2023 Tesla Model S Plaid on 2040-cars

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Saleen FourSixteen kicks the door open on Tesla Model S tuning

Steve Saleen kind of shocked us when he announced that his company was working on an electric car late last year with no solid details to speak of. It just seemed like a complete about-face from the big muscle Ford Mustangs and supercars Saleen had built its reputation on. If anything, it was even more surprising when the business revealed that the new model would be a tuned Tesla Model S to be dubbed the FourSixteen. We finally got a glimpse of it during Monterey Car Week, and while the sedan's styling might have been polarizing, the car was still an intriguing project.
Xcar Films is taking an even deeper look into the FourSixteen's creation in its latest video with interviews with Saleen and other principles of the tuned Tesla's creation. According to Steve in the video, the company's focus is still on tuning pony cars and building supercars, but "electric vehicles are here to stay."
While Saleen leaves the Model S electric motor and batteries alone, it touches nearly every other part of the Tesla. The FourSixteen feature a new final-drive ratio and tweaked suspension, plus lighter wheels and carbon ceramic brakes to shed quite a few pounds. Of course, the most obvious change is its contentious body kit, especially at the rear, but Saleen claims that it's completely functional by channeling air more efficiently around the car. Like it or not, the FourSixteen might be the future of auto tuning.

Tesla in talks with BMW about batteries, charging collaborations

With Toyota and Daimler no longer holding Tesla shares, the electric vehicle company might be looking for a new partner – possibly a Bavarian one. In a new interview with Germany's Der Spiegel, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that he has had talks with BMW execs about future collaboration. "We are talking about whether we can collaborate in battery technology or charging stations," Musk said in the interview, according to Reuters. However, a Tesla spokesperson has tempered things by saying no formal agreements are in place at the moment. In the same interview, Musk reportedly praised BMW's use of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic in its i sub-brand offerings, and said he would like to have a battery factory in Germany in the next five or six years. The possibility of technological cooperation between Tesla and BMW has been a hot topic this year. In June, Musk reportedly met with BMW execs, and the two companies were also rumored to have met with Nissan to discuss charging technology. When Daimler sold off its shares, there was talk of it opening the way for possible collaboration between the two automakers, as well.

GM CEO Akerson calls out Tesla, says Cadillac will compete on EVs

Cadillac will be taking on Tesla Motors, the underdog EV manufacturer that's seen heaps of critical acclaim and stock market buzz with its most recent sedan, the Model S. "If you want to compete head-to-head with Tesla, and we ultimately will, you want to do it with a Cadillac," Dan Akerson, the chairman and CEO of General Motors, told media in Washington, according to The Detroit News.
Akerson continued, telling The News, "We'll sell more Volts and lose less money on the Volts than they'll lose on the Model S." He also took time to point out that Tesla getting vehicles out to customers isn't a guarantee of success or permanence, using Fisker as an example, saying "Does anybody even remember Fisker? I mean, there were a number of them; they are all gone."
This strong talk from Akerson comes after Doug Parks, another GM exec, let slip that the Detroit-based manufacturer has an EV in the works that will cover 200 miles per charge and only cost about $30,000, a massive upgrade over similarly priced EVs that struggle to top 100 miles per charge. Until that vehicle arrives, though, GM is preparing the Cadillac ELR, a small coupe that, like the Volt with which it shares technology, uses a gas engine as a mobile generator to recharge the batteries. Akerson took aim at Tesla again, saying, "But I do think when the ELR comes out late this year, early next - it's certainly the same postal code as Tesla, but now we're going to move up. It's not going to be a mass-produced car."