Tesla’s solar-powered super chargers — which can charge Model S cars in 30 minutes — have officially hit the east coast. Last week Tesla announced it had installed two fast chargers, one in Connecticut and one in Delaware. Read more »
In 2013 cleantech investing will move toward companies serving unsubsidized markets where software plays a role in reducing power consumption. In many ways this is a return to plays for energy efficiency, and there’s still money to be made from business models built around saving energy. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
In a new filing SolarCity says it plans to sell 11.5 million shares at $8 per share, well below its previous range of $13 – $15 per share. However the IPO seems to be still moving, and only slipped past its original deadline to price Tuesday night. Read more »
Three companies that made aggressive bets on the future of electric cars — A123 Systems, Fisker Automotive and Better Place — are now facing major problems financially and commercially. Read more »
Tesla Motors plans to raise the price of its second electric car, the sedan the Model S, by just $2,500. The price boost goes into effect on January 1, 2013. Read more »
Solar installer and financier SolarCity has set the terms for its planned IPO, and plans to sell 10.1 million shares at between $13 and $15 per share. At the midpoint the company would raise $141 million. Read more »
Will solar rooftop installer, and financier, SolarCity hold its IPO before the end of the year? If so, the company could break the dry spell for venture-backed solar and next-gen energy startups, and also deliver Tesla CEO Elon Musk another win. Read more »
Tesla caught the attention of the mainstream automotive world this week, taking home Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award. As the company sets its sights for a mass market EV, we discussed Tesla’s future with Motor Trend Editor in Chief Ed Loh. Read more »
As Obama is projected to have won the Presidential election, clean energy and cleantech supporters cheer and hope for four more years of support for the development of next-gen energy technologies. Read more »
Designing a store that’s not about selling products, but is instead about delighting and engaging with the customer may be the future of retail if George Blankenship of Tesla Motors has his way. Blankenship shares his retail vision honed at Apple and at Tesla. Read more »
Tesla was in danger of missing its delivery goals for its Model S by a wide margin earlier this year. But the company has now been able to achieve its scaled-back milestones in the third quarter. Read more »
Introducing RoadMap Book, which we’ve designed and printed to exclusively give to all our RoadMap attendees. RoadMap, coming up on November 5th in San Francisco, is focused on design in the age of connectedness, and our book features interviews and essays from thought leaders. Read more »
Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk says Tesla has now assembled 1,000 bodies for its Model S electric car. The company is going through a difficult period right now of needing to ramp up production quickly for the remainder of 2012. Read more »
What happened in cleantech on GigaOM Pro?: a hot new report on next-gen battery innovations, a column on why design matters for cleantech, and much more. Read more »
The market for electric cars is so new that Tesla wants (and needs) to help build out the charging infrastructure, which is one of the industry’s biggest barriers. Tesla’s first six solar-powered fast chargers are now live (and free) for Model S owners. Read more »
What happened this week in cleantech on GigaOM Pro, our premium research service? — The opportunities and risks in the share economy, the third quarter dreary cleantech figures, Google Ventures explains why it backed Nest, and Calxeda forecasts its next low power chip. Read more »
SolarCity started off as an installer of small solar electric systems on residential and commercial rooftops. It’s since moved into new lines of businesses, including the construction of solar farms for utilities. Read more »
This quarter Tesla’s production schedule came under fire, and share economy leaders Airbnb raised cash while Zipcar struggled with its membership model. Meanwhile the Indian power outage in July prompted questions about how the developing economy will power itself. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Electric car maker Tesla Motors has been awarded a $10 million grant from California regulators to help it build the Model X. Tesla will match those funds with $50 million of its own money and ultimately hire some 700 workers in 2014 to build Model X’s. Read more »
Tesla is a high risk venture because it’s a one product company, trying to do something that’s never been done. That means risks like a narrow list of suppliers, a new retail model, and the biggest risk of all — recalls. Read more »
SolarCity publicly disclosed its documents for its planned IPO on Friday, giving us a look at some of its risk factors. Those include that the company is being investigated by the Inspector General about the Treasury Grant program. Read more »
Solyndra not surprisingly got a mention in the first Presidential debates on Wednesday night as a symbol of misplaced spending. But another cleantech company surprisingly got lumped into the mix, too: Tesla. My thoughts: Tesla is no Solyndra. Read more »
Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk speaks out on why Tesla is raising more money, why the production has been pushed back and just what were the changes to the DOE loan agreement. Read more »
Almost one in four electric cars sold by 2020 in the U.S. will be in California, according to a new report from Pike Research. Read more »
Electric car company Tesla plans to unveil the details and deployment plans for its super charger technology. Previously Tesla has said it will build a super charger station between LA and SF that will fully charge a Tesla battery in 30 minutes. Read more »
Want to get your hands on an early Tesla Model S electric car next month, but haven’t gotten in the reservation line? Try eBay. There’s one starting at $145,000 on the online auction site. Read more »
Electric car startup Coda Automotive joins the ranks of its peers that have recalled early cars because of faulty parts. On Sunday Coda recalled 78 of its electric sedans because of a mis-installed side curtain air bag. Read more »
Electric car maker Tesla Motors faces one of the toughest times in its history in the fourth quarter of this year. The company’s got to ramp up production of its Model S to be able to deliver thousands of the cars, and make no mistakes. Read more »
Walmart will be getting battery storage combined with its solar panels, courtesy of SolarCity. It’s a big deal because battery grid storage has been prohibitively expensive and is still in an early stage. Read more »
Remember back in 2008 when Tesla decided to move the production of its Model S electric car from New Mexico to California? Well, so does the developer that was going to build the facility — they’re suing Tesla for breach of contract and fraud. Read more »
The worst blackout in a decade hit Northern India on Monday forcing 370 million people to go without power. While blackouts are a huge problem for the country, they’re a massive opportunity for next-generation energy technologies like clean power, and the smart grid. Read more »
It all started with a breakfast buffet and some leftover French toast. That was when Dan Blake, the CEO of composting soil startup EcoScraps, says he realized he wanted to make a business off of collecting food waste and turning it into something useful. Read more »
Energy storage companies, like battery makers, and solar firms have been talking about the possible marriage of the two technologies for some time. And the union will likely be a big theme at Intersolar, one of the biggest solar energy trade shows in the U.S. Read more »
Overall, between 2012 and 2017, more than 900,000 light-duty PEVs will be sold in the United States. But there remain hefty inhibitors to mainstream plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) use, including limited vehicle driving range and large battery packs, not to mention steep prices. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Zipcar tweaks its pricing (a sign of increasing competition), scientists peg the cost of climate change at $1,240 trillion, and there’s a new fuel cell outta an MIT lab that uses vanadium oxide as the anode to both generate and store energy. Today in cleantech! Read more »
Electric car maker Tesla Motors officially handed off the first ten of its Model S electric cars at a launch event at its factory in Fremont, Calif. on Friday. Here’s our photos from the event. Read more »
Tesla Motors investor, and DBL Investor’s Partner, Nancy Pfund has been waiting about three years to get her Model S electric sedan. Pfund is one of a group of customers that will receive their Model S cars during a big media event at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif. on Friday. Read more »
Have strong opinions about Tesla’s electric sedan the Model S? It’s officially shipping starting this Friday and represents a new chapter for the Silicon Valley firm. Take our survey and weigh in on it. Any chance you’ll reserve or buy one? Read more »
The market for solar panels might be booming in the U.S., but it’s still early days for matching battery systems with solar panel installations. But that’s not stopping battery maker Saft from looking to make batteries a natural extension of a solar panel system. Read more »
Tesla investor Steve Jurvetson — a partner with Draper Fisher Jurvetson — drove off in the very first Model S electric car recently and just published this video and photo to prove it on his Flickr feed. Read more »
