Tesla founder sues company, CEO Elon Musk
Martin Eberhard, founder of Tesla Motors, the anointed darling of the electric vehicle industry, has filed suit against the company and its current leader, Elon Musk (right), who he accuses of slander, mismanagement, and, bizarrely, giving him a damaged Tesla roadster (the firm’s first product)…. Continue Reading
Solazyme wins big with $57M for renewable oil
Solazyme, producer of renewable oil derived from algae, just raised $57 million in third-round funding to bring its total capital to more than $76 million. In addition to producing so-called green fuels, the San Bruno, Calif., company is expanding its eco-friendly chemicals business — an… Continue Reading
Tesla gets much-needed infusion from Daimler
Daimler, the German auto maker known for its ownership of Mercedes-Benz, has acquired a nearly 10 percent stake in Tesla Motors, the anointed electric car company to watch. And the deal — worth an unspecified tens of millions of dollars — couldn’t come at a… Continue Reading
Mitsubishi jumps into U.S. electric car race with i MiEV . . . in Oregon?
Venture-backed electric car companies have been getting the lion’s share of attention these days. Fisker Automotive just raised a cool $85 million to produce its hybrid-electric Karma, and Tesla Motors has been abuzz since unveiling its Model S sedan. But that doesn’t mean the traditional… Continue Reading
Fisker zooms ahead with $85 million for battery-powered car
Fisker Automotive, maker of the jaw-dropping battery-powered Karma sports car (see above), announced that it’s landed $85 million in venture capital to begin production. The money came from Eco-Drive Capital Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The Irvine, Calif. company has now raised more… Continue Reading
Pre-orders for Tesla’s new sedan top 500
Tesla Motors announced today that it has already received 520 orders for its recently unveiled Model S sedan, an all-electric vehicle capable of carrying seven passengers. Unlike the company’s flashier and more expensive roadster, the car is designed to fit the needs of middle-class families…. Continue Reading
Tesla unveils electric sedan with sky-high hopes
Tesla Motors, still one of the major players in the electric vehicle game despite recent financial woes, has finally unveiled its hotly anticipated Model S sedan, slated to go on sale in late 2011. With a price tag of $50,000, the car is certainly more… Continue Reading
Fisker ekes out $3M to put finishing touches on its swanky electric car
Fisker Automotive, maker of a luxury plug-in hybrid vehicle called the Karma, has squeezed an additional $3 million out of its private investors, bringing its total capital raised to more than $100 million — a staggering feat considering the state of the credit market. The… Continue Reading
Roundup: Yelp allegedly extorts, Twitter embraces its origins, Tesla CMO defects and more
Here’s the latest action:
The downturn finally hits HP — The company announced a 10 percent drop in earnings yesterday and plans to cut salaries. CNet has more.
Yelp accused of extortion, again — Local business owners report that the trendy review site offers to… Continue Reading
Tesla forecasts 2009 profit, despite recent hard knocks
Electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors announced it will hit profitability by the second half of 2009. The statement was made in a recent company newsletter. Boosted by the $40 million in capital it raised from existing investors in December, the San Carlos, Calif.-based company said… Continue Reading
Electric cars disappointed in 2008 — and 2009 won’t be different
The Detroit Auto Show is underway, and the world’s most famous vehicle brands are touting the next generation of cars. And although yesterday’s fervent promises of hydrogen-powered vehicles have mostly fallen away, they’ve been replaced with new promises, this time centered around the idea of… Continue Reading
VantagePoint charges up on $435M for cleantech
The clouds may have rolled in for many other sectors in today’s economy, but the sun still shines on cleantech — and VantagePoint Venture Partners in particular. The San Bruno, Calif.-based firm just landed $435 million for its second fund, reports VentureWire.
The close comes… Continue Reading
Tesla’s recent troubles
This picture from Wrecked Exotics, of a Tesla Roadster crashed in southern France by one of the company’s sales directors, pretty much says it all about the company’s recent troubles.
Tesla absorbs another $40M to keep the motor running
Tesla Motors has looked a bit shaky lately, starting with a staff layoff and an ouster of its CEO a little over two weeks ago and following with reports that the company had only $9 million left in the bank. But lead investor and new… Continue Reading
Electric car maker Tesla low on cash, but won’t go bust (yet)
News moves quickly these days. Within hours of a rumor circulating that Tesla Motors is running low on cash, company CEO Elon Musk announced via Reuters that the company will close over $20 million in new funding by next week.
The rumor appears to have… Continue Reading
Elon Musk steps in as CEO at Tesla, lays off staff
Tesla Motors, the maker of the high-performance Roadster, has become something of a symbol for the budding electric car industry. The many other startups in the space, then, should sit up and take notice of its latest move: A takeover of the CEO position by… Continue Reading
Tesla Motors to site its manufacturing plant in San Jose
Tesla Motors, the heavily-funded electric car company that produces the high-end Roadster sports car, has settled on a location in San Jose, Calif. for its manufacturing plant to make a more market-oriented car model.
The site of the new factory has been uncertain, while Tesla… Continue Reading
Roundup: IPOs slow to a crawl, China gets music sales, Facebook competition kicks off and more
July was slowest for IPOs in five years — A measly 56 companies went public last month, raising $5.6 billion. Pretty depressing, compared to last year’s figure of 190 companies and $31.7 billion. This month is expected to be similarly slow, with a pickup coming… Continue Reading
Roundup: Obama inspires tech ire, AOL possibly for sale, thin-film solar to surge, and more
Obama takes flack for telecom reversal — Barack Obama is about as smart as politicians get when it comes to technology, and even plans to name a chief technologist for the country if elected. But he has finally managed to offend the devoted, by changing… Continue Reading
Tesla to manufacture the Model S in the Bay Area
In an event held today by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and electric vehicle startup Tesla Motors, a few more details were revealed about the lower-priced successor to Tesla’s Roadster, production of which is still getting underway.
In a surprise move, Tesla is canceling plans to build… Continue Reading