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Tesla working to eliminate side mirrors

Of all the concept car technologies, one of our favorites has been the deletion of side-view mirrors in favor of video cameras. Besides improving the look of the car, it'd lower drag and improve fuel economy. However, cost, available technology, and most importantly, the government, stand in the way of this tech making it onto a production model.
It's that last facet that Tesla is seeking to change. As Automotive News explains, when the Model X debuted in concept form, it was without wing mirrors. But when the production car was revealed, it had the conventional mirrors, largely because the camera'd car violated the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Federal Motor Vehicle Safety code (Standard 111, to be precise).
Now comes word that Tesla has actively been lobbying the NHTSA to do away with the standard. It's got breathing room at the moment. We reported a few months ago that the federal mandate regarding backup cameras had been pushed back to 2015. That gives Tesla plenty of time to work the safety administration over regarding the mirror replacement, getting the new tech approved in the next mandate.

Tesla says Model S fire started in battery pack; share prices falling

Yesterday's fire that engulfed a Tesla Model S, the first blaze involving the critically acclaimed electric sedan, was caused when a piece of road debris impacted the front of the car, damaging the battery pack and starting a fire, according to an email sent to AutoblogGreen by Tesla. Now, The New York Times has learned that the fire was indeed caused by debris that made "a direct impact ... to one of the 16 modules within the Model S battery pack," according to Tesla spokesperson Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean.
Despite the blaze, Tesla maintains that the battery packs did their job by isolating the fire, with Jarvis-Shean saying, "Because each module within the battery pack is, by design, isolated by fire barriers to limit any potential damage, the fire in the battery pack was contained to a small section in the front of the vehicle."
The nature of the fire, though, seemed to catch the Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority off guard. The department's report, which was obtained by the International Business Times and partially published on Jalopnik, claims that water used to put out the blaze seemed to intensify the fire, forcing the firefighters to use a dry chemical. Later, they found the battery pack still burning inside the front end. The report claims firefighters, "had to puncture multiple holes in the pack to apply water to the burning material in the battery," and also had to cut into the frame to douse the burning pack.

Dealers claim factory-owned Tesla stores are illegal

Unlike typical dealers, Tesla has a network of "stores" and "retail stores." While reservations can be made for a new Model S or Roadster at the retail store, Tesla says other versions of the store merely direct potential customers to make their reservation online. Most of these boutique-style stores are in shopping malls, and Tesla asserts that they are not sales facilities. It's an assertion with which traditional auto dealers are taking issue.
Dealers associations and networks across the country are doubling down their efforts to make Tesla's OEM showroom network illegal. Tesla has opened 17 stores in 10 states, as well as the District of Columbia.
Dealership associations contend Tesla's notion that sales are not made at these stores, stating that the showroom experience is still part of the sales process. To that end, dealer groups across the country have embarked in legal battles with the electric carmaker. The Illinois Secretary of State has informed Tesla that it is illegal to list CEO Elon Musk as the owner of its Chicago store. The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association is looking into legal options against Telsa's Westchester store, as well as two others in New York. In Massachusetts, the opening of a store in the suburban Natick Mall is having its legality challenged by the dealer association in that state. California has laws in place that allow for a manufacturer to run its own dealership, as long as it is not within 10 miles of an existing dealer. That practice caught the ire of Chrysler dealers when the American automaker opened its own multi-brand showroom near downtown Los Angeles.