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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.

Tesla appears to be winning direct sales battle in Missouri

Last week, it looked like Missouri would join the list of states where Tesla Motors would not be allowed to sell its all-electric vehicles directly to consumers. Without warning, language was inserted into a bill about off-road vehicles what would have prevented direct sales in the state. Tesla called it a "sneak attack" and tried to get supporters to let lawmakers know the law was a bad idea. "It is not clear that the statues apply to a seller like Tesla" – Missouri Department of Revenue Thanks to some digging by Tesla fans over at the Tesla Motors Club, it became clear that one of the main drivers of the anti-Tesla legislation was conservative state senator Mike Kehoe, a former Ford and Lincoln-Mercury auto dealer. For some time, Kehoe has been asking the Missouri Department of Revenue if Tesla should have gotten a license to operate its one store in the state (in St. Louis) and said that the automaker's moves were, "clearly designed to circumvent the traditional franchise model for the distribution and sale of new motor vehicles." The DOR responded by saying, "It is clear under Missouri law that traditional manufacturers who already have franchised dealerships in the state may not sell cars directly to consumers. It is not clear that the statues apply to a seller like Tesla, which apparently has not entered into franchise relationships with independent dealers." After Kehoe got that response, it seems, he added the language to the bill. You can read the bill here. The tide may be turning against the proposed law, though. Tesla has apparently hired 10 lobbyists to makes its case. Local newspaper The Kansas City Star published an opinion column yesterday in support of the automaker. "As a business offering something new and better for the environment overall, Tesla should have been given allowances to operate in a different way in the state," the paper wrote. And the state House Republican majority leader, John Diehl, says he has no plans to move the bill forward because lawmakers are worried it would put a limit on the free market and have unintended consequences. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/05/12/5019618/missouri-house-leader-not-fond.html#storylink=cp

Tesla poaches Renault-Nissan communications boss Sproule

Need another sign that Tesla is growing into a force to be reckoned with? Bloomberg reports it has just snagged high-profile communications boss Simon Sproule from Renault-Nissan to become the EV maker's vice president of communications and marketing.
Sproule is an industry veteran, having spent 20 years at Nissan (where he grew to become CEO Carlos Ghosn's right-hand man). In addition, he logged stints at Ford, Jaguar (when it was still a Blue Oval-owned brand) and Microsoft. Despite all that experience, Sproule is still young, at just 45 years of age, as Bloomberg points out, yet he's held positions in the US, Japan and France over the years.
This is all good news for Tesla, which is in need of a strong spokesman outside of company CEO Elon Musk. It's been battling with the state of New Jersey and its governor, Chris Christie, over direct sales in the Garden State.