electric car

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has promised a swappable-battery demo at a company event on June 20 event.

In a Tuesday tweet, Musk said the Tesla event, which will take place at 8 p.m. PT Thursday at the company's design studio in Hawthorne, Calif., will include a "live pack swap demo."

Rumors have been swirling for months that Musk's Tesla was working on a technology that would allow drivers with batteries running low to get out of one of its electric cars and swap the battery for one that's ostensibly full. That would allow for … Read more

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We round up and update a bunch of favorites this episode, including a look at the Tesla Model S that, since we first saw it in fall 2012, has gone on to become about the most celebrated car in the world.

We have also updated our Top 5 Electric Cars list with two cars getting bumped by new entrants in the market; six months from now we'll do it again as more solid EVs are in the wings. It's … Read more

Tesla may have muddied the waters when it used tortured logic and financing agreements to come up with a $500-per-month price for the Model S, but Honda sets out to clear things up with its own simple lease plan for the Fit EV. The company announced today that it would offer its Fit EV for $259 per month on a three-year lease with no down payment, unlimited miles, and included insurance coverage.

When Honda introduced the Fit EV last year, it offered similar lease terms at a price of $389 per month. Along with the new, reduced price, Honda is … Read more

Back when a certain 1967 Karmann Ghia rolled off the assembly line, nobody could have expected that one day it would be gutted, filled with batteries, and turned into an electric car that runs thanks to social-media feedback. The car is part of the Minddrive after-school program, a Kansas City (both Missouri and Kansas) organization dedicated to working with at-risk students.

For Minddrive's latest automotive design project, students chose to refurbish an old Karmann Ghia, turning it into an electric car. The car will be driven from Missouri to Washington D.C. starting on May 31, but it will take a lot of help to get it there. The car is designed to run only if there is enough social-media support to keep it going.… Read more

Forget pricey Teslas; Chevrolet announced pricing for its Spark EV model at $27,495. If a buyer qualifies for the full federal tax credit of $7,500, that price drops to $19,995.

The Spark EV goes on sale in June but will be limited to California and Oregon. California owners will be able to apply further credits up to $2,500. Oregon may be less friendly, as the state considers charging electric car owners a special per-mile tax.

Chevrolet's announcement also notes that dealers can offer lease deals for $199 per month, and that the Spark EV will … Read more

Tesla's stock is on a roll following the electric car company's blockbuster first quarter.

As of about 9:15 a.m. PT Thursday, shares had already risen almost 25 percent in trading, reaching close to $70 apiece.

Investors were clearly geared up by Tesla's first-quarter results, in which the company reported a profit of $11 million, its first time in the black since it launched 10 years ago. The company also witnessed an 83 percent jump in revenue, which hit $562 million.

Some Apple talk may also have aroused investor interest.

In an interview with Bloomberg published … Read more

In his quarterly earnings letter to shareholders on Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that "Tesla reached profitability in the first quarter of 2013 for the first time in our 10-year history."

Not only did the electric car company exceed analyst expectations, but Musk said (PDF) Tesla even outdid its own expectations for deliveries and gross margin. The company reported adjusted earnings of 12 cents per share on revenue of $562 million, which is far higher than the expected 3 cents per share. Its profit was $11 million after charges.

Tesla's total revenue for the first quarter … Read more

Tesla, the electric car maker, has been in talks with Google about the development of a self-driving car, the former's CEO revealed Tuesday.

In a Bloomberg interview, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that his company has "had some technical discussions with Google" about the search giant's self-driving car technology. However, he pointed out that the technology that Google uses, which is based on laser sensors to detect what's around, is too expensive to be feasible anytime soon.

Instead, Musk told Bloomberg, he'd like to see a camera-based system that "sees" what's … Read more

Last month Tesla said a new financing arrangement would make the Model S cost a mere $500 a month. Following critique in the press of Tesla's creative accounting, CEO Elon Musk announced revisions to the financing plan, now citing a net cost of $580 per month.

The two substantive changes to Tesla financing involve a revised resale value guarantee and longer term loans from partners Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank.

With the longer term loans, Tesla says the per-month cost of a Model S will be $580, taking into account the savings gained by running the car on … Read more