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Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla's usable battery capacity uncovered, Opel Ampera-e costlier than BMW i3 in Norway

Tesla hacker Jason Hughes has uncovered the actual usable capacity of Tesla's batteries. While total capacity is used in the branding of the various versions of the Model S and Model X, the usable capacity is usually less than the "75" or "90" on the badge suggests. The outlier is the Model S 60 and 60D, and Model X 60D, which use the same battery pack as the 75 versions. They have 62.4 usable kWh, and a paid upgrade unlocks another 10.2 kWh in usable capacity for a total of 72.6 kWh – not 75 – plus a top speed of 140 mph. Hughes gathered the data from Tesla's Battery Management System software, and made a list of usable capacity for each model. Read more at Electrek. Opel has priced the Ampera-e higher than the BMW i3 and Nissan Leaf in Norway. In its first European market, the overseas sibling to the Chevrolet Bolt will start at 299,900 kroner (about $34,585). The i3 starts at 267,500 kroner ($30,850), while the Leaf costs 204,990 kroner ($23,640). Opel is launching the Ampera-e first in countries with more EV infrastructure. The automaker says the car's pricing in Norway is unique because of the country's EV incentives and market conditions, and that one shouldn't extrapolate Norway's price to other markets. Read more at Automotive News Europe. Renault has placed Gilles Normand in charge of its EV unit. After holding important roles at both Renault and Nissan, Normand will lead the French automaker's electric car business as it prepares for a period of accelerated growth. Renault enjoys a 25 percent market share of EVs in Europe, selling more than 100,000 since 2012. "I am very motivated by this new strategic challenge at a time when the Global EV market is entering into a significant growth phase," says Normand, who steps into the role on January 1, 2017. "I look forward to working with the team to continue to drive our leadership in existing and new markets, and bring exciting EV vehicles to our customers." Read more from Automotive News Europe, or from Renault.

New Tesla, McLaren, and Ferrari models added to Takata recall list

UPDATE: A McLaren spokesperson confirmed to Autoblog that "a number" of McLaren models in the US, Japan, and South Korea will be recalled to fix non-dessicated airbag inflators. However, the recall only affects passenger airbags, as all driver's-side inflators use a different technology and are not affected. The timeline is still being determined. It's been more than two and a half years since the Takata airbag recall first made waves. Despite knowing which airbags were at fault and the exact cause of the failure, manufacturers like Audi, Ferrari, McLaren, and Tesla have been building and selling cars with defective airbags. Although it takes several years for the airbag to degrade to the point of failure, all of these new cars will eventually have to be recalled for replacements. It appears that time has come, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has now issued a recall on some of these new models. Models from Tesla and McLaren have been added to NHTSA's recall list for the first time. Tesla is recalling every 2012 - 2016 Model S while McLaren is bringing back every model it's made since relaunching its road-car business in 2012. Not even the P1 is free from failure. Other automakers have expanded their affected-vehicle list. All of Ferrari's 2016 - 2017 lineup now falls under the recall and joins a number of previously recalled models, while Audi is recalling the 2017 R8. Since the recall started, dozens of automakers have recalled millions of affected cars to replace potentially fatal and highly flawed airbags that can deploy bits of metal at occupants. Eleven deaths in the United States are directly related to the faulty airbags. Before the recall, Takata held a sizable share of the airbag market. When the failures began to occur, some automakers were left with no alternative suppliers. As it takes a few years for the airbags to fail, automakers without other options faced a choice: they could either build cars that would be recalled in the future or stop building cars altogether until a secondary supplier could be found. These recalls seem to be happening so frequently that owners may not know what to do or where to check to see if their car is potentially affected. NHTSA is keeping a comprehensive list of all affected models. Their website can help owners determine if they have a potentially problematic airbag installed and the steps to take to replace it.

This map shows where Tesla can and can't sell cars

The fine folks at Mojo Motors recently put together a US map showing where the Tesla Model S electric vehicles can and can't be legally sold. They marked the "legal" states in blue, "illegal" states in red and "in legislation" states in that proverbial gray area. And darn if that colorful map didn't match up pretty well with a political-party map of the country. 24 states are technically Tesla-ready. Of the 50 US states, 24 states are technically Tesla-ready, in addition to Washington, DC. And while some (California, New York, Massachusetts and Washington State) were pretty obvious, others (Mississippi and Georgia, for example) surprised us a little. We were also interested to see that Arizona and West Virginia were marked as "in legislation" but Ohio and New Jersey were not, given the fights there. In any case, Texas is red. Bright red. Tesla Supercharger locations are also marked, but Tesla's constantly updated map is likely a better source for that info after a few weeks have passed. If you'd like to dig into the nitty gritty of the various dealer franchise laws, then use the same source that Mojo Motors' marketing manager Max Katsarelas used to make the map, an article in the Georgia State University Law Review from 2002. Check out footnote 153 on page 23 for all the details. While he did integrate current news reports, Katsarelas told AutoblogGreen that he had to update the map recently after finding out that Oregon and Indiana do allow Tesla sales. With the ongoing legislation fights, we don't expect this map to remain current all that long. Still, you can even click it to enlarge. The legality of Tesla being able to sell directly to consumers without third-party dealership franchises could some day change from the patchwork you see above into a single color. Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) went on record as saying that Missouri and New Jersey should reconsider its policies that would prevent automakers from direct consumer sales. It's not a national rule, but it is a step in that direction.