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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla Model 3 reservation priorities, Opel builds Ampera-e in US?

Opel will build the Ampera-e EV in the US. According to a report from German magazine Automobil Produktion, the electric Opel will be built alongside its sibling, the Chevrolet Bolt, at GM's Orion Assembly plant near Detroit, Michigan. GM CEO Mary Barra did not disclose the location of the Ampera-e's assembly, and Opel declined to comment on the report. A Vauxhall spokesman in the UK declined to comment on whether the car would be sold there as a right-hand-drive model. Read more from Automotive News Europe. How will Tesla prioritize reservations for the Model 3? While some folks argue that orders should be prioritized according to time zone, others think all the Tesla stores should open at the same exact time, regardless of time zone. What is more likely, however, is that places where more deliveries take place will get their cars before locations with fewer buyers, for the sake of efficiency. Elon Musk has also said that the cars ordered with the most options will be built first. Read more at Teslarati. The Zoleco is an attempt at ultimate aerodynamic car design. Built by Zoltan Bod in British Columbia, it is a body concept that will potentially be sold as a kit meant for various propulsion systems. The idea is to reduce aerodynamic drag as much as possible, while saving weight wherever possible, in order to get the greatest efficiency out of the powerplant - be it gas, electric or some other form of energy. Bod says the car can achieve 151 mpg at 45 mph, or 91 mpg at 65 mph using a turbocharged, three-cylinder gasoline engine. Learn more at the Zoleco website. Featured Gallery Opel Ampera-e View 12 Photos News Source: Automotive News Europe, Teslarati, ZolecoImage Credit: Opel Design/Style Green Plants/Manufacturing GM Automakers Tesla Opel Fuel Efficiency Green Automakers Electric recharge wrapup

Tesla dropped to 'junk bond' status by S&P

While Tesla Motors' Model S is a piece of pristine, well-designed metal, the company's bonds have now been rated as "junk." But maybe that's better than the other way around. We'll let the investors decide. Standard & Poor's gave Tesla's bonds a 'B-' rating this week, indicating so-called "junk status," Automotive News says. That means investors are saying the company has a relatively high chance of defaulting on its loans. S&P cites Tesla's short history, competition from some very large companies and relatively narrow product line (none of which are new facts), and estimates that investors would be able to recover 30 to 50 cents on the dollar should the company default. Tesla has been issuing billions of dollars in bonds this year to raise funds for its planned gigafactory somewhere in the southwestern US, a project that Tesla estimated will cost $5 billion ($2 billion from Tesla, $3 billion from partners). Tesla said earlier this month that it took a first-quarter loss of $49.8 million, compared to year-earlier net income of $11.2 million. While revenue rose 10 percent to $620.5 million, selling and administrative costs more than doubled while research and development costs jumped 48 percent. And while Tesla's share price has doubled during the past 12 months (it's at around $209 today), the company's liabilities doubled to $3.52 billion from the beginning of the year to the end of the first quarter. There's a short video on the situation from CNN Money below.

Why Tesla will need more loans to make it through 2013

It's fun to bet against Elon Musk and Tesla - that's the best reason we can find for so many people doing it even though the man, his company and his cars are still here and still very popular. The latest name inscribed in the column labeled "Skeptical of Tesla" is John Shinal at Market Watch who, in year-end commentary on Tesla's financials, says that the "carmaker's financials are reminiscent of a dot-com's." He does not mean that in the good way.
To be fair, Shinal isn't exactly betting against Tesla, he's saying that if you check the bottom lines, the only thing keeping Tesla alive is the hundreds of millions in Federal Department of Energy loans it has received. Based on its filings, he says the company has less than six months of cash on hand, hasn't produced as many cars as it promised and had to lower its revenue forecast for 2012, has had a "year of net losses and negative operating cash flow," and was underwater by at least $37 million at the end of the third quarter.
But Shinal's not done there, summarizing Tesla as an operation with "a poor habit of failing to deliver to customers the cars it has promised them, while simultaneously raising the prices of those yet-undelivered cars," and "a lousy level of customer service." He says there are more damning things to be found in Tesla's SEC registration settlement from September, but we'll have to wait for his next column to find out what those are. The takeaway, in Shinal's opinion, is that even though Tesla will keep getting money from the government, that investors have no business dealing in Tesla stock.