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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla factory loses power, plant genes modified for biofuel

Tesla's Fremont factory was shut down on Friday morning when a crane knocked out power to the facility. No injuries were reported and Tesla didn't say what effect the outage would have on production. Read more from SFGate or from CNBC. Researchers have genetically modified a plant for lower-viscosity seed oil to make biodiesel. With the viscosity of many plant-based oils being too high for use in modern high-pressure conditions required by emissions laws, this breakthrough is promising. Kansas State University scientists have added Euonymous Alatus (burning bush) genes to the Camelina Sativa plant to produce a thinner seed oil more suited for use in biofuels. Camelina grows easily, and since it isn't a food crop, concerns of genetic modifications are minimal. Testing of the oil in fuel could begin next year, after harvesting a large enough supply. Read more from Green Car Reports and from The Topeka Capital-Journal. The EPA's Mobile Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES) could cause problems for higher ethanol blends. According to an editorial from Urban Air Initiative president David VanderGriend, MOVES is biased against ethanol blends, using test fuels that don't reflect the characteristics of real-world consumer fuels. "We must stop the MOVES model from being implemented, or all of the industry's other initiatives will be undermined," says VanderGriend. "States will have their hands tied and will simply not be allowed to approve higher blends." Read the column from Ethanol Producer Magazine. A Citroen C-Zero driver experienced unexpected fees when turning in the car at the end of its lease. The final bill included inspection and transportation fees under the "Damages" section of the report, totaling over GBP300 (about $470). The author has found no mention or documentation of such fees prior to collection, and is contesting the charges. Read more at EV Meerkat, where the author will update readers while Citroen customer service looks into the matter. Featured Gallery Tesla Factory Related Gallery Citroen C-Zero News Source: SFGate, CNBC, Green Car Reports, The Topeka Capital-Journal, Ethanol Producer Magazine, EV MeerkatImage Credit: AP Photo/Paul Sakuma Government/Legal Green Plants/Manufacturing Tesla Citroen Alternative Fuels Biodiesel Ethanol recharge wrapup

Why is Tesla getting more and more secretive?

Tesla's unorthodox vision and the even more unorthodox means it is using to achieve that vision have made it what it is: a tiny company with an overachieving product and an oversized stock valuation and voice in the global EV discussion. However, one of its unorthodox practices has been giving investors pause for a year now: not divulging information in its quarterly reports that could be taken as adverse developments. An article in Seeking Alpha called "The Incredible Shrinking Tesla Disclosure" lays out the timelines and details to support one analyst's suspicions for why Tesla will no longer say how many reservations it has, how many cars it's building, and where those cars are going. The company has never reported sales by month, not in the US or any other market. However, for more than two years it provided the number of reservations it had, but stopped that practice in Q1 of 2013 after it revamped its reservation process to allow prospective buyers to customize a Model S in three steps and place a non-binding order, rather than place their names on a list. The change meant, to Tesla, that the new reservations numbers wouldn't accurately correspond to the previous numbers, so they disappeared to be replaced by general numbers preceded by phrases like "were over" or "up from about." Yet Tesla still calls that three-stop process "a reservation" and continues to give them general numbers, and those numbers have gone down. Analysts take that as one instance of Tesla going dark when a metric heads down. Then, again after years of doing so, the company stopped reporting deliveries by market. Instead of investors and analysts getting a breakout of how many cars went to each market - the US, Europe, the Asia-Pacific - Tesla only provided a global delivery number, which Tesla says is how many cars were delivered to customers. Observers, having tried to parse the numbers and detected a downturn in US sales, and knowing China is missing its targets, said this was the second instance of Tesla getting quiet about numbers it didn't like. The third instance is production numbers, which didn't make an appearance in the Q3 report of 2014. Tesla used to say how many cars it had built in the quarter, but in its last report it said instead that production was affected by a two-week shutdown to retool its factory in Fremont, California, and it wouldn't predict production for the coming quarter, either - something else it formerly did.

Tesla puts emphasis on hiring military veterans

When we think of American car companies, brands that come to mind immediately are Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and if you're an AutoblogGreen reader, Tesla Motors. The California-based maker of electric vehicles doesn't treat that lightly, as we find in an article from the San Jose Mercury News, which profiles the company's efforts to reach out to and hire US military veterans. "We want to be known throughout the veteran community as a great place to work," says Tesla's vice president of human resources, Arnnon Geshuri. Tesla appears to be achieving that goal, and is just getting started. Tesla has risen to the top among workplaces for veterans. Already, about 300 of Tesla's 6,000 or so employees are veterans, or about five percent, with another 600 vets currently involved in the hiring process. Tesla continues to seek out vets to fill its ranks, and for good reason. VetJobs CEO and president Ted Daywalt points out that veterans communicate especially well with each other, having experience in military speak, which is helpful in the workplace. Daywalt notes that "Tesla has risen to the top" among workplaces for veterans. Tesla works to recruit veterans directly, through word of mouth and veterans groups and at events like job fairs. For Tesla, veterans also bring special expertise that lends itself well to building electric cars. Besides their technical knowledge about mechanics and electronics, they also excel in teamwork, discipline and leadership skills. Tesla holds regular casual meetings for vets, where they can get to know each other and share their own ideas for how the company can improve itself. The relationship between Tesla Motors and its veteran employees is a mutually beneficial one. Tesla gets a disciplined workforce with unique qualifications, and the veterans have an easier time transitioning back to normal life when returning from duty. Having a job waiting for them when they get home is a benefit for vets, as is working for a company that is flexible with their schedules for those who are still enlisted. Tesla held employee Megan Gates' position while she was on duty for two years, and she remains comfortable balancing her National Guard service with her work. "I give Tesla my schedule and say 'these are the weekends I need to leave,' and they work around that schedule," she says. "Everyone here is so supportive." Remember the good old days, when Tesla made its employees work like 68 hours a week?