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Elon Musk raises the stakes for Tesla Motors

Falling gas prices, production delays and weakened demand in a key market would send shudders through the CEOs of most automakers. None of those problems could dent the enthusiasm Tesla Motors CEO and co-founder Elon Musk has for a vision of an electric-car future. In a rare appearance Tuesday on the home turf of the Big Three automakers in Detroit, Musk said those factors wouldn't hinder Tesla Motors' growth over the next five to ten years. In fact, he revised the company's sales projections upwards, even as he said Tesla may not turn a profit for five more years. Previously, Musk had said he wanted the company to sell 500,000 vehicles by 2020. In more than an hour's worth of wide-ranging remarks at the Automotive News World Congress, he said, "I think we'll try to aim to do more cars than that. I think we'll continue past that. We probably should get to a few million cars by 2025. We could probably get to a few million cars per year." Spate Of Recent Complications Not that Tesla Motors' rise to prominence through a global economic recession hasn't already defied conventional wisdom, but the upward figures came despite recent complications that will only make that sort of sales climb more difficult. Gas prices fell to a national average of $2.11 per gallon Tuesday, and many automakers fret this plunge will make the sale of electric vehicles far more difficult. "I don't think it will affect the S or X," Musk said Tuesday. Production of the Model X – an all-electric crossover that features gullwing doors that would give Tesla Motors an immediate entrant in the fastest-growing vehicle segment – has been delayed for two years while the Fremont, CA-based company focused its limited production capabilities on its Model S and worked on complications with the X. "It's been two steps forward, one step back," Musk said. "Really, it was important to me that the doors were not just a gimmick, but a fundamental improvement to the functionality of the cars." Another hurdle for Tesla: Musk said Tuesday that sales had weakened in China during the fourth quarter of 2014. Exact sales figures were not known because Tesla does not release them, but Musk said growth slowed because customers there had overestimated the difficulty in installing and maintaining charging equipment; he said the "miscommunication" had been corrected and that the company has already seen an uptick in sales.

Tesla, Panasonic officially partner up for Gigafactory

The first of perhaps 'hundreds' of gigafactories is now one step closer to reality: Tesla and Panasonic have announced their official agreement to work together on the gigafactory. The two companies have worked together for many years on electric vehicles, but this new deal takes the partnership to a whole new level. The basic gist, since the agreement itself has not been released, is that Tesla will take care of the exterior (the "land, buildings and utilities") while Panasonic will pay for the machines inside in order to, "manufacture and supply cylindrical lithium-ion cells" that Tesla will then use to, you know, build battery packs. Panasonic's machines will take up half the space while a network of as-yet unnamed suppliers will be involved in the other half, according to the press release announcing the deal. Read it below. There's been lots of speculation as to where the Gigafactory will be built, but the exact location probably won't be revealed until later this year, so don't expect any battery packs from the Gigafactory to be coming any time soon. That's why Panasonic is still going to be building Tesla cells in Japan for the time being. As previously announced, the Gigafactory is expected to make batteries for around 500,000 EVs a year as well as more for stationary storage needs. That means 35 GWh worth of cells and 50 GWh worth of packs each year by 2020. We expect more information to trickle out today along with Tesla's quarterly earnings. Panasonic and Tesla Sign Agreement for the Gigafactory Thursday, July 31, 2014 OSAKA, Japan / PALO ALTO, USA, July 31, 2014 – Panasonic Corporation and Tesla Motors, Inc. have signed an agreement that lays out their cooperation on the construction of a large-scale battery manufacturing plant in the United States, known as the Gigafactory. According to the agreement, Tesla will prepare, provide and manage the land, buildings and utilities. Panasonic will manufacture and supply cylindrical lithium-ion cells and invest in the associated equipment, machinery, and other manufacturing tools based on their mutual approval. A network of supplier partners is planned to produce the required precursor materials. Tesla will take the cells and other components to assemble battery modules and packs. To meet the projected demand for cells, Tesla will continue to purchase battery cells produced in Panasonic's factories in Japan.

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.