2018 Tesla Model X on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Rinspeed details Tesla-based autonomous XchangE concept for Geneva [w/video]

Like it or not, the age of the self-driving autonomous automobile is just around the corner. But what form will a car's cabin take when the emphasis is taken off of human operation? That's the question that Rinspeed aims to answer with the XchangE concept. Previewed two months ago, Rinspeed has now revealed details, photos and even video footage of the self-driving electric vehicle. This year's concept car from the self-styled "Swiss idea factory" takes a Tesla Model S and modifies it for autonomous operation, freeing up the driver to sit back and enjoy the ride.
The redesigned cockpit includes a pair of highly adjustable front seats that can tilt, swivel and recline to make for a business class-like cabin space for driver and passenger. The drive-by-wire steering wheel slides out of the way when not in use. The dashboard displays all manner of data on four screens through a scalable infotainment package controlled by gestures, based on HTML5 and developed by Harman. The vehicle is fully networked with car-to-car communications and integrated LTE connectivity furnished by Deutsche Telekom. Access to the calming cabin space is granted by RFID technology, there's an LED plexiglass roof panel and a Carl F. Bucherer timepiece mounted in a watch winder on the dashboard.
It all comes across as a rather innovative take on the automobile from a design firm known for doing exactly that with its annual Geneva show cars. There's plenty more to digest in the press release, so check it out along with the video footage below and scope out the hundred-plus high-resolution images in the gallery above.

Tesla strikes back against Lemon Law King over Model S dispute [UPDATE]

*UPDATE: We have now also received a statement from the Model S owner in question, which has been added below. When we asked Tesla Motors for a statement on the lawsuit filed by the "King of Lemon Laws" the other day, the company told us that it does not comment on pending litigation. Fair enough. That's a standard response. But the company has since felt the need to comment on the issue using its own company blog. In a post called "When Life Gives You Lemons...," the Tesla Motors Team called lawyer Vince Megna (indirectly) an "opportunistic lawyer" and basically called him a liar. To wit: "... there are factual inaccuracies in the lawyer's story." Tesla says that the three claimed incidents when the Model S owner in question asked the automaker to buy the car back did not happen (Tesla acknowledges it happening once). And then the company basically says the owner was breaking his car on purpose: ... the car's fuse blew on three occasions. Each time, our engineers explored all possible explanations and were never able to find anything wrong with the car. Still, just to be sure, we replaced several parts that could have been related to the alleged problem – all at no expense to the customer. When the fuse kept blowing despite the new parts, and faced with no diagnosis showing anything wrong with the car, the engineers were moved to consider the possibility that the fuse had been tampered with. After investigating, they determined that the car's front trunk had been opened immediately before the fuse failure on each of the three occasions. (The fuse is accessed through the front trunk.) Ultimately, Tesla service applied non-tamper tape to the fuse switch. From that point on, the fuse performed flawlessly. We've got the entire response below, along with Megna's response to Tesla's statement. The key line: "There are companies, great companies run by Billionaires, that force consumers to give up their Freedom of Speech and Right to Trial by Jury just for the opportunity to buy an electric car." You can watch Megna's original video introducing the world to this case here. When Life Gives You Lemons... By The Tesla Motors Team April 9, 2014 We were taken by surprise by a lemon law claim recently filed against Tesla by a Wisconsin lawyer, describing himself as the "Lemon Law King", who says that we ignored his client's three demands for a buy-back after alleged problems with a Model S.

2014 Corvette Stingray meets Tesla Model S in drag strip showdown

They come from two different worlds and have little in common. The Tesla Model S P85 is the sportiest version of this paradigm-punching sedan from California, while the 2014 Corvette Stingray Z51 is a performance-enhanced version of Michigan's recently-updated sports car stalwart. The West Coast car seats five adults and eats electrons like Popeye eats spinach, the Easterner has two passenger places and, surprisingly, sips gasoline like one might bourbon. An attribute they do happen to share is extreme quickness. This similarity is all the excuse Drag Times needed to set the vehicles beside each other at the Palm Beach International Raceway for a bit of mano-a-mano quarter-mile combat. Fortunately enough, cameras were rolling for each of two bouts down the blacktop and the results recorded for our edification and enlightenment. The winner? We won't spoil it for you, but let's just say it's really, really close. How close? Scroll below and watch the video for yourself. Just be warned, the results may surprise you. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.