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Demand for electric car rentals unplugged by range anxiety

It's the hurdle that electric vehicles must clear to be launched into the mainstream: range anxiety. But this time it isn't prospective customers who worry about running out of juice, Bloomberg reports, but renters who return to car rental agencies before their lease is up and trade their EVs in for more traditional gasoline-powered autos and gas-electric hybrids.
"People are very keen to try [electric vehicles], but they will switch out of the contract part way through ... they think they can't get to a charging station," says Lee Broughton, head of sustainability at Enterprise. Enterprise customers who rent EVs reportedly trade them in 1.6 days into the rental period on average, which compares unfavorably to the six- to seven-day rental periods of traditional, fuel-burning automobiles.
Christopher Agnew, an analyst at MKM Holdings LLC, says that longer range would help rental customers' range anxiety, especially since they are usually renting vehicles in unfamiliar places.

That time Elon Musk got a speeding ticket showing off the Tesla Model S to Johnny Depp

Transcendence is a Johnny Depp vehicle that opens at movie theaters this weekend. The Tesla Model S is a Elon Musk vehicle that easily transcends the speed limits. What do these two seemingly unassociated facts share in common? A speeding ticket. It seems a few cast members of the sci-fi film – which is not at all remotely anything like The Lawnmower Man – including the aforementioned Depp, were being given an on-road demonstration of the all-electric sedan by the automaker's CEO when they were pulled over for speeding. According to a report in the Sun tabloid, Musk visited the set where he was introduced to Depp by director Wally Pfister. This led to the trio, along with co-stars Rebecca Hall and Paul Bettany, all piling into the car for a bit of a joy ride. Apparently, Musk got a little too joyous with the accelerator and they were soon pulled over by an officer of the law, who was neither star-struck nor amused by the antics of the assembled celebrities. Depp is quoted as saying, "Elon had a good sense of humour about it. The cop did not. He needed a humor chip. But it was a good time, nonetheless." We don't know if the excursion led to any Model S sales, but we can say that the prolific movie star definitely enjoyed the adventure. "I had one of the best experiences I've ever had," Depp said. While we (sadly) don't have footage from the incident to share, you can scroll below for the official trailer from Transcendence. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Governor Rick Perry backs bid for Tesla Stores in Texas

It's funny how the prospect of a $5-billion investment in a state has the ability to focus minds. Take Texas, for example. The Lone Star State has long had laws prohibiting automakers from selling directly to consumers, even if the manufacturer didn't already sell through franchise dealerships. Last year, a bill went to the legislature that would have allowed Tesla Motors to sell directly to its customers, but despite entreaties and a visit from CEO Elon Musk, lawmakers didn't pass it. Sure, Texans can still buy the a Model S, but the process is a bit cumbersome. With the prospect of an expensive battery gigafactory and the jobs it would bring, however, Texas Governor Rick Perry taken to the airwaves cable news outlet Fox Business to make his supportive position known. To be fair, the one-time Republican Presidential hopeful has been in favor of Tesla's sales model for some time. The difference now is he is being proactively vocal about it. Appearing on Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo, Perry spent close to eight minutes pitching a new approach to dealership laws in his state, at one point referring to the traditional dealer model as "antiquated" and encouraging legislators to have an "open and thoughtful" conversation and decide whether or not they want to lead the country when it comes to manufacturing. If you think that he has become warm and fuzzy about environmental issues, Perry reminds us after a brief discussion on 2014 and 2016 elections – yes, he may run again – that he has no qualms about continuing to rely on fossil fuels, stating that he thinks the most important thing the federal government can do to impact the economy right now is to "say yes" to the Keystone XL pipeline. You can view the segment in its entirety be simply scrolling below.