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Daimler divests remaining interest in Tesla

Back in 2009, Daimler acquired over 9 percent of Tesla. A couple of months later, it sold 40 percent of that stake to Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments. The following year, Tesla listed on the stock exchange and Daimler's interest was reduced to 4 percent. But now the German industrial giant has announced it is selling that 4 percent and divesting from Tesla altogether in a liquidation that is expected to raise approximately $780 million for Daimler. The divestment has also triggered speculation that the move could make room for rival German automaker BMW to take an interest in Tesla.
Despite the divestment, Daimler insists that its technological partnership with Tesla will remain unaffected. Mercedes sources the batteries for its B-Class Electric Drive (pictured above) from the Californian outfit in a deal that is not set to change as a result of the financial realignment. A similar collaboration was in place for the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive, however, now that the new generation of Smarts developed with Renault is on its way, it's possible that a next-generation Fortwo ED will use French tech instead as an extension of the partnership between Daimler and Renault-Nissan.
Daimler has also taken the occasion to point out that, between the Mercedes, Smart and various truck brands, it offers "the industry's biggest portfolio of electric vehicles," including pure EVs, fuel cells and hybrids. The automaker says it will introduce ten new plug-in hybrid Mercedes models by 2017.

What does the open patents deal mean for Tesla ... and BMW?

Gift to the world or trade bait? Tesla Motors announced this week it would open its patents for other automakers to use. That has analysts guessing whether the California-based electric-vehicle maker is looking to either swap trade secrets with other automakers or to expand the proverbial pie that represents the plug-in vehicle market. For its part, Tesla says the answer is B. BMW, which is establishing its i sub-brand of plug-in vehicles, would be a natural collaborator with Tesla, Forbes says. In fact, executives from the two companies met in Europe this week. Details were not released, but a BMW spokesman said, "Both companies are strongly committed to the success of electromobility and discussed how to further strengthen the development of electromobility on an international level." While Tesla brings battery technology to the table, BMW offers its carbon-fiber advancements that lighten vehicle-body weight. Those advancements are key to range-extending efforts and could do wonders for Tesla on its journey to help spur technology for the sake of getting more of the general public to accept plug-in technology as a viable first-car option. Then again, Forbes says Tesla, whose investors include Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Toyota, may be keeping its best technologies to itself by not patenting certain advancements at all. What's in Tesla's patent pool? uAutoInsurance analyzed Tesla's 249 patents and found that 104 of them related to battery technology, while 28 pertained to recharging activity, which wasn't surprising (about a quarter of those 249 patents couldn't readily be categorized). Tesla also has nine patents related to sunroof technology. The company is based in California, after all.

Investigators Find No Defect Trend With Tesla Motors' Model S

Federal safety investigators said Friday they have found no apparent defect trends in the Tesla Model S, an electric luxury car that has its share of fans and critics. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed a four-month investigation into whether the car's batteries were at heightened risk for underbody strikes and subsequent fires. Even though no defect trend was found, Tesla Motors said in a written statement it would further protect the bottom of its cars with a reinforced underbody shield. The California-based automaker started adding the shields on March 6 and will retrofit older models free of charge. It will also increase the ground clearance of new cars. "This fix should eliminate the potential of a battery-pack fire under all but the most extreme circumstances," said Karl Brauer, a senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book. Although there are more than 194,000 car fires in the United States every year, NHTSA investigators began a preliminary investigation into potential trouble on Nov. 15, 2013 following two Model S fires, one in Tennessee and one in Washington. No one was injured or killed in either fire. Roadway debris punctured the battery pack near the front of the compartments in both cases, damaging the batteries' lithium ion cells that then began "thermal runaway" events. The opposite ends of the debris had dug into the pavement and jutted upward. Tesla called this a "piking effect." The company said it has conducted 152 vehicle level tests, and that the new shields prevented any damage or penetration of the new shields. The first is a rounded, hollow aluminum bar that's followed by a titanium plate. The third layer of protection is made of solid aluminum. (There's video of the new plates in action on the Tesla Motors website). "We have tried every worst-case debris impact we can think of, including hardened steel structures set in the ideal position for a piking event," Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk wrote on the company's blog," essentially equivalent to driving a car at highway speed, into a steel spear braced on the tarmac." Approximately 15,805 vehicles are eligible for the upgrades, which NHTSA says should reduce the frequency of underbody strikes and subsequent fire risks. But the agency did note that the closing of the investigation did not necessarily constitute a finding that a defect does not exist. "The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by new circumstances," it said.