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Watch the Jaws of Life tear apart a Tesla Model S

As electric vehicles become more prevalent on the roadways, first responders are facing new - and sometimes unknown - challenges when it comes to intense tasks such as the extrication of passengers trapped inside a car. Advanced Extrication, an online training resource for rescue workers, recently posted a video showing how rescuers should respond to vehicles like the Tesla Model S.
The best way to do such a video, of course, is to actually demonstrate the process, so Tesla donated a new Model S just so the Fremont Fire Department could tear it to shreds as the host explains some of the unique dangers specific to electric cars. The unfortunate demo car looks like it just came off the assembly line, meaning it is completely intact to begin with, but we wonder if it would have been more interesting to see how firefighters deal with the car's wiring and DC-DC converter (and other high voltage components) when the vehicle structure has been compromised.
Either way, the entire 37-minute video (posted below) goes in depth showing what rescuers face as they deal with a growing number of EVs. Of course, if all you want to see is the business end of the Jaws of Life going to town on the Model S' subframe, you should skip to the 27-minute mark.

Tesla to earn $250 million from sales of California environmental credits

Tesla Motors is expected to release quarterly earnings figures within the next few days, and the Silicon Valley automaker is thought to have attained profitability for the first time ever. As it turns out, a good bit of that profit will reportedly come from the State of California.
According to an article from the LA Times, Tesla, which is reportedly on pace to sell 20,000 vehicles in 2013, receives as much as $35,000 in environmental credits from California for each Model S it sells. These credits can then be sold to other automakers that do business in the state but don't sell zero-emission vehicles of their own. Some experts believe Tesla could earn up to $250 million from such ZEV credits.
While profits from ZEV credits equals good news for Tesla, some experts and rival automakers aren't very pleased with California's strong-arm tactics when it comes to the sales of electric vehicles. "At the end of the day, other carmakers are subsidizing Tesla," said Thilo Koslowski, an analyst at Gartner Inc.

Tesla Model S tops Consumer Reports annual satisfaction ratings [w/video]

Despite all the bad recent publicity for Tesla, it would appear that its Model S customers remain the happiest of any automaker - or at the very least, they're just likely to respond as such in satisfaction surveys. For its just-released annual owner satisfaction report, Consumer Reports surveyed more than 600 Model S owners, which resulted in the all-electric hatchback receiving a top score of 99 out of 100.
These results come from surveys that are sent out to current vehicle owners asking them "Considering all factors (price, performance, reliability, comfort, enjoyment, etc.), would you get this car if you had it to do all over again?" and the scores are assessed based on how many respondents answer "definitely yes." The Tesla's impressive 99-percent satisfaction rates the highest among all of this year's responses, with the Porsche Boxster was a close second with 95 percent. Other class-leading standouts include the Subaru Forester, Mazda6, Volkswagen Golf TDI and Dodge Charger, which were each the top vehicle in their respective classes with 85-percent satisfaction rates.
The full press release is posted below along with a video detailing the institute's findings.