The first successful launch came last September after a very public and very embarrassing failed launch while attempting to carry another Malaysian satellite, a small NASA satellite and the ashes of James Doohan, the actor who played Scotty on the original Star Trek TV series.

Launched from the Kwajelein Atoll in the South Pacific, the SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket was charged with delivering the lightweight Malaysian satellite, RazakSAT into orbit and did so successfully nearly ten minutes into the trouble free flight.

With the end of NASA's space shuttle program approaching ever so quickly, privately funded companies like SpaceX are beginning to look like the future of space flight, that is, until Congress approves heavy funding for the next NASA space delivery system. [Wired]

Along with airing pretty much all of Eberhard's dirty laundry, refuting from his perception, all of the claims in the lawsuit, Musk also makes Eberhard look like something of an incompetent nincompoop. There are some real stingers buried in the enormous writing, complete with emails copied in to back up Musk's story, some of our favorites include:

There were several smaller items I suggested, such as the touchpad door latch that Eberhard tries to use as an excuse for why it cost over $140M to bring the Roadster to market instead of the $25M that he estimated in the 2004 business plan. That would have to be one hell of door latch! The $140M excludes any costs associated with the Model S."

and this not-so-subtle slap:

"All he had was a business plan to commercialize the AC Propulsion Tzero electric sports car concept. Three years later, when Eberhard was asked to leave Tesla, most of the work that he had been paid to do had to be redone."

Ouch.

In any case, Musk goes on to say over the last few years of work, the total bill of materials price which was pegged around $140k when Eberhard was running the show has been reduced to around $80k. Along with improvements to the supply chain, the optional Tesla Roadster Sport and a run rate around 20-30 cars a week, Musk is expecting to see the company turn the corner and see profitability next month.

It's a bit of a long read, but if you want a look at all of Tesla's dirty laundry being aired in pretty much one place and understand a lot of the history behind the car and its delays, it's well worth the time. [Tesla]

So it's nice that Musk has such lofty goals. Frankly, it's always been his forte. He leaves the "how to get there" to other, more little people. Like with an idea to build 100,000 cars per year by buying an idled assembly plant from a U.S. automaker. He'll leave the whole "design a mid-size sedan for it to build" to other people. Musk's an "idea man," ya know. And for an "idea man" the reality of building 100,000 mid-size sedans is kind of like trying to build a "kabillion" mid-size sedans — they're both impossible numbers when you don't even have a working design.

He also thinks gas should cost $10 a gallon. Hmm, we wonder why. Keep in mind it's not that we disagree with Musk, we just happen to believe it's also probably the price-point in which a $100,000 Tesla roadster becomes a good investment versus a sports car with similar performance. [CNet, Twitter]

There's apparently two kinds of Tesla employees — current employees and former employees suing Tesla. Frankly, we're not surprised Eberhard's suing Musk and Tesla. We're more surprised that it took this long to happen especially given Musk's propensity for diarrhea-of-the-mouth types of comments. For the moment, the only thing we have to go off of is the PDF file from the California Superior Court — which you can see here.

In response, we're told Tesla plans to counter-sue Eberhard. That went over real well with Henrik Fisker — let's see how well it works here. All we know is we're just proud Eberhard quotes former-Valleywag Owen Thomas in his court filing. Gotta love the V-wag love! (Hat tip to Owen!)

Photo Credit: Yodel Anecdotal @ Flickr

Musk, responding to a question posed by Lyle Dennis at GM-Volt on his feelings about the range-extender concept behind the Chevy Volt and why he's not considered it it any Tesla products, says:

We looked closely at a range extender architecture for Model S. It ends up costing about the same in vehicle unit cost, a lot more in R&D and a lot more in servicing. Also, although performance is ok when both battery and engine are active at the same time, it turns really bad when the battery runs out and an undersized engine is carrying all the dead weight of the pack. Essentially, a REV is neither fish nor fowl and ends up being worse (in our opinion) than either a gasoline or pure electric vehicle.

That'd be perfect, make it clear you looked at the idea for the Tesla Model S Sedan and dismissed it after a simple cost-vs-return analysis, then pivot into a positive statement about your product. Musk, who's not yet figured out the best way to go after the competition is by talking flowers, sunshine and honey publicly, saving the knife-and-dagger treatment for his PR team during after-party drinks with the press later on, should have just left it there. He didn't.

An important consideration that people without a technical background don't understand is that you can either have a high power or a high energy cell chemistry, but not both. Since the battery pack in a plug in hybrid like the Volt has to generate the same *power* as a much larger battery pack in a pure electric vehicle, it has to use a low energy cell chemistry.

So, is he saying GM's Volt engineering team lack a technical background or is he saying potential customers lack a technical background? Unknown. Either way, he probably should have left it with just the "REV doesn't make sense" comment. Lesson learned? [GM-Volt]

The company is once again building roadsters and may have its run of 2008 models built and sold before the end of 2009, meaning they maybe have room and capacity for building the Model S. Of course, none of this will likely happen without government funding or some other large funding source, which is a tricky bet. Hopefully, the company will overcome its recent stumbles because this sedan, despite its possibly vapory qualities, looks decent. It's got a touch of Quattroporte but smaller.

[Tesla via Auto Blog]

This latest announcement brings news of the Tesla Model S, the company's long-planned affordable electric sedan, which will get a prototype rollout on March 26th. Helping keep the development, and therefore final, cost of the Model S down, Musk announced some funds from the company's $350 million loan request to the Department of Energy to be released in the next six months.

What he didn't say is that their application was approved. He didn't specifically say how much, if any, money is coming to Tesla. We've contacted Tesla for a comment so we'll know for sure whether this vague statement of some funds going somewhere was merely a rhetorical miscue or an actual attempt to mislead people as to the future financial state of the company.

UPDATE: We've gotten an update from a Tesla spokesperson confirming they have not received funding, though they're in the later stages of applying. No one has yet to receive an approval, so it isn't as if they have been left out. According to Tesla's Rachel Konrad: "It's important to note that we have NOT received final confirmation from the DOE that we will receive funds. None of the 75 applications have received final approval. However, we are in the later stages of the loan application process, where the DOE is evaluating Tesla's financial viability and technical merits. The DOE is doing its due diligence, and we are very optimistic about a relatively expedient timeline for disbursal of funds."

For future customers, Musk further announced the opening of shops in Chicago and London's Knightsbridge district, with more stores coming in Manhattan, Miami, Seattle and Munich. The news from Tesla has been mixed lately, as the company has had to deal with the Carpocalypse, layoffs, lost court cases and other assorted bad news. On the other hand, the company has also announced strategic partnerships and new models.

Musk once again reiterated his belief the company will be profitable by mid-year, which seems like a more reasonable statement when you raise the price on already ordered Roadsters. Full news in the press release below the jump.

Tesla to be Profitable by Mid Year

The $40M financing round completed in December was twice the amount Tesla needed to reach profitability. Moving forward two months later, we remain on track with our cost reductions and production ramp, so it appears highly likely that Tesla will meet the goal promised to those investors of becoming profitable by mid year.

The main reason for this confidence is that Tesla is already in the fortunate position of being sold out until early November, something few automakers can claim, and will soon be sold out of all 2009 production. While we have had some cancellations due to buyers experiencing personal financial difficulties, new orders continue to flow in every week from the United States and Europe. We have now produced more than 200 Roadsters for customers and there are more than 1,000 customers still awaiting delivery.

Due to our order backlog, it seems that owning a Roadster can be a good investment. Last September, as the financial and real estate markets began crashing, a Roadster was sold at the Sonoma Paradiso in California wine country for $160,000, well above the current list price of $109,000. Many Roadster owners who have taken delivery of their cars have already decided to purchase a second Roadster or Roadster Sport because they like the first one so much.

The continued strong demand is driven by the fact that the Tesla Roadster has no direct competitors. It is faster than almost any sports car on the market (our Roadster beat a Porsche GT3 on the Top Gear test track) and yet uses less energy and has a smaller carbon footprint than a Toyota Prius, even if you assume the worst possible case where all electricity comes from coal.

I expect sales demand to strengthen further as this awareness grows. After all, what's the point of driving another exotic sports car when it is slower than a Tesla and damages the environment? Already, the Tesla Roadster is the car of choice among the technology, business and Hollywood A lists – this year's Academy Awards will be a lineup of Teslas – and we have never had to give a discount to anyone.

Many customers also appreciate the fact that profit from their purchase goes towards helping Tesla develop more affordable, mass market electric cars. The same cannot be said for those who buy gas-guzzling sports cars from other automakers.

And owners aren't the only ones impressed with the Roadster. Road & Track was the first auto enthusiast magazine to perform third-party, instrumented testing on the Roadster; they were "pleased to see its extravagant claims confirmed." The Washington Post's Warren Brown gushed, "Wheeeeeee! If this is the future of the automobile, I want it." Dan Neil of the Los Angeles Times had perhaps the most colorful description we've seen to describe the Roadster's scorching acceleration: "God has grabbed me by the jockstrap and fired me off his thumb, rubber band-style. Wow." And we've also had a torrent of reviews in Europe, where deliveries begin this summer – including a Le Monde story with our favorite headline: "Le chic électrique."

Unveiling the Model S and DOE funding

On March 26th, at the Tesla design studio located within the SpaceX rocket factory, we will unveil a street-drivable prototype of the Model S four door sedan. Our objective with the Model S was to create one of the most functional, intuitive and beautiful vehicles on the road. Tesla Roadster customers and select VIPs invited to the event will have an opportunity to judge for themselves firsthand whether we have succeeded.

Regarding funding, I am excited to report that the Department of Energy informed Tesla last week that they expect to disburse funds from our $350M Model S loan application within four to five months. The Obama administration has thankfully made it a top priority to move quickly on the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan program, as this will both generate high quality jobs in the near term and lay the groundwork for a better environment in the future.

This will keep us on track for production to start in 2011. As a gesture of gratitude for their early support, Roadster owners will receive a $10,000 discount off the price of the Model S Signature series and automatically be first in line for the sedan.

Daimler Partnership

We announced last month at the Detroit auto show that we have been working with Daimler (maker of Mercedes) for over a year to create an electric version of the Smart car. Daimler has contracted with Tesla to build the battery packs and chargers for an initial run of 1,000 cars. Pending the results of that test fleet, the relationship could expand to tens of thousands of cars per year.

This is a very significant endorsement of both Tesla's technology and our financial strength by one of the world's most respected automotive companies. Daimler would not feel comfortable depending on us for this program if they felt that either our technology was easily replicated or that we were in financial danger.

Daimler was the first company to commercialize the internal combustion engine and has become a benchmark for automotive quality and reliability. It is an honor that they chose to work with Tesla after a thorough investigation of other options. The deal is likely to be the first in a series of strategic partnerships between Tesla and other auto manufacturers to engineer and produce electric cars.

My goal for Tesla from the beginning was to do whatever we can to help end the world's addiction to oil. We'll do that by making cars directly, helping other automakers develop cars, and serving as an example to the rest of the industry. Although the Roadster is still the only highway capable production electric car for sale in the United States, it was very encouraging to see that the central theme of the Detroit auto show this year was electric transportation. J

New Tesla Sales & Service Centers to Open

We have reached agreement on Tesla store leases in Chicago and London's Knightsbridge district, and we are close to finalizing locations in Manhattan, Miami, Seattle and Munich. All six facilities will open this year, and in the following months we'll provide details about individual store opening parties. These new stores will offer prospective customers the chance to see and drive the Roadster in person – and they underscore Tesla's commitment to looking at the auto industry with fresh eyes. Unlike traditional franchise dealerships, Tesla owns its stores and controls the customer experience. We think you'll agree that our stores are a refreshing change from the way most people have bought cars for the last 50 years.

Roadster Sport

Tesla is now taking orders for the Roadster Sport, an even higher performance car that does 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. It comes with a hand-wound stator and increased winding density for lower resistance and higher peak torque.

The tires are upgraded to Yokohama Ultra High Performance and the suspension features adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars tuned to the driver's preference – allowing for both softer and firmer rides than the standard Roadster. Deliveries are expected to begin in late June.

Upgraded Roadster Interior and Other Options

Tesla will soon offer an Executive Leather Interior that raises the level of luxury in the Roadster's cabin. We are also offering a Clear Carbon Fiber Exterior Package to add an additional level of sportiness and highlight the lightweight material that makes up the Roadster's body. Currently, the only exterior clear carbon fiber touch on the base model is the roll bar cover – but many customers and fans have asked if we could reveal more of this exotic, braided material. These packages will be available starting in June.

Battery Replacement Program

One of the top questions customers ask about the Roadster is, "How long will the battery last and what will it cost to replace?" Tesla engineers have determined that a Tesla battery pack should last approximately seven years or over 100,000 miles under normal use.

Customers may pay $12,000, €10,000 or £9,000 up front and in return receive a replacement battery pack after seven years. Customers will also have the option of replacing the pack earlier at a premium or later for a partial refund. With the low production volume of the Tesla Roadster, the current replacement price of the pack is almost three times that number. The main reason for the relatively low cost up front — and why this is a smart purchase — is that we are arbitraging the relative cost of capital between Tesla and our typical customer.

Extended Warranty to Double Standard Period

Many customers have also asked to purchase an extended warranty. We now offer a doubling of the standard warranty, which means an additional 3 years and 36,000 miles or 60,000 kilometers, for $5,000, €4,000 or £3,800.

This covers everything on the car except the battery pack. Should the motor, power electronics, HVAC or any other major system need to be replaced, this will be money well spent, and it provides peace of mind to many customers.

Thanks for your support!

— Elon —

Tesla's early adopters essentially invested their deposits into the company. For it, they were promised a car with a base price of just $92,000 for 2008 model year vehicles, a $17,000 value over the now-higher-in-price 2009 model. The approximately 600 people who ordered cars were asked to "lock in" their options by last November. Tesla has now "unlocked" those prices, upping the cost and forcing customers to re-select their options, or they'll lose their spot to buy one. By how much has Tesla bumped up the price?

According to Tom Saxton, a Tesla enthusiast, formerly "included" options like the SolarPlus Windshield, High Power Connecter and Forged Alloy Tesla Wheels now will cost you $6,700 combined. Other options have seen prices double, or more, from the original cost. This means the cost for a fully-loaded Tesla Roadster has increased by $9,350 for people who already ordered their cars. While it's possible to get a Tesla for the $92,000 originally agreed to, you'd have to go without some important features.

The reason? A Tesla spokesperson told us the idea was to make the car's margins healthy enough to appeal to the next round of investors — be they shareholders, venture capitalists or the government. Though they'd have preferred to do it later, the reality is they've already sold the cars they plan to make through October and thus have to make the changes now if they want to reach a point of profitability by the summer and assure the company stays around long enough to continue to build and service them.

Waiting customers are obviously not going to be pleased by this news considering everything else associated with being an early-adopter of the technology but they don't have much choice. Owners can take a full refund and give up their place in line if they wish. However, after waiting so long and fronting so much money for the car we imagine few will give up over $6,700. According to Tesla, no one has yet to demand a refund.

[Saxton.org]

Tesla promises their Roadster Sport will achieve a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds, quicker than the 3.9 seconds the standard Roadster achieves. Power is boosted slightly thanks to a hand-wound stator and increased winding density, which we're guessing is the electric version of adding new headers and a freer-flowing exhaust.

Additionally, the Tesla is going to come with a set of ultra high performance tires sure to last a full three charges. Helping to keep the battery-laden Roadster Sport pointed in the right direction will be a revised suspension "tuned to the driver's preference" with adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars.

These renderings show most of the exterior changes will likely be minor, including "blacked-out" hood vents and black wheels. Subtle tweaks are probably best given the Tesla already looks like electric sex.

According to Tesla, this latest-and-greatest Roadster Sport will start arriving in June for $128,500 so expect deliveries in September with a temporary transmission. Full details in the press release below.

Tesla Motors introduces Roadster Sport

SAN CARLOS, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Tesla Motors Inc. began taking orders today for the Roadster Sport, a high-performance sports car based on the world’s leading all-electric, zero-emission vehicle.

The Roadster Sport does 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, compared with 3.9 seconds for the standard Roadster. It comes with a hand-wound stator and increased winding density for lower resistance and higher peak torque. In addition to Yokohama’s Ultra High Performance tires, the Roadster Sport has improved suspension with adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars that will be tuned to the driver’s preference.

The Roadster Sport starts at $128,500 in the United States and €112,000 (excluding VAT) in Europe. Deliveries begin in late June.

“This car can beat nearly anything in its price class – yet it is twice as efficient as compact hybrid sedans,” said Michael van der Sande, Tesla’s senior vice president of global sales, service and marketing. “If you refuse to compromise on performance or the environment, the Roadster Sport is your only option.”

The Roadster Sport is the first derivative of Tesla’s proprietary, patented powertrain. San Carlos, Calif.-based Tesla plans to begin producing the all-electric, zero-emssion Model S five-passenger sedan in 2011.

Tesla has delivered more than 150 Roadsters to customers, and about 1,100 people are on the waiting list. Customers who haven’t taken delivery may upgrade to the Roadster Sport.

“The Roadster Sport embodies Tesla’s spirit of continuous improvement,” said CEO, Chairman and Product Architect Elon Musk. “The Roadster has been a great success, but no one at this company remains satisfied with the status quo.

[Source: Tesla]

To be fair, these pics were taken this past Sunday, so it's poor evidence the place is in fact a ghost town but let's just say a tumbleweed rolling through the parking lot wouldn't be out of place. Aside from the fancy sign out front and the etched glass doors, it looks like every other sparsely decorated suburban office we've ever seen.

We love the reading materials in the lobby — all the buff books, plus Vanity Fair, a book on classic cars, The Toyota Way and its wonderful explanation of "lean manufacturing" and the Toyota Production System (may we also recommend Machine That Changed The World and the End of Detroit). TPS, as you know, is the management process where a company welcomes questions and seeks to solve problems via all manner of available help. Openness and communication is key with TPS. Hmm, maybe they only got through the first couple of chapters.

Hilariously, our two favorite books laying around have to be the Tesla bio on the waiting room table sitting across from The Car That Could, a book about the life and death of GM's EV1. We'll let you draw your own conclusions from that one.

We're hearing that approximately 90 Tesla employees, or 90% of the Detroit office, was simply let go, and the remaining employees have to make their way to the San Carlos headquarters with no moving costs covered, no increase in salary and no help getting rid of their old homes. Fortunately, the real estate market in Detroit is red-hot, and the cost of living is about the same in San Carlos.... right?

The relevant section from the Tesla pink slip blog-post-of-death below:

There will also be some headcount reduction due to consolidation of operations. In anticipation of moving vehicle engineering to our new HQ in San Carlos, we are ramping down and will close our Rochester Hills office near Detroit. Good communication, tightly knit engineering and a common company culture are of paramount importance as Tesla grows.

That's right folks, "good communication" is key.

[Photo: James Nielsen/Getty Images]

Tesla is absolutely committed to development of our next generation vehicle, to be unveiled early next year. However, we are going to reduce activity on detailed production engineering, tooling and commitments to suppliers until our Department of Energy loan guarantee becomes effective.

Our translation below the jump.

If they cut back on production engineering, tooling and commitments to suppliers, they are essentially saying they'll show off their prototype but will make no more production plans until they get a federal loan guarantee for their plant in San Jose. This, like everything, is being blamed on the Financiapocalypse.

This actually follows up on some news we heard way back in January that the Whitestar/Model S was toast, despite having seen the Model S mule. Look for a prototype soon and, depending on the market, a production car at some point in the future... maybe. For more on the Valley implications of this check out Valleywag's coverage

[Souce: Tesla Motors]

"Tesla Motors, which finally shipped its first electric car earlier this month, hopes to raise $250 million in equity and debt to fund its mass production push, over the next two years. Chairman Elon Musk wants to conduct an IPO in New York or London, raise money privately and apply for a loan guarantee from the Department of Energy to build a U.S. production plant for Tesla's forthcoming electric sports sedan."

[Tesla's] brash ambitions make some industry observers scoff. "I wouldn't call it Tesla Motors yet. I would call it the Tesla prototype company," says James Hall, vice president of industry consulting firm AutoPacific, in Southfield, Mich. "My concern is that there are people in charge who don't have a realistic view of the car industry."

Hall estimates Tesla will need 30 to 40 years to turn a profit and $700 million immediately to successfully develop and mass produce a lower-priced model. Traditional automakers typically spend between $500 million and $1 billion to put out a new car—and that's without building a company from scratch first.
Musk calls Hall's thinking generic and con­ventional. "I will eat my hat if we spend anything close to $700 million on our model-2 car," he says.