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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla's largest private Supercharger order, Sec. Foxx talks safety in innovation

Tesla will deliver its largest order yet for a private Supercharger station. The all-Tesla Teo Taxi fleet servicing the Montreal-Trudeau Airport will have 12 charging stalls in its private station. The two-stall Superchargers Tesla sells for private use are capped at 60 kW, unlike the 120-kW chargers Tesla operates for public use. Tesla doesn't disclose the price of its private Superchargers, but rumors suggest a two-stall charger costs around $60,000, but can come free with a large order of vehicles. Read more at Electrek. French zero-emission delivery service Cetup set a new range record for the Renault Kangoo ZE-H2 EV equipped with a fuel cell range extender. The drivers logged 228 miles over 10 hours and 36 minutes, with a fully charged 22-kWh battery pack and four pounds of hydrogen in the tank. This took place at night in and around the city with lights and heat turned on, averaging 22 mph. "Reaching such impressive performance with a first generation vehicle delivered in January 2015 is remarkable," says Fabio Ferrari, founder and General Manager of Symbio FCell (the company that provides the car's fuel cell). "The new versions of our Kangoo ZE-H2, currently in production, reduce the hydrogen consumption even more. Beyond, a new 700 bar option will get us close to the 500 km range mark." Read more at Green Car Congress. EVgo has taken on JMPR as its public relations agency. As the EV charging service continues to grow, JMPR will help bring awareness to EVgo through various campaigns targeted at consumers, potential partners, and policy makers. "Electric vehicle charging is critical to EV adoption and is set to explode over the coming years," says EVgo VP of Product Strategy and Market Development Terry O'Day. "EVgo is positioned to further build out our industry-leading fast charging network. We are excited to work with JMPR and tell the story of how EVgo is at the forefront of powering the electric vehicle revolution." Read more in the press release from JMPR. US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx spoke about electric, automated, and connected vehicles during a visit to the International Transportation Innovation Center (ITIC) in Greenville, South Carolina. Foxx highlighted the importance of safety, and discussed roadside sensor systems, camera-based vehicle side collision avoidance, and cybersecure wireless charging infrastructure.

Ohio senator with deep dealer ties proposes anti-Tesla bill

The fight against customer-direct car sales by Tesla Motors continues around the US, and the California-based company can now count dealership groups in Georgia and Ohio among its adversaries. In Ohio, Tesla has opened company-owned stores in Cincinnati and Columbus and is now fighting a state dealership association that's pushing for legislation that explicitly outlaws direct dealer-to-public sales after a lawsuit against Tesla was dismissed last week, Automotive News says. The proposed law (Senate Bill 260) would prevent any entity from selling vehicles if it "is a manufacturer, or a parent company, subsidiary, or affiliated entity of a manufacturer, applying for a license to sell or lease new or used motor vehicles at retail." Under Ohio's current laws, Tesla says its stores are perfectly legal, but clearly that would would drastically change if SB260 becomes law without some sort of provision to 'grandfather' dealers opened before the legislation passes. Ohio's dealers say Tesla threatens their network since it sets a precedent for other automakers to use the same practice. The politician behind the bill received at least $42,825 from dealership owners, employees and PACs. The politician behind the anti-Tesla bill in Ohio is Senator Tom Patton (R-Strongsville), who "received at least $42,825 from state and national auto dealership owners, employees, and political action committees (PACs) between 2002 and 2013," according to Media Trackers. His Facebook page is filling up with negative comments about his "crony capitalism" actions. Meanwhile, a Georgia exemption from that state's prohibition of automaker-to-public sales states that a company can directly sell as many as 150 zero-emissions vehicles a year, the Atlanta Business Chronicle says. Tesla sold about 500 of its Model S sedans there last year, with the rest of the cars being registered in California. The automaker is looking to expand that exemption tenfold to 1,500 vehicles. Georgia and Ohio join states such as Massachusetts, New York and Texas that have done battle with Tesla and its business model, with Texas thus far being the most formidable opponent. CEO Elon Musk said last year that he may go to the federal government to get such laws changed on a national level. That's not surprising since Tesla's preparing to start selling its Model X crossover and could unveil its cheaper EV (possibly called Model E) at the Detroit Auto Show next year.

Weekly Recap: Tesla loses money, still dominates the news

Some people get an inordinate amount of attention. In politics, it's Donald Trump. In football, it's Jim Harbaugh. And in the auto world, it's Elon Musk and his always-fascinating electric car company, Tesla Motors. General Motors is spending $877 million to upgrade a factory. So what! US auto sales are up. Who cares? Tesla has a metal snake that will recharge your car! So was the week in Tesla – er, the industry. Snarkiness aside, Tesla did dominate the news cycle, led by the announcement the company lost $184 million in the second quarter. Tesla also said it expects to deliver between 50,000 and 55,000 vehicles this year, and is preparing for a full launch of the Model X crossover in September. Musk also made news during the earnings call by simply not answering a question about ride sharing, leading to speculation Tesla could be considering its own operation. While the financials were the arguably the most important company news, reports of a Model S cyber hacking were more compelling fodder for Tesla followers. Researchers were able to attack the sedan and bring it to a stop, though they required access to the car first. Tesla says it already has deployed a remedy for the situation. On a lighter note, Tesla published a video of its metal charger prototype that autonomously uncoils like a snake to power up the company's vehicles, provoking plenty of humorous comments and comparisons. Watch it and decide for yourself. While some of this might seem trivial, much of Tesla's recent attention has been warranted. It's the first startup US automaker in decades to launch from nothing and actually gain traction in the market. Sure, Musk is a lightning rod and Tesla always seems to be in the spotlight. But amid all of the publicity, it easy to lose sight of the new reality: Tesla is a force. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Chevy Volt lights up 106 MPGe The Chevy Volt's vitals are looking healthier for 2016. The second-generation plug-in hybrid racks up a gaudy 106 miles per gallon equivalent, which is an increase of eight MPGe from the 2015 model. The new Volt can travel 53 miles on electricity, a significant jump from the 2015 Volt's 38-mile range. The new car also has a 420-mile total range when factoring in the capability of the gasoline engine, which is 40 miles greater than the current car offers.