California anchors Tesla with $28.8M tax break
Tesla Motors, the hyped electric car company, just nabbed another win (in a long line of them since the spring), earning approval for a $28.8 million tax break from California’s Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (a branch of the Treasurer’s office). The change… Continue Reading
Chevy Volt poised to resuscitate dying automotive town Flint, Mich.
Flint, Mich., the small automotive city northwest of Detroit known best for being featured in Michael Moore’s first documentary, Roger & Me, has been in dire straits for a while. When the movie came out in 1989, it was already suffering from mass unemployment. Now,… Continue Reading
Fox News errantly calls shenanigans on EV makers Tesla and Fisker
Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive — the two electric vehicle companies that recently received generous loans from the U.S. Department of Energy — felt the full wrath of Rupert Murdoch’s media machine last week. First, the Wall Street Journal cast a skeptical eye on Fisker’s… Continue Reading
Green investing bounces back from recession
Venture Capital investment in green technology companies has jumped to tie pre-recessionary levels, according to a new report out of Greentech Media. With $1.9 billion spread over 112 deals, this year’s third quarter trounced figures from earlier this year, signaling a stronger than anticipated comeback… Continue Reading
Electric car maker Fisker nails down plans for 2011 profitability
Fisker Automotive, prime Tesla Motors competitor and maker of the luxury plug-in hybrid vehicle known as the Karma, has announced plans to sell 15,000 cars and apply for government funds in order to hit profitability by 2011. The Southern California company plans to launch production… Continue Reading
Westly Group closes $120M fund for cleantech
The Westly Group, the firm founded and managed by former California state controller and financial officer Steve Westly, just closed a $120 million fund to fuel revenue-generating cleantech companies. With 13 companies already in the Menlo Park, Calif. firm’s portfolio — including crown jewel investment… Continue Reading
Tesla continues winning streak with new $82.5M
Tesla Motors, the anointed leader in the electric vehicle market, has raised $82.5 million in a sixth round of funding from Daimler, Fjord Capital Partners, Aabar and other undisclosed investors. The amount has been tacked on to the $50 million the San Carlos, Calif. company… Continue Reading
Think secures $47M, will begin making electric cars again soon
Think, the Norwegian maker of cute, recyclable electric cars, suspended production last December after running out of money. But the company has emerged from court-protected bankruptcy with its debt restructured and $47M in new funding led by U.S. firm Ener1, Finnish Valmet Automotive and Norway’s… Continue Reading
ZAP lands $25M, branches into full-size electric vehicles
ZAP, a company known for building electric motorcycles and three-wheel cars, has just raised $25 million in capital and plans to use the money to jump headlong into full-size electric vehicles. To buoy this effort, it is also seeking $200 million in stimulus loans from… Continue Reading
Tesla spared from raising equity to match federal loans
Tesla Motors, recent recipient of $465 million in low-cost federal loans via the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, won’t have to raise new matching funds to qualify like other recipients. Instead, it says it will dig into its revenue from car… Continue Reading
Tesla opens showroom in New York with new Roadster model
It’s a big news day at Tesla Motors, the electric car maker that just saw 4 percent of its shares go to Abu Dhabi firm Aabar Investments, earlier this week. It also opened a shiny new 4,700 square-foot showroom in Chelsea, the heart of Manhattan’s… Continue Reading
Daimler passes 4 percent of Tesla to Abu Dhabi firm
Just two months ago, Daimler made news with its purchase of a 10 percent stake in electric vehicle front-runner Tesla Motors — but it’s already scaled back its ownership, offloading 40 percent of its holdings to Aabar Investments, a firm based in Abu Dhabi, United… Continue Reading
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).
Hostility… 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.
Reservations… 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