Why We Need to Fight for Tesla

I spent last weekend driving a Tesla Model S from Washington DC to Atlantic City and back. Never before in my life have I driven a car that has started so many conversations. People were gathering around the car as it was parked at the supercharging station in Delaware. "Is this a Tesla? I heard about this car on the news. Can I get a look inside?" Photos were snapped. A woman chimed in, "I saw one of these last week in Virginia and I followed it just so I could check it out." Heads were turning and tongues were wagging. On Wednesday, Tesla made headlines when the company wired nearly half a billion dollars ($451.8M) to the Department of Energy, repaying their full loan with interest nine years early, and becoming the only American car company to have fully repaid the government. As a race car driver, my opinion on the performance of the vehicle is this: The Tesla Model S is a masterpiece. With incredible power from the moment you touch the accelerator (no need to build u…
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  • May 27, 2013
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GE Buying ‘Tens of Thousands’ of EVs

By Chuck Squatriglia for Wired Autopia It makes sense that a company called General Electric would be bullish on cars with cords. But even by that standard the company is diving into the deep end, with what it says will be the biggest order ever placed for electric vehicles. Of course, almost any order would be the biggest order, but CEO Jeffrey Immelt isn’t screwing around. Speaking in London yesterday, he said GE will order “tens of thousands” of electric vehicles in about a week, a move that is sure to jump-start the nascent EV market as automakers like Nissan and General Motors bring the cars to showrooms later this year. The plan makes sense for several reasons. First and foremost, General Electric builds the equipment that provides one-third of the world’s electricity, so of course it will do everything possible to promote the technology. GE is moving quickly into the EV space, building charging stations and working with A123 Systems to develop batteries. Acco…
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  • October 29, 2010
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Chevy Volt Team Announces: Order Yours Today

By Tony DiSalle Chevrolet Volt Marketing Director Starting today, you can take part in history by placing your order for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. This moment is the culmination of several years of around-the-clock, steadfast work and I know I speak for the entire Volt team when I say we couldn’t be more excited! For those of you looking to be among the first to own a Volt, simply locate and contact a participating Chevrolet dealer in Volt launch markets at GetMyVolt.com. Once your order is placed, a Volt customer advisor will contact you to answer questions and keep you updated on the progress of your order. We’ve also pulled together a team of Volt advisors who, beginning today, will be available at 1-888-VOLT4YOU (1-888-865-8496) to answer general questions. The Volt will initially be available to customers in California, New York, Washington, D.C., Texas, Michigan Connecticut and New Jersey, but will be available nationwide in about 12-18 months from start of produ…
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  • July 29, 2010
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Leilani Munter: Life is Short. Race Hard. Live Green.

This article originally appeared on EcoStiletto.com, a website dedicated to sustainable, eco-friendly, green and organic fashion and health. Leilani Munter encapsulates the ecoista’s dilemma: It’s all well and good to want to live sustainably until you work in an industry that doesn’t share your views. What are you supposed to do, quit your job? Leilani takes this concept to an extreme most of us can’t even imagine. That’s because she is—if you haven’t already guessed from the photos—a racecar driver. Not just any racecar driver, mind you, Leilani has serious on-track cred. She’s the fourth woman in history to race in the Indy Pro Series. She set the record for the highest finish for a female driver in the history of the Texas Motor Speedway when she finished fourth in 2006. Sports Illustrated named her one of the top 10 female racecar drivers in the world. The girl really can’t drive 55. More like 200. But all that speed takes a serious environmental toll—and Leila…
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  • July 7, 2010
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Public and Private Roles in Sustainability

By Eric McNulty I had the pleasure of introducing Rep. Edward Markey for his opening keynote at the recent Executive Council Sustainable Cities leadership forum. Markey has been at the forefront of the Congressional response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, is the co-author of the Waxman-Markey climate change bill, and author of the bill that increased auto mileage standards for the first time in three decades. The League of Conservation Voters calls him the environment’s best advocate in Congress. Markey gave a fiery address about the need for the U.S. to become the leader in alternative energy. What I found interesting was his view that regulation can be a catalyst to those efforts. While many business leaders think that regulation in anathema to innovation, Markey disagrees. He pointed to his prior work on the Telecommunications Committee that shifted a segment of the broadcast spectrum into commercial use for cellular and other wireless com…
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  • July 7, 2010
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