electric vehicles
Don't count Elon Musk out yet
April 30, 2013: 9:45 AM ETTesla's founder has suffered setbacks in trying to expand sales of his innovative electric vehicles across the U.S. Don't expect him to stop any time soon.
By Doron Levin
FORTUNE -- The always combative Elon Musk lost a round in his latest bid to sidestep the dealer-franchise system for selling vehicles. He may be down, but he's not out.
Musk, founder and chief executive officer of Tesla (TSLA), was rebuffed last week after the electric-car manufacturer applied to open a company-owned store in Virginia. The state's Department of Motor Vehicles denied the application in the face of opposition by automobile franchisees in that state.
Dealers throughout the U.S. have been a politically active and powerful group that oppose company-owned stores or selling directly to consumers over the Internet. Dealers have been successful in state legislatures to help frame laws that protect their longtime franchises, which operate as independent businesses.
"Not all good news," Musk tweeted. "Virginia DMV Commissioner just denied Tesla a dealer license despite hearing officer being in favor." Based on a March 16 review, a hearing officer said a company store would be in the public interest and recommended approval of Tesla's application. (Tesla did not comment.)
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Tesla is fighting for the right to sell directly to consumers in Texas and recently won a victory in Minnesota when legislators dropped a proposed law that would have prevented it. Musk has argued that the dealer franchise system is inefficient -- a point of view that others have tried to advance in the past without much success.
Musk has conducted polls among Texas legislators that he says prove that 80% of them favor allowing direct sales of electric cars by manufacturers to customers. The Austin Business Journal published a poll that showed similar results among its readers.
Musk recently accused the New York Times of dishonest and shoddy journalism after a reviewer criticized the company's Model S of not living up to its claims during a test drive. The founder of SpaceX and co-founder of PayPal (EBAY) has often quarreled with journalists who have criticized him or his ventures.
The dealer franchise system is well-entrenched and brings considerable financial muscle to the cause of protecting the legal and financial interests of car dealers. The National Automobile Dealers Association, based in suburban Washington, D.C., is one of the most powerful federal lobbies.
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But the nation's car dealers would be wise not to underestimate Musk. He is one of the nation's most determined, driven, and prosperous entrepreneurs, who is used proving his detractors wrong.
Many predicted his commercial space travel venture would flop -- it endures. Likewise, electric car companies have struggled and failed. But Tesla has collaborated with Toyota (TM) and Daimler; Tesla's stock is at an all-time high; and its Model S sedan has won mostly positive reviews. Look for more lawsuits and fights with state regulators over direct sales to consumers. The dealers will use their clout, which is considerable, to keep Tesla at bay unless Musk finally decides to appoint dealer franchisees.
The federal and several state governments have a divided interest: Politicians want to protect their benefactors, the car dealers -- but governments also have mandated cleaner automotive emissions, which Tesla and other makers of electrics and hybrids bring to the marketplace. So far Musk hasn't taken his fight to the U.S. Congress. Such a tactic wouldn't be a long shot if state governments keep refusing him.
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How far can you go in a Tesla?
A 700-mile California road trip in the electric Tesla Model S
By Ryan Bradley, senior editor
FORTUNE -- The car is fast and smooth: zero to 60 mph in four seconds with none of the rumble of internal combustion. It demands to be driven at high speed, on hilly, winding roads. We tried to oblige. This was a problem.
The plan -- to drive the all-electric Tesla Model S from Los Angeles MORE
Feb 6, 2013 5:00 AM ET -
Can Coda's electric car survive?
The EV automaker boasts a team of bigtime backers but is losing money and is on its third CEO. Is there hope?
By Brian Dumaine, senior editor-at-large
FORTUNE -- Creating an electric-car company from scratch isn't easy, even if you happen to be a master of the universe.
That's what the star-studded backers of Coda Automotive learned, a roster that includes three former Goldman Sachs (GS) bankers, a founder of the software MORE
Sep 12, 2012 5:00 AM ET -
A green technology wish list for 2011
By Michael Kanellos, Editor in Chief of Greentech Media. His colleagues Shayle Kann, Shyam Mehta, MJ Shiao, Rob Day, Eric Wesoff and Brett Prior also contributed.
The green tech industry will fondly remember 2010. After enduring collapsing prices and lackluster demand in 2009, solar companies saw panel shipments grow by an astounding 93 percent to 125 percent this year. Waiting lists for the new electric cars from Nissan and General MORE
Dec 29, 2010 1:05 PM ET -
A new American electric car, via China
By Brian Dumaine, assistant managing editor
Chinese automakers have yet to crack the American market -- the quality and safety of their gasoline cars (never mind their electrics) don't pass muster in the U.S. One American entrepreneur, however, sees an opportunity to cash in on China's expertise in lithium-ion batteries and cheap manufacturing. Kevin Czinger, the CEO of startup Coda Automotive and a former VC and Goldman Sachs (GS) banker, has MORE
Oct 19, 2010 3:00 AM ET -
China charges into electric cars
By Brian Dumaine, assistant managing editor
Faced with scarce oil supplies and polluted cities, Beijing has ordered its booming auto industry to make a great leap forward in technology.
If you want to get a sense of just how car-crazy China is today, visit Chengdu, a booming city of 5.3 million in the southwestern part of the country. On a crisp Saturday recently, tens of thousands of eager new auto MORE
Oct 19, 2010 3:00 AM ET -
China vs. the U.S. in electric vehicles
The electric car is finally about to move from idea to reality. Currently there are barely more than 2,000 on the road in the world's two largest car markets (China and the U.S.) combined. But that number is about to soar. Beijing has demanded that its fast-growing auto industry put at least 5 million all-electric cars on the road by 2020. Will the U.S. keep up?
Oct 19, 2010 3:00 AM ET -
Electric car industry hitting the tipping point. For investors.
Venture capital firms are staking late stage electric car startups with huge cash to help them scale up and IPO
By Shelley DuBois, reporter
The age of the electric car is upon us, or so the numbers would suggest.
Companies in cleantech, especially those making cars, received over $400 million in funding in the second quarter of 2010, according to an Ernst & Young analysis based off of Dow Jones VentureSource data.
A company MORE
Aug 5, 2010 11:44 AM ETPosted in: Better Place, Dow Jones VentureSource, Eco Motors, electric vehicles, Ernst & Young, Fisker, NUMMI, Shai Agassi, Tesla -
Racing towards cars
China, oil prices and the environment are pushing electric cars to the tipping point
By Oliver Hazimeh, Director, PRTM
The recall of Toyota's Prius has some observers questioning the prospects for the entire electric vehicle marketplace. They shouldn't: The fundamental forces for electrifying our cars and infrastructure are still in place.
While Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) have found success with traditional hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) that are powered by an internal combustion MORE
Apr 7, 2010 12:15 PM ETPosted in: Chevy Volt, electric vehicles, EV, GM, hybrid vehicles, Nissan Leaf, PHEV, Prius, PRTM, Toyota
