2022 Tesla Model S on 2040-cars

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Tesla abandons 'Model E' trademark

Tesla Motors has famously said it will produce and sell a more affordable all-electric car to help further its goal of changing the gasoline-powered paradigm. While there are certain things we know about that vehicle already – it will come standard with a battery capable of a 200-mile range, cost about $35,000 and be around 20 percent smaller than the Model S – there are some things we don't know. For instance, what it will be called. The automaker seemed to be leaning towards "Model E" and had trademarked that name. CEO Elon Musk even referred to the future vehicle by that appellation during a relatively recent public appearance in Europe. If you had been looking forward to the prospect of driving something called a Tesla Model E, however, you may need to adjust your expectations. During a perusal of the California company's various trademarks, we noticed that this particular one has been abandoned. While this rather sadly destroys the possibility of someone ever stocking their garage with Tesla Models S, E, and X, we welcome the decision. Although it might seem a logical choice, as the word electric begins with "E", the letter just doesn't resonate particularly well. The move also raises the possibility of a different type of nomenclature altogether. For its part, Tesla has confirmed with us that it is "no longer pursuing the Model E trademark." Name-wise, we suspect there is a good chance one has already been decided on and that it will be revealed sometime before the cloth is pulled from the first prototype early next year. Still,if you think you have a good suggestion for them, please let us know in Comments.

Panasonic not sure about Tesla Gigafactory commitment; Texas dealers wary, too

Just about the entire US southwest is ready to jump into the financial bed with Tesla Motors as the electric-vehicle maker looks for a place to put its massive "gigafactory." But lithium-ion battery maker Panasonic? Not so much, says Bloomberg News. Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga spoke to a group of reporters in Tokyo and said he strategically understood the need for Tesla to go large-scale with its factory production, especially as it prepares to debut an SUV as well as a model that will be priced at about half of what a Model S costs. But, he added cautiously, there will be significant risk involved in the investment and his company hasn't committed to its involvement just yet. Texas dealers are already sounding the alarm against changing franchise laws to woo the battery plant. Panasonic or not, Tesla is taking the "go big or go home" approach to a factory that it says will cost about $5 billion ($2 billion already committed from Tesla itself) and may support 6,500 jobs. That latter point has states such as Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas tripping over themselves to figure out the financial incentives necessary to be the further production base for California-based Tesla. Texas auto dealers are already sounding the alarm against changing the state's franchise laws to woo the automaker's battery plant. An open letter sent by the Texas Automobile Dealers Association says it does not believe, "that economic development efforts to bring any business to Texas should in any way be connected to changing established laws in Texas for the singular benefit of any one company. ... We believe this sets a bad precedent for future economic development efforts by linking them to special interest changes in law." Last fall, Tesla expanded its battery-production agreement with Panasonic, saying at the time that Panasonic would provide almost 2 million automotive-grade battery cells for the Model S and Model X during the next four years.

Tesla is quietly installing higher-speed, non-Supercharger network [UPDATE]

UPDATE: We've received confirmation from Tesla on details of the charging network, and have updated the text below accordingly. To a Tesla Model S driver, 58 miles an hour is pretty tepid when it comes to driving speed. Recharging speed, though? That's a pretty good clip. The California-based automaker is complementing the deployment of it high-powered Superchargers with slightly-less-super wall chargers that supply 80 amps and can provide almost 60 miles worth of driving in one hour of charging. That's about twice as fast as a 240-volt charger, though it's a fraction of the juice provided by the Superchargers that Tesla is building on at least three continents. The Tesla Destination Charging Program, recently covered in The Wall Street Journal, features the Tesla High Power Wall Connector. Those devices have been deployed at almost 110 hotels, beach parking lots and restaurants in North America, Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson confirmed to AutoblogGreen in an e-mail. Tesla just launched the program this spring and lists those chargers' locations on its website (www.teslamotors.com/findus). With such chargers in place, getting 58 miles to the hour will be valuable for day-tripping Model S drivers who are just looking to get home without a tow. And, like the Superchargers, the wall chargers are free to use. "By offering convenient destination charging services to Model S owners, these hotels and resorts are replicating the convenience our owners have become accustomed to at home," Georgeson said. Tesla has deployed 111 Supercharger stations across North America, in addition to 59 stations in Europe and 13 in Asia. Neither the Superchargers nor the wall chargers are compatible with any other electric vehicles, so no soup for you, Nissan Leaf drivers.