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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 China president steps down after fewer than 9 months on the job

In July, 2013, before Tesla had delivered its first car to China, CEO Elon Musk called the country a "wild card." A year on, that continues to be the case, with media reports all over the spectrum concerning how Tesla is doing in China. The immediate future won't be any calmer with news that Tesla China president Veronica Wu has resigned from the company, having just taken the job in April. Hers follows the sudden departure of Kingston Chang, the man she replaced; he was hired away from Bentley China in March, 2013 and left in March of this year citing personal reasons. Observers have put the latest departure down to the difficulties of Tesla's expansion efforts. In spite of widely acknowledged pent-up demand and the Model S being priced below expectations in China, the company has stumbled a few times navigating issues such as customs paperwork, on-time customer deliveries, navigation systems with local mapping and the installation of charging equipment for customers in rural areas. Speculative articles questioning the company's actual sales numbers in China inflate the narrative of a "speed bump" in the way of Tesla's ambitions. Tesla China's head of charger network development, Tom Zhu, will run the company in the interim.

Michigan gets into anti-Tesla legislation game

If you figured the home of the US car industry would be against messing with the age-old, franchised-dealer auto distribution system, you'd be right. Michigan, home to the Big Three US automotive companies (General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, now Fiat Chrysler), is moving towards officially disallowing companies like Tesla Motors from selling their cars directly to consumers, according to the Wall Street Journal. Tesla will naturally fight this, but it's one more challenge for the California-based automaker. Both chambers of Michigan's legislature approved bills banning automakers from selling cars to the public without doing so through a third-party franchised dealership. Tesla once again will rally against this, arguing that the uniqueness of its electric vehicles prevents third-party dealers from properly marketing the cars. Legislation like this continues to make its way through various states, with varying degrees of approval. Last month, the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association stated its intention to shut down Tesla's one state store and prevent two planned outlets from opening. Texas, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Arizona have also taken a hardline approach to preventing direct automaker-to-public sales. Tesla has worked out compromises in other areas, for example with Pennsylvania in August. There, electric vehicles are now exempted from the franchised-dealer mandate.