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Is Tesla's next project an F-150 competitor? [w/poll]

What's the future look like for Tesla after it launches the Model X CUV and possibly a smaller, sub-Model S sedan? Would you believe a pickup truck? Yes, Tesla could be looking to use its EV know-how to take the fight to Ford and the F-150, based on comments made by company founder Elon Musk.
"If you're trying to replace the most gasoline miles driven, you have to look at what people are buying," Musk said during an impromptu Q&A session following a speech at Business Insider's Ignition conference. "[The F-150 is] the best selling car in America. If people are voting that's their car, then that's the car we have to deliver."
And while the idea of electric pickup may sound kind of absurd to some, Musk makes a very valid point - if Tesla's goal is to replace gas miles with electrical miles, it simply can't afford to ignore pickups.

Elon Musk says 'right on' to letter asking for new Model S features

If you want to get Tesla CEO Elon Musk's attention, taking out a full-page ad in his local newspaper will apparently do the trick. That's what two self-proclaimed "very highly satisfied" Model S owners did, asking for a few small changes in the popular EV. In response, Musk Tweeted a picture of the ad and wrote, "Ad taken out in Palo Alto Daily [News] by two Model S owners is right. Many of the suggestions will be implemented soon." The ad also appeared in the Palo Alto Weekly. You can see all of the requests by clicking the image above, but we'll mention some of them here. Improved voice-activated phone dialing, better sensors (like blind-spot monitors), redesigned sun visor, automatically closing charging port door and then the big one: Tesla ads. Tesla isn't talking about when the new features will be available, but if any of those items are unlikely in the near future, it's Tesla advertisements. After all, why pay for media attention when a simple Tweet about other people paying for your ad can get tremendous amounts of attention?

China Tesla driver goes crowd-funding route to get chargers installed

Tesla Motors has at least one Chinese businessman in its corner. Andrew Zong, CEO of heat-pump maker PHNIX, recently engaged in a bit of crowd-funding to establish a charging network for new owners of the Model S battery-electric sedan throughout at least part of the world's most populous nation. And it's good publicity, of course. Zong hatched a plan to buy 20 electric-vehicle chargers from Tesla after picking up his new sedan in Beijing and realizing he'd have a hard time recharging in on the 1,300-mile drive south to Guangzhou. Zong then went onto online sites such as WeChat and Weibo and solicited volunteers to install his chargers. And after more than 3,000 miles worth of driving (or about a dozen or so odd recharging sessions), Zong got his 20 chargers installed. You can read PHNIX's press release below. Zong's efforts are a far cry from those of fellow Chinese businessman Zhan Baosheng, who registered for the trademark on the Tesla name in the country in 2006. Zhan, who has long been scuffling with the California-based automaker, recently sued Tesla for trademark infringement and was seeking almost $4 million in damages. That would buy a lot of chargers. Crazy Charging Plans for Tesla GUANGZHOU, China, July 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- "When I picked up my Tesla in Beijing, I realized that it's impossible to drive it back to Guangzhou as there are hardly any places to recharge the batteries," Andrew Zong, the CEO of PHNIX and also one of the first Chinese Tesla owners, said this to reporters. As a result, Andrew Zong got a crazy plan that by utilizing the power of the Internet and folk strength, he could make the first charging facility network in China to solve the electric vehicles' charging problems. With this plan, Andrew Zong bought a batch of original chargers for Tesla and promised that he would donate all the chargers to new-energy-loving car owners. Next Andrew Zong posted on online social network platforms, like WeChat and Weibo, to recruit volunteers who were willing to provide installation sites and offer free charging service for Tesla motors. During the next three days, there were thousands of volunteers applying to install charging piles at their places. Taken everything into consideration, 20 of the volunteers were selected. During the following twenty days, Andrew Zong and his companions have self-driven his Tesla for 5,750 kilometers via sixteen cities, in which they have donated twenty charging piles.