2021 Tesla Model S Plaid Awd 4dr Sedan on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Consumer Reports weighs in with its first Tesla Model S review

Everyone has been chiming in with their thoughts on the Tesla Model S lately, and with the car taking home awards like the prestigious Motor Trend Car of the Year, this probably won't change anytime soon. Not wanting to be left in the dark, Consumer Reports has managed to get its hands on a Model S to give its own impressions of the luxurious electric hatchback.
Like many other outlets (including our own first drive), CR praised the Model S for its styling (which it compares to an Audi A7) and performance (which it says "can put serious hurt on a Corvette"). With limited time with the car, the video doesn't touch on the specific range the institute attained, but it appears most of the car's time was spent on the track anyway.
On the flip side of things, CR dinged the Model S for its retractable door handles which the reviewer refers to as "fussy," and as much as CR has blasted Ford and its MyFord Touch for being distracting and largely button-less in the past, we were surprised at how much it seemed to adore the lack of buttons on Model S. They even glossed over the fact that drivers can surf the Web on the 17-inch touch screen while driving.

Analyst predicts GM will buy Tesla in 2014

There's little question that Tesla has come at the automotive industry as an outsider. But will it last as an outsider for much longer? Not if you ask Yra Harris of Praxis Trading. According to USA Today, the veteran financial analyst recently predicted on CNBC that General Motors will try to buy Tesla in 2014.
It certainly wouldn't be the first time that GM acquired another automaker. It did just that when it purchased the rights to the Hummer brand from AM General in 1999 and completed its takeover of Saab the year after. But, of course, The General has since divested from both, shutting down its Pontiac and Saturn brands in the process. Daewoo and Oldsmobile are gone too, as is Geo. Chevrolet is to be withdrawn from Europe, and over the past few years, GM has sold its minority stake in Isuzu, Subaru, Suzuki and PSA Peugeot-Citroën as well.
Of course, none of these are dedicated electric carmakers like Tesla is, and the Volt may not be doing as well as Detroit had initially hoped. But does that mean it's ready to start expanding its brand portfolio again? With all due respect to Mr. Harris, somehow we doubt it - especially with Tesla currently enjoying sky-high market valuation. The company's market capitalization stands at over $18 billion - more than 100-plus times its earnings. That would make mounting a Tesla takeover a hugely risky and costly endeavor unless Wall Street tempers its stock value greatly.

Elon Musk buys James Bond's Lotus submarine, wants to install Tesla powerplant

Remember when we reported the long-lost-but-found-again Lotus Esprit submarine used in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me had sold at auction in London for $966,560 (well, $863,000 plus a 12-percent buyer's premium)? At the time, the buyer's identity remained a mystery, but Jalopnik has reported and confirmed that the man with money to burn is none other than billionaire Elon Musk, CEO of both Tesla Motors and SpaceX. What's even more shocking (maybe not for Musk) is that he wants to install a Tesla electric powertrain in it and make it transform into a road-going car.
The story of the submersible Lotus' journey from movie star to prized possession of the eccentric Musk is remarkable. After filming ended in the '70s, the car was shipped to Long Island, NY and placed in a storage container that was paid in advance by the studio for 10 years. After the money ran out, the contents of the container were sold off Storage Wars-style in 1989 and won by an area couple. It was shown in public on occasion throughout the years, but its value remained a mystery until the gavel fell in London last month. While far from the most valuable Bond car to be auctioned off (that honor goes to the Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger and Thunderball, which sold for $4.6 million at auction in 2010), the Lotus submarine is definitely the most unique.
Also worth noting is that the Lotus sub is more than just a prop. Without the aid of CGI, the film's producers needed an actual submarine that looked like a Lotus Esprit, and so they hired a company called Perry Oceanographic in Florida to build it and hired former US Navy Seal Don Griffin to pilot the sub during the film.