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Tesla talking about first European factory, but it won't happen soon

Tesla Motors is, as always, thinking big. The company already has a factory in California with a lot of empty space. But with Model S deliveries happening in Europe and a right-hand drive version just launched in the UK, CEO Elon Musk is already talking about building EVs in Europe. We did some math and let's just say we think any such facility is likely a long way off. The California-based company plans on eventually building a factory in Europe, Automotive News Europe says, citing an interview with Musk. But Musk says Tesla would have to sell 160,000 vehicles a year in Europe to justify such a factory. Musk sees that many sales as a given, eventually, and is planning on building an R&D center in the UK within the next two years while expanding its assembly factory in the Netherlands. "It will take Tesla a bit longer to ramp up in Western Europe than in the US" – Ed Kim But just how long might it take to get to that 160,000 figure across the Pond? Well, through the first four months of the year, Tesla sold 3,467 units of its Model S electric sedans in Europe, Automotive News says, citing research firm JATO Dynamics. Extrapolating from Tesla's first-quarter 2014 delivery numbers (the company doesn't publish monthly sales totals), Tesla sold about 8,600 Model S sedans worldwide through April. Even if Tesla speeds things up in Europe this year and approaches, say, 15,000 units, that's still less than 10 percent of Musk's goal. Even with new models, 15,000 is a long way from 160,000, and it appears that Tesla will grow slower in Europe than it has in the US. "It will take Tesla a bit longer to ramp up in Western Europe than in the US," Ed Kim, vice president of industry analysis at AutoPacific, told AutoblogGreen. "This is partially due to infrastructure issues. In the US, most potential Tesla customers live in detached single family homes, making installation of a personal charging infrastructure at home a snap. In Western Europe, many potential customers – even affluent ones – live in communal living situations like condos and apartments. And even having assigned parking does not guarantee that they would be able to install chargers there." Earlier this year, Tesla dropped the prices of its Model S in Europe because of the strengthening of the Euro. The company initially priced the Model S in the UK at almost $20,000 above the US base price.

Elon Musk says yes to The Oatmeal's $8M request for Nikola Tesla museum

Matthew Inman is known for his lengthy, often wordy online comics called The Oatmeal. He's also a huge fan of Nikola Tesla, and helped gather $1.37 million via crowdfunding in 2012 to buy up Tesla's laboratory and set the stage for a Tesla museum, the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe. It was such an Internet hit that Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk even chipped in $2,500 and Tweeted that he "will do more in the future." Well, Inman is getting ready to call in that favor. Yesterday, The Oatmeal published a glowing review of sorts on how great the all-electric Model S is (slightly NSFW). In it we learned that Inman is bonkers in love with his EV, calling it his "intergalactic spaceboat of light and wonder" and saying the acceleration is "freaky." He adores the door handles, the frunk, the advanced powertrain and pretty much everything else. In fact, part one is so positive it reads like an over-the-top Tesla advertorial. But then comes part two, where Inman gets down to business. Musk simply said, "I would be happy to help." See, the $1.37 million was used to buy Nikola Tesla's property but was not enough to actually, you know, build the museum. To do that, the Science Center needs another $8 million. And guess who has those kinds of funds? How about a billionaire who is using the Tesla name and is already a fan of the museum idea? That's right, one Elon Musk. And part 2 of The Oatmeal's comic is an argument for why Musk should fork over the $8 million to help pay for the museum. Inman says it is, "A polite request from a humongous fan" and adds that, "You owe us nothing, and you've done nothing but good things in the name of Nikola Tesla. But the fact remains: Tesla Motors, a company now worth billions, is using Nikola Tesla's name, and they're using his technology, and all we want in return is a little bit of help." Inman says that $8 million is "the bare minimum to build, staff, and maintain a Nikola Tesla Museum," and that the number was reached after getting "countless estimates from site planners, architects, and museum curators from all around the world." Something like $6 million would be good, he writes, but, "any less than $8M would pretty much leave us in the same boat we're in now." Tesla hasn't offered up an official statement, but on Twitter, Musk simply said, "I would be happy to help." Not sure what that means, exactly, but it's probably not going to make Inman hate his car any time soon.

Tesla's ZEV credit allotment changing under new CARB rules

Could the California Air Resources Board (CARB) be taking a $55-million bite out of Tesla Motors' profits? The state regulator, which grants zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits for automakers making plug-in vehicles, is planning to reduce the number of credits generated by each Model S battery-electric sedan from seven to four, Bloomberg News reports. That means the California-based automaker will have fewer credits to sell to big buyers such as General Motors and Chrysler, who don't make enough ZEVs on their own to comply with state mandates. While the selling price for these credits isn't disclosed (they're private transactions), the market was a lucrative one for Tesla, which generated $129.8 million in revenue from California zero-emissions credit sales and about another $65 million selling US Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) credits last year. All told, California and federal zero-emissions credit sales accounted for about 10 percent of Tesla's sales last year. A Tesla representative didn't immediately respond to a request from AutoblogGreen for comment. This issue first came up last year when CARB hinted that it wouldn't give Tesla credit for having a battery-swapping option as it's method for quick-fueling compliance. Tesla, which appears to have been preparing for just this scenario, has been collecting revenue on credits since 2010 and achieved its first-ever profitable quarter in the first quarter of 2013 because of such credits. While the maximum number of zero-emissions credits a vehicle could garner was increased from seven to nine in the new rules, Tesla can't take advantage of that because it meets neither of the most stringent criteria: that the car in question is rated to go more than 300 miles on a full tank or battery and be able to be "filled up" (or fully charged, in this case) within 15 minutes. Those are more hydrogen fuel-cell-like targets, but Tesla has the EVs that come closest to meeting them.