2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Tesla launches Model S in UK, says Euro factory could be upcoming [w/video]

With the first UK deliveries of the 49,900-pound (about $84,000 at today's rates) Tesla Model S completed, it's time for the company to get back to business. For CEO Elon Musk that means discussing a long-anticipated rumor - a dedicated European production facility to build the luxurious EVs from the ground up.
Obviously, though, such a hefty investment would need to be worth the company's while, which is why Musk told Automotive News Europe that sales will need to hit 160,000 units before a factory is considered. The company has recorded over 3,400 sales in Europe during the first four months of 2014, which actually surpasses the 2,000 cars sold in the US.
Tesla currently maintains a factory in the Netherlands, although it only installs batteries in cars shipped from Tesla's Fremont, CA facility, rather than building cars from scratch. The factory, in Tilburg, is set to expand, while a new research and development facility is set to open in the UK in 2015 or 2016, according to Musk.

Tesla, China Unicom setting up 400-station charging network in China

Tesla and China United Network Communications Corp. are working on something big. Like 400 public chargers in 120 cities big. These are not going to be Supercharger fast chargers that the California automaker is installing across the US and Europe, but don't worry, the two companies are going to install 20 Superchargers there. As with the Supercharger network, Tesla EV drivers will be able to juice up their cars for free at the 400 stations and the new Superchargers. The deal will work like this, according to Bloomberg: Tesla supplies the charging station parts and China Unicom provides the land. Laying the groundwork for easier electric vehicle charging is important, since Model S EVs are already selling well in China and CEO Elon Musk has said that the company expects sales there to reach the same level as in the US perhaps by 2015. Tesla and all plug-in vehicle sellers will benefit if China's plan to invest $16 billion on more charging stations comes to fruition. China Unicom is the second-biggest mobile phone company in China, which may help explain why TSLA stock jumped to a record high after the announcement and is climbing again today. As of this writing, the stock is just over $283, up $13.55 (5.02 percent) from last week.

Panasonic ready to start big investment in Tesla Gigafactory

To paraphrase Dr. Evil from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, why spend a trillion when you could spend ... billions? That's what Panasonic is saying about its investment in Tesla's gigafactory, though there's a catch. The billions are in Japanese yen. Yes, Panasonic will invest "tens of billions of yen" into the Gigafactory slated for the great state of Nevada, Reuters says, citing comments from Panasonic Chief Executive Kazuhiro Tsuga. That's not exactly specific, but 10 billion yen is equal to about $92 million. We've heard Panasonic's share of the new factory could be as high as $2-3 billion, but at least now we have a starting point Whatever Panasonic's kicking in, Nevada is also ponying up a pretty penny. Last month, Tesla said it would build the factory near Reno after reaching an agreement that calls for about $1.2 billion in incentives from the state over a 20-year period. Tesla and lithium-ion battery maker Panasonic officially announced their gigafactory partnership in late July, though Panasonic wasn't talking numbers at the time. All told, the plant is expected to cost about $5 billion to build and is considered necessary for Tesla to reach the scale to build its planned $35,000 EV, the Model 3. That's because the factory is will have the capacity to produce about a half-million (no, we didn't say "billions") electric vehicles a year.