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Revozport ready for Tesla Model S with R-Zentric line of mods [w/video]

If you're going to drop $15 grand or so boosting your Tesla Model S's output to 691 horsepower (as if the all-electric sedan doesn't have enough guts as it is), what's another $6,000 to blow on a really cool spoiler kit. Because you do want to keep that car as low to the ground as possible, right? Hong Kong aftermarket specialist Revozport, which has worked with McLaren, Lamborghini and Nissan on various aftermarket kits, is offering drivers of the Model S its so-called R-Zentric product line to sport things up further with touches such as side skirts, front splitters and trunk-lip spoilers. Prices start at $765 for the trunk spoiler and work their way up to $5,690 for the "complete aerokit." Then, there's the option of blowing $11,000 for Klassen 22-inch forged wheels. Sporty. Take a closer look at the Tesla options here and see an animated video (no shots of the car in action, sadly) below. We last reported on Revozport in 2012 with its Mini Targa Raze, which, depending on the option, tuned up the little droptop's motor by 69 horsepower to 250 horsepower while pulling 66 pounds off the little car thanks to kevlar and carbon parts. The company has also worked on customization kits for the Volkswagen Golf GTI. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Investigators Find No Defect Trend With Tesla Motors' Model S

Federal safety investigators said Friday they have found no apparent defect trends in the Tesla Model S, an electric luxury car that has its share of fans and critics. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed a four-month investigation into whether the car's batteries were at heightened risk for underbody strikes and subsequent fires. Even though no defect trend was found, Tesla Motors said in a written statement it would further protect the bottom of its cars with a reinforced underbody shield. The California-based automaker started adding the shields on March 6 and will retrofit older models free of charge. It will also increase the ground clearance of new cars. "This fix should eliminate the potential of a battery-pack fire under all but the most extreme circumstances," said Karl Brauer, a senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book. Although there are more than 194,000 car fires in the United States every year, NHTSA investigators began a preliminary investigation into potential trouble on Nov. 15, 2013 following two Model S fires, one in Tennessee and one in Washington. No one was injured or killed in either fire. Roadway debris punctured the battery pack near the front of the compartments in both cases, damaging the batteries' lithium ion cells that then began "thermal runaway" events. The opposite ends of the debris had dug into the pavement and jutted upward. Tesla called this a "piking effect." The company said it has conducted 152 vehicle level tests, and that the new shields prevented any damage or penetration of the new shields. The first is a rounded, hollow aluminum bar that's followed by a titanium plate. The third layer of protection is made of solid aluminum. (There's video of the new plates in action on the Tesla Motors website). "We have tried every worst-case debris impact we can think of, including hardened steel structures set in the ideal position for a piking event," Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk wrote on the company's blog," essentially equivalent to driving a car at highway speed, into a steel spear braced on the tarmac." Approximately 15,805 vehicles are eligible for the upgrades, which NHTSA says should reduce the frequency of underbody strikes and subsequent fire risks. But the agency did note that the closing of the investigation did not necessarily constitute a finding that a defect does not exist. "The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by new circumstances," it said.

Chinese Tesla Model S buyers to get free license plate... a $15k value

Tesla buyers in in Shanghai, China, are getting even more of an incentive to choose its electric sedans. Each purchase of a Model S in the city will come with a free license plate.
That might not sound very important, but Shanghai operates under a government-organized auction system to distribute plates. Last year, they were selling for as much as $15,000, according to Car News China. The measure is a way to control the number of cars on the road, which contribute to the city's bad traffic and poor air quality.
Electric cars are exempt from the auctions and get a free license plate. However, that rule only covers Chinese-made electric cars. Obviously, Tesla doesn't build cars there (at least for now). But the Shanghai government will exempt 3,000 foreign electric cars per automaker to receive free plates, according to CNC. After they are gone, the company would have to go back and ask for more.