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Recharge Wrap-up: VW Caddy TGI BlueMotion, VR tour of Tesla Model X

Take a 360-degree virtual tour of the Tesla Model X. Best viewed in the YouTube app on your smartphone, the video above - courtesy of Canadian Press Video News – allows you to look around the inside of the Model X as though you were sitting inside it. While you're viewing it, keep in mind Tesla CEO Elon Musk's words about virtual reality: "It's quite transformative. You really feel like you're there." See the video above, and read more at Teslarati. LG Chem's batteries for the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan will be the Korean company's first time engineering and manufacturing a complete battery pack in Michigan for a volume production North American plug-in hybrid. The packs include lithium-ion cells, electronics and control units. The batteries were engineered at LG Chem's Troy, Michigan facility, and will be built at the company's Holland, Michigan plant. "Our experience with entire battery packs, including cell design and manufacturing capability, as well as our expertise in vehicle integration, makes us the ideal battery supplier for the Pacifica Hybrid," says LGCPI CEO Denise Gray. "We believe our technical strengths, engineering and manufacturing expertise, position us as a leading battery and control system provider for electric vehicles today and in the future." Read more at Green Car Congress. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will debut its Caddy TGI BlueMotion van at the Geneva Motor Show. The van, which is suited to family, taxi or city delivery use, can run on CNG or bio-natural gas in addition to gasoline. It also features a six-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission – a first in its class. The multiple high-pressure tanks for compressed gas are located under the floor, preserving all the Caddy's precious cargo space. A TGI version of the Caddy Alltrack will also be available, initially with a six-speed manual transmission, with the DSG option arriving in the middle of 2016. Read more at Green Car Congress, and in the press release below.

Musk says New York Times debacle may have cost Tesla $100 million

Despite the old chestnut that there's no such thing as bad publicity, there's always a cost incurred - sometimes it's hidden, and sometimes it's front and center. Enigmatic Tesla CEO Elon Musk seems to think his company's now-infamous Model S range dustup with The New York Times is falling squarely into the latter category. According to Musk, fallout from the back-and-forth battle over the newspaper's cold-weather road trip story may have decimated Tesla's stock value by as much as $100 million. Musk believes the report resulted in a lot of cancelled orders, probably costing Tesla "a few hundred" Model S purchases.
According to the report, Tesla's shares have tumbled some 12 percent (going from $39.24 to $34.38) since the report was published. Bloomberg further notes that the company's market capitalization has skidded by around $553 million over that same period. With the company's stock-market value pegged at $3.91 billion, $100m represents a not insignificant chunk of money to Tesla.
So how does Musk feel about embattled Times writer John Broder, whose controversial report he previously called "fake"? During the interview with Bloomberg TV, which you can watch below, Musk opines, "I don't think it should be the end of his career - I don't even think necessarily he should be fired - but I do think he fudged an article." No word has surfaced about any actions taken against Broder after his boss admitted he did "not especially" exercise "good judgement" in the course of his reporting.

Tesla Trade-up now offering Pedego e-bike

Three years ago, an Ottawa resident embarked on an effort to turn a $30 camera into a Tesla Roadster electric vehicle purely through the magic of bartering. Today, he's halfway to his goal. Sort of. Martin Provost, known for his Tesla Trade Up blog, has traded his way up to a $2,000 Pedego Comfort Cruiser electric bike, and it came from the CEO of Pedego, no less. If you're keeping track, that's two wheels out of the four that he's taken down. See, half way. In mid-2011, Provost set out on what he calls his "quest to become an EV owner through the kindness of humanity." Starting with that camera, he's since engineered 10 trades. The process included bartering his way through items like a computer, an electric guitar, a VIP brewery tour and a software suite valued at $3,000. Of course, he now has a $2,000 e-bike, so we hope he doesn't go too far backwards. The gentleman also has taken his official leap into EV ownership, securing a Smart Electric Drive for a lease rate of $100 a month. He's big on the three-year lease contract because it'll expire around the same time Tesla may start putting out its $35,000 vehicle. Which is irrelevant if he actually scores that Roadster, but it's nice to know he has a backup plan, just in case.