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Harry Reid in favor of $10,000 federal EV tax credit

Harry Reid says the federal government should commit more funds towards incentives for electric-vehicle purchases. We'll wait for readers' shock to sink in. Now, here are the details. The Senate Majority Leader (D-NV) is backing President Barack Obama's efforts to raise federal incentives for EV drivers to $10,000 from $7,500, according to The Detroit News. He's also big on the US Energy Department boosting its vehicle-research budget to help bring down the cost of EVs. Reid notes that Tesla Motors' $5-billion Gigafactory, which will be built near Reno, will provide $100 billion worth of economic value to the state. He also pointed out that Tesla paid off its $465-million loan from the US Energy Department last year, nine years early. There's a way to read this as some sort of quid pro quo for the new battery plant, since Nevada's providing about $1.2 billion (over a 20-year period) in incentives to Tesla and factory-building partner Panasonic and cutting EV prices for the average could help Tesla. But Reid has been speaking out in favor of more green cars for a while. In 2009, he helped promote a bill that would provide more incentives for people driving natural-gas powered vehicles. The year before that, Reid went on record saying that the US needed "a crash course to develop alternative and renewable energy." And in 2007, he called the debate over a more stringent Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard pointless because, he said, they were a given. News Source: The Detroit NewsImage Credit: J. Scott Applewhite / AP Government/Legal Green Tesla Electric incentives nevada gigafactory harry reid

Watch Tesla Model X P100D drag race Lamborghini Aventador SV

It's always fun to see the performance capabilities of electric vehicles, and we haven't yet tired of watching Teslas go up against supercars, street racers, even airplane s, win or lose. DragTimes fed the world another Tesla drag race video this week, pitting a Tesla Model X P100D with Ludicrous+ against a Lamborghini Aventador SV powered by a 6.5-liter V12 (and worth $530,000) in a quarter-mile challenge at Palm Beach International Raceway. The Model X gets a better start off the line, and ends up finishing just 0.05 seconds ahead of the Lamborghini (which was quickly catching up at the end). While the Lamborghini was technically faster (with an elapsed time of 11.281 seconds and a speed of 129.38 miles per hour), the Model X finished the quarter mile in 11.418 seconds at 117.95 miles per hour, which DragTimes notes is a world record for an SUV. The difference in the sound between the two vehicles is striking, as we find from the separate camera views. The Lamborghini absolutely screams, while the Tesla just whistles in the wind a bit. After the Model X, the Lamborghini takes on a Model S P100D. It almost looks like the Aventador jumps the gun a bit (but it doesn't get a red light, and shows a reaction time of just .008 seconds with some well-timed wheel spin), and ends up finishing 0.15 seconds ahead of the Model S. The Tesla's elapsed time was 10.947 seconds at 119.71 mph, while the Lamborghini's ET was 11.164 seconds at 129.08 mph. These races showcase the mighty acceleration of the P100D Teslas. While the traditionally powered supercar is faster at the high end, the low-end shove of the EVs prove them to be great drag cars, even weighing over 5,000 pounds. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: YouTube: DragTimes via Teslarati Green Motorsports Lamborghini Tesla Green Automakers SUV Electric Supercars Videos world record drag race lamborghini aventador sv p100d

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla Model X 0-100 video, Nissan-Renault record EV sales

A video shows that a Tesla Model X can accelerate from 0-100 mph faster than a Model S P85D. DragTimes tested a Founders Edition Tesla Model X P90D with Ludicrous Mode, and found that it did 0-60 mph in 3.178 seconds, which is faster than Tesla's stated 3.2 seconds. The 0-100 mph happened in just 7.98 seconds, which is faster than the 8.3 seconds DragTimes clocked in Model S P85D using Insane Mode. Even more impressive is that the Model X used is a seven-seater with all the boxes ticked, which means that it's lugging a lot of extra weight on the drag strip. DragTimes says it intends to do more tests with other configurations of Tesla models – perhaps we'll get to see how two vehicles with Ludicrous Mode compare. See the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Nissan and Renault saw record sales of electric vehicles in 2015. The two automakers sold 84,754 battery-powered vehicles last year, a rise of 2.5 percent. Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 sales dropped by almost 10 percent, but Leaf sales are expected to improve with the next generation. The Alliance's EV sales, though, were boosted by Renault selling 45 percent more EVs in 2015. Government incentives in France are partially responsible for Renault's success. Since they began selling them, Renault and Nissan have sold 302,000 EVs worldwide by the end of 2015. Read more at Bloomberg Business. A study finds that E20 provides higher peak load capability and thermal efficiency than gasoline in reactivity-controlled compression ignition (RCCI) combustion. The dual-fuel combustion technique uses in-cylinder blending to optimize combustion. The study used E20 ethanol blend or gasoline blended with highway diesel or B20 biodiesel blend and compared the results. In addition to the load capacity and thermal efficiency benefits, E20 also produced fewer hydrocarbon emissions. Read more at Green Car Congress. Related Gallery Renault-Nissan Alliance at COP21 View 22 Photos News Source: Teslarati, YouTube: DragTimes, Bloomberg, Green Car Congress Green Nissan Tesla Renault Alternative Fuels Ethanol Green Automakers Electric Videos recharge wrapup