History, Cars, Elon Musk, & Facts
Tesla, Inc., formerly (2003-17) Tesla Motors, American electric-automobile manufacturer. It was founded in 2003 by American entrepreneurs Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning and was named after Serbian American inventor Nikola Tesla. Tesla Motors was formed to develop an electric sports car. Eberhard was Tesla鈥檚 chief executive officer (CEO) and Tarpenning its chief financial officer (CFO). In 2008 Tesla Motors released its first car, the completely electric Roadster. In company tests, it achieved 245 miles (394 km) on a single charge, a range unprecedented for a production electric car. 109,000 made it a luxury item. In late 2007 Eberhard resigned as CEO and president of technology and joined the advisory board of the company. It was announced in 2008 that he had left the company, though he remained a shareholder. Tarpenning, who was also vice president of electrical engineering, supervising the development of electronic and software systems for the Roadster, also left the company in 2008. Musk took over as CEO.
In 2012 Tesla stopped production of the Roadster to concentrate on its new Model S sedan, which was acclaimed by automotive critics for its performance and design. It came with three different battery options, which gave estimated ranges of 235 or 300 miles (379 or 483 km). The battery option with the highest performance gave an acceleration of 0 to 60 miles (96 km) per hour in slightly over 4 seconds and a top speed of 130 miles (209 km) per hour. Unlike the Roadster, which carried its batteries at the front of the car, the Model S had its underneath the floor, which gave extra storage space in front and improved handling because of its low centre of gravity. The Tesla Autopilot, a form of semiautonomous driving, was made available in 2014 on the Model S (and later on other models). Beginning in 2012, Tesla built stations called Superchargers in the United States and Europe designed for charging batteries quickly and at no extra cost to Tesla owners. Later versions of those stations were called Tesla Stations and also had the capability of complete replacement of the Model S battery pack. The company also branched out into solar energy products. The following year Musk made a series of tweets about taking Tesla private, claiming that he had secured funding. In September 2018 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged him with securities fraud, alleging that his tweets were 鈥渇alse and misleading.鈥?Later that month Tesla鈥檚 board rejected a proposed settlement from the SEC, reportedly after Musk threatened to resign. However, news of the rejected deal sent Tesla鈥檚 stock plummeting, and the board quickly accepted a less generous settlement, the terms of which included Musk stepping down as chairman for at least three years. However, he was allowed to remain as CEO.
At the first right hand corner the existing gravel trap will be replaced by an abrasive bitumen coating and new tyre barriers. The width of the second left hand part will be expanded by about 3 metres and again grass will be replaced by bitumen. SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers will be installed over a distance of about 220 metres. Phase one of this work started in Feb 2015 and should be completed by mid May. The new public road branching left before Indianapolis corner will not be started until winter 2015/16. This will mean the stretch from Indy to Arnage will be closed to the public during the rest of the year. After 14 years as Race Director, Daniel Poissenot is retiring. He will be replaced by his FIA WEC colleague Eduardo Freitas. LMP1 (14 CARS) - (Red number panels and have white headlamps. HY on engine cover depict a hybrid energy system being used. No Bronze rated drivers allowed. The reigning FIA WEC Champions Buemi and Davidson are joined by Nakajima from last year鈥檚 other Toyota. Nakajima should be available for the whole season having no clashing commitments in Super Formula in Japan this year.
Silverstone WEC the team finished 3rd overall. 47 KCMG Oreca at Le Mans. Silverstone WEC the team finished 4th overall after a stop to remove debris and fit a new nose cone. All references to 鈥淟otus鈥?now appear to be gone from this team. The team will continue to run the AER P60 V6 Bi-Turbo engine. This year鈥檚 car has new suspension for this year and revised aero which will run from Spa onwards. It is also running a Xtrac gearbox instead of last year鈥檚 Hewland . Trummer is confirmed for the whole season. Silverstone WEC, where Trummer was joined by Liuzzi and Christian Klein in the 2014 car,the team retired 40 miutes from the end of the race (with an engine water leak) and was not classified. Audi competes for the 17th year in succession and last year鈥檚 winners return having been given an automatic invitation. The team which has moved in to their new base at Neuberg over the winter will be moving from a 2mj to a 4mj energy recovery system, but will continue to run a 4.0 litre V6 diesel engine.
Silverstone WEC, the team finished 1st overall winning by just over 4 seconds despite a late stop and go penalty for an overtaking infringement. The team ,taking their joint 9th WEC win, took the RAC Tourist Trophy setting a new record for laps completed and Lotterer setting a new lap record. Oliver Jarvis replaces the retired 9 times winner 鈥淢r Le Mans鈥?Tom Kristensen. Silverstone WEC, the team finished 5th overall, 4 laps down on the winners having lost time having repairs done to front and rear bodywork. Rast joins the Audi team for 2 planned appearances at Le Mans and at Spa. He finished 5th in GTD at the Daytona 24 hours in a Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS. Albuquerque retired from this year鈥檚 Daytona 24 hours driving a Starworks Oreca FLM09 PC. Mike Rockenfeller will act as reserve driver for the team. Rebellion has replaced last year鈥檚 Toyota engines with AER engines which ran in last year鈥檚 Lotus/CLM.