2015 Tesla Model S 85d Sedan 4d on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Tesla launches Model S in UK, says Euro factory could be upcoming [w/video]

With the first UK deliveries of the 49,900-pound (about $84,000 at today's rates) Tesla Model S completed, it's time for the company to get back to business. For CEO Elon Musk that means discussing a long-anticipated rumor - a dedicated European production facility to build the luxurious EVs from the ground up.
Obviously, though, such a hefty investment would need to be worth the company's while, which is why Musk told Automotive News Europe that sales will need to hit 160,000 units before a factory is considered. The company has recorded over 3,400 sales in Europe during the first four months of 2014, which actually surpasses the 2,000 cars sold in the US.
Tesla currently maintains a factory in the Netherlands, although it only installs batteries in cars shipped from Tesla's Fremont, CA facility, rather than building cars from scratch. The factory, in Tilburg, is set to expand, while a new research and development facility is set to open in the UK in 2015 or 2016, according to Musk.

Consumer Reports says Tesla Model S reliability is just 'average'

Tesla Motors chief Elon Musk strikes us as someone who retches at the word "average," especially when it's applied to one of his companies. But that's the reliability grade his company's Model S all-electric sedan has received from Consumer Reports. From what others have reported, that might not be a bad thing. CR reached its conclusion by factoring in both its own experiences and the responses from more than 1,300 Model S owners. Slow response from retractable door handles and creaky windshields were two widely reported issues, but it should be noted that Tesla scored good marks for being willing to foot the bill for all repairs. In the grand scheme of things, CR says Tesla is comparable, reliability-wise, to the Acura RLX. While luxury models from Audi and Lexus have scored better, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz models have recorded scores "far worse," the magazine said. After almost 16,000 miles in its Model S, CR needed to have the car's infotainment screen hard reset and had one unscheduled service. Meanwhile, Edmunds reported that its 17 months with a $105,000 2013 Model S required seven unscheduled service visits, and it needed nine information screen resets. The drive unit needed to be replaced three times. We think CR would not have found that "average."

Why can't Tesla sell directly to consumers wherever it wants?

Our friends at Engadget, tech-obsessed sister site of Autoblog, have taken an in-depth look at the reason why it's so difficult for Tesla to sell its cars directly to consumers, the same way that Apple, for instance, can sell you an iPad at an Apple Store. As you're probably aware, the whole sordid affair can be traced back to dealer franchise laws, which vary dramatically state to state, all with the stated goal of protecting your local neighborhood car dealers from unfair competition. What sort of unfair competition, you ask? And from whom? Well, that's the heart of the matter, and it seemingly makes very little sense to the average consumer. Engadget puts it pretty bluntly: It's not really about Tesla, or electric cars. It's about money. It's an argument against competition that may or may not even manifest in reality. It's also a complicated issue, and one that doesn't have a simple solution. To wit, just as it seems unfair to keep Tesla from selling directly to consumers, it's also unfair, not to mention illegal, to shrug off and ignore rules and regulations that were concocted, debated and put into law as a protection to dealership owners, many of whom have been operating under said rules themselves for decades. Adding another wrinkle is the fact that nothing is preventing Tesla from using the established franchise-dealer model that every other automaker in the US also uses. Nothing, that is, other than Tesla itself. Want to know more? We can't promise that you'll really understand all the behind-the-scenes minutia and political wrangling that's gotten us to where we are now, but you will, at the very least, have an understanding of the issues at play after reading the article here. And when you're done, feel free to come on back and let us know what you think in the Comments.