversial and headline-grabbing CEO, Elon Musk, and the way he disseminates company information to his investors. How so? We suggest you take a good look at the article here for the whole story.