2017 Tesla Model S 100d on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Elon Musk promises $1 million, Supercharger for New York's Nikola Tesla Museum

Earlier this year, Matthew Inman, the creator of The Oatmeal, penned a gushing review of his Tesla Model S, and followed it up with a request to Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk for $8 million to help build a museum dedicated to the achievements of the company's namesake because "any less than $8M would pretty much leave us in the same boat we're in now." Musk Tweeted a response that said, "I would be happy to help." So, the news that Musk will donate $1 million to the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe towards the construction of the museum, which will be built on a 16-acre site in honor of scientist Nikola Tesla, is a mixed blessing. A million bucks is a million bucks, but it's not the amount Inman was hoping for. The museum says, "[Musk] has challenged us at the Center to use our resources wisely, find additional resources, and reach our goal of creating this museum." In other words, anyone have $7 million? The plan is to locate the museum in Shoreham, New York, on Long Island's north shore, about 65 miles northeast of New York City. It's also the site of Nikola Tesla's last laboratory. He started working there in 1901 on an unfinished project that would have essentially been a precursor to e-mail. Thursday marked the 158th anniversary of Nikola Tesla's birth. The scientist died in 1943. On top of the cool million, Musk says he will also build a Supercharger fast-charging station on site for those making the trip out to the museum in a Model S. So the Science Center will be just like Lusk, WY. You can check out the Tesla Science Center's press release below. Musk Funds Tesla Science Center in Shoreham Shoreham, New York – July 10, 2014 A birthday party was held for famous inventor Nikola Tesla at the site of his last laboratory, in Shoreham, NY, where Jane Alcorn, president of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe announced that Elon Musk, owner of Tesla Motors, had pledged $1 million to the Tesla Science Center, plus a Tesla supercharging station to the Tesla Science Center saying, "He has challenged us at the Center to use our resources wisely, find additional resources, and reach our goal of creating this museum." A donation had been suggested by Matthew Inman of theOatmeal.com, who will comment via his website. "We are excited and extremely grateful for Mr. Musk's generous gift to Tesla Science Center, and also to Matthew Inman for arranging the opportunity," she said.

Rinspeed XchangE points the way forward for secure, autonomous EV driving [w/video]

If there're features that have great potential to sell the public at large on the concept of self-driving cars, we're guessing that cozy, rear-facing seats and a gigantic in-car 4K television are high on the list. If you've heard of the Swiss company Rinspeed, you almost certainly associate it with outlandish concept cars, and this XchangE autonomous EV fits that description, while still providing insight into a seemingly plausible future. Always a highlight of the Geneva Motor Show, this year's Rinspeed concept has transformed a Tesla Model S into a self-piloting, business class, mobility pod. Or something very like that. Sure, you can drive the XchangE for yourself if you like, but then you'd miss out using the all-new, HTML5-based infotainment platform or the aforementioned mobile movie theatre, which is operable via gesture controls. No more losing the remote down the seat crack for you. Beyond the show car "wow factor" items like the striking interior treatment and green-on-yellow paint scheme, it is interesting to see that Rinspeed has taken electronic security very seriously for the concept car. The infotainment platform is said to be bolstered against hacker attacks, the LTE wireless system offers secure data transmission, and the car systems themselves use RFID tech to identify authorized drivers. Considering the legitimate concerns associated with autonomous cars in a fully computerized, connected environment, high-security while on the motorway might be the biggest luxury of all. Find the usual complement of video, press release and official photos below and see our live gallery of the XchangE concept, above. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2014 Geneva Motor Show: Rinspeed presents the future of autonomous driving. What will move us tomorrow: the office and living room on wheels. Traveling in business-class style redefined with innovative Harman infotainment concept. Autonomous driving is set to become reality in the near future. While the major automakers are putting the finishing touches on the technology, the Swiss idea factory Rinspeed puts man at the center of the autonomous car. At the 2014 Geneva Motor Show Rinspeed presents the "XchangE" study to the public in a world premiere. It demonstrates how cars will 'move' us just a few short years from now, in both senses of the word. Frank M.

Tesla Model S drivers put way more miles on their cars than Nissan Leaf owners do (we think)

Just a few weeks ago, Nissan announced that its customers have driven over a billion electric kilometers in the four years that the world's best-selling EV has been on the road. That heady milestone means, Nissan says, that the Leaf has saved 180 million kilograms of CO2 emissions around the world. The billion kilometers have been split among the 147,000 Leaf vehicles that Nissan has sold. Well, not really, since the billion kilometer total only counts Leaf EVs registered with CarWings, which Nissan says is 54 percent of the total sales. That's 79,380 cars and results in an average – and it's only a rough average, but what're you gonna do? – of 12,597 miles per car. Let's keep that number in mind for a minute. Today, despite going on sale a year and a half after the Leaf (June 2012 versus late 2010), Tesla Motors Tweeted today that Model S drivers have hit the same numerical milestone. Tesla didn't say how many of its vehicles were involved in its count, but we think that Tesla has sold at least 50,000 Model S electric vehicles globally (about 2,650 in 2012, 22,450 in 2013, 21,821 for 2014 through the end of September), so we'll estimate a rough average for each Model S of 20,000 miles. So, in case anyone ever needs numeric proof that a Model S is more fun to drive than a Leaf – that's the only possible thing this could mean, right? *ahem, longer range* – now you've got the data. {C} This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Nissan says "thanks a billion" to LEAF owners Nissan LEAF drivers registered on CarWings telematics have collectively driven ONE BILLION KILOMETERS worldwide* Globally, Nissan LEAF drivers have saved more than 180 MILLION kilograms of CO2 emissions* Over 147,000 Nissan LEAF vehicles have been sold globally to date ROLLE, Switzerland – Nissan has revealed that owners of the LEAF, its 100% electric car, have collectively recorded an impressive one billion kilometers on the CarWings telematics system worldwide – saving over 180 million kilograms of CO2 emissions* in the process. This incredible achievement comes almost four years since the LEAF was launched in 2010 as one of the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicles. It is now the best-selling electric vehicle in history, with over 147,000 LEAF vehicles sold globally to date, 31,000 of which have been sold in Europe.