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Michigan gets into anti-Tesla legislation game

If you figured the home of the US car industry would be against messing with the age-old, franchised-dealer auto distribution system, you'd be right. Michigan, home to the Big Three US automotive companies (General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, now Fiat Chrysler), is moving towards officially disallowing companies like Tesla Motors from selling their cars directly to consumers, according to the Wall Street Journal. Tesla will naturally fight this, but it's one more challenge for the California-based automaker. Both chambers of Michigan's legislature approved bills banning automakers from selling cars to the public without doing so through a third-party franchised dealership. Tesla once again will rally against this, arguing that the uniqueness of its electric vehicles prevents third-party dealers from properly marketing the cars. Legislation like this continues to make its way through various states, with varying degrees of approval. Last month, the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association stated its intention to shut down Tesla's one state store and prevent two planned outlets from opening. Texas, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Arizona have also taken a hardline approach to preventing direct automaker-to-public sales. Tesla has worked out compromises in other areas, for example with Pennsylvania in August. There, electric vehicles are now exempted from the franchised-dealer mandate.

Tesla drops Model S prices in Europe due to strengthening euro [UPDATE]

Tesla Motors has been thinking about European Model S sales for years, but things haven't always gone as planned. While sales have been brisk in Norway, the car is less popular in places like Germany, where sales have been slow - less than 100 units sold in the first two months - according to Inside EVs, which prompted the introduction of a special Autobahn package. To reverse the trend, Tesla is putting on its finest plaid polyester suit and is slashing prices like they're going out of style. Yes, we know Tesla doesn't have traditional dealerships and the whole suit thing is an old stereotype, but sometimes you just gotta run with it. Tesla PR in America hasn't responded to our request for confirmation (see update below), but online sources show the drops are fairly substantial. In Germany, for example, Tesla has dropped almost 7,000 euros ($9,700 US at today's exchange rate) off the price, down to 65,300 euros ($90,600), while in Holland, the new price is down 4,000 ($5,500) euros to 66,200 ($91,900). No reason was given for these drops, but we can't help but suspect that demand isn't too strong at the moment. To help increase sales, Tesla recently announced an expansion of its Supercharger network on the continent. The price of the Model S has not dropped in the US, where the base model starts at $69,900 before incentives. *UPDATE: Tesla's director of global communications, Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, said that our speculation that demand is low is "simply incorrect." She added: "Changes were made two months ago to all the base prices of Model S across our markets in the Euro-zone due to the strengthening of the Euro. We continuously evaluate currency fluctuations to be able to offer our customers the best price for Model S. Prolonged currency exchange rate fluctuations are the reason for the adjustment of the base pricing of the car."

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla battery drain reported; ELF two-seater solar trike

Biofuel company KiOR has filed for bankruptcy. KiOR, which was born out of a partnership between Khosla Ventures and Dutch biofuel startup BIOeCON, has debts numbering $261.31 million, with just $58.27 million in assets. The company produced biocrude from cellulosic biomass, but was unable to meet its production targets at its facility in Columbus, MS, and was also facing quality problems and accused mismanagement. KiOR shuttered its biocrude plant earlier this year, and suffered a huge loss in stock value. Read more at Gigaom. Some Tesla Model S owners are complaining again of "vampire" drain during sleep mode. Since downloading the Firmware 6.0, some drivers have reported a battery draw, even when set to "sleep always." Losses can be up to 12 miles of range from sitting overnight, and the latest versions of 6.0 haven't seemed to have solved the problem. Interestingly, the problem isn't affecting all Model S owners. Also, battery draw problems have been reported in the past, which Tesla took steps to fix in previous firmware updates. Read more at Inside EVs. Daimler's Car2go carsharing service is expected to reach 1 million users by the end of the year. The company currently reports 900,000 users worldwide. Car2go operates in 29 cities in North America and Europe, with plans to expand operations to China. "China might be risky, but it also brings lots of opportunities," says Daimler's Rainer Becker. While Car2go has yet to make a profit as a whole, it is moving in that direction, with Becker saying some cities' operations are already profitable. Read more at Automotive News Europe. The ELF solar- and human-powered trike from Organic Transit is now available as a two-seater. The ELF 2FR, as it is called, is a package that adds a rear seat behind the driver of the pod-shaped EV to allow for eco-friendly transport of two adults. The standard ELF retails for $5,495, and the upgrade to the 2FR adds another $499 to the price, which seems like a small premium for doubling the occupancy. Organic Transit hasn't released all the details on its website for the 2FR yet, but the standard ELF charges via outlet or 100-watt solar panel, goes 20 miles per hour and gets the equivalent of 1,800 miles per gallon (though adding the weight of another adult will certainly change those mileage numbers). Check out the Organic Transit's ELF 2FR in the videos below and read more at Treehugger. VIA Motors has received EPA certification for its range-extended electric van.