Electric-sports car maker Tesla Motors plans to go public soon, Reuters reported today, citing two sources familiar with the matter said. An IPO filing from the six-year-old start-up, best known for its $109,000 all-electric, zero-emissions Roadster, is expected any day, the news agency quoted one of the sources as saying. The person did not give a specific time frame, although IPOs typically take several months. Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad, in an interview with Green Car Advisor , declined to comment on what she called “rumor or speculation.” Tesla would mark the first public offering from a U.S. automaker since the Ford Motor Co. debuted its shares in 1956. The IPO represents a landmark in the resurgence of electric-car technology that most carmakers had dismissed as impractical until recently. The company's chairman Elon Musk said early last year that an IPO was a possibility in either late 2008 or 2009. But the financial market turmoil following the collapse of Lehman Bros. in the latter half of 2008 virtually shut down the IPO market. The appetite for IPOs has picked up since mid-September this year with a robust pace of new filings. Tesla's IPO would follow the successful debut of lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, whose shares rallied 50 percent on their first day of trading on Sept. 25. Analysts have said that the success of A123, the first green-technology…

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Reuters Reports Tesla Preparing IPO; Electric-Car Maker Declines to Comment

We didn’t want a big fleet of electric vehicles. We’re only just over two years or so away from the games and time is running out to create a viable network. Many of the vehicles will be used for around 18 hours a day. It’s hard graft, and we knew BMW could supply the vehicles

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London Olympic Committee: EVs Are Gimmicks

After the 1 series, BMW pretty much committed themselves to the smallest they were going to make under the BMW marque. Or did they? You see, there is actually another number lower than 1 and BMW plan to release a series of cars based on that number. Now we’ve known this for some time, but

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Ask The Best And Brightest: MINI or BMW Zero-Series?

“Without any doubt we knew fundamentally that [a merger with GM] would work, but only if it was a collaborative effort. Frankly, there was a possibility to create something that would be extremely competitive… unfortunately, it did not happen.” Nissan/Renault honcho Carlos Ghosn reflects on the GM merger that might have been. When asked if he

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quote-of-the-day-ghosn-down-memory-lane-edition/" title="Quote Of The Day: Ghosn Down Memory Lane Edition">Quote Of The Day: Ghosn Down Memory Lane Edition

]]> http://blog.dealerdex.com/2009-nissan-370z-touring-sweet-sixteen/feed/ 0 http://blog.dealerdex.com/electrification-roadmap-sets-high-standards-for-ev-adoption/ http://blog.dealerdex.com/electrification-roadmap-sets-high-standards-for-ev-adoption/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:40:00 +0000 TheCarConnection http://blog.dealerdex.com/electrification-roadmap-sets-high-standards-for-ev-adoption/

We’ve often noted that the biggest hurdle for electric vehicles to overcome is the energy and recharging infrastructure. (In fact, that was listed among the most significant obstacles facing the MINI E just last week.) Now, a sprawling coalition of business leaders — including Nissan’s outspoken CEO, Carlos Ghosn — have announced an ..

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Electrification Roadmap Sets High Standards For EV Adoption

To put it bluntly, crash-test results in their present state can be frustrating for shoppers. Take a look either at crash-test ratings from the federal government or from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and you’re bound to be confused by the sheer number of vehicles that have all garnered top ratings. For some types of ..

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Side Pole Crash-Test Part Of Tougher NHTSA Ratings For 2011

Time Magazine goes ahead and gives an unproven, unavailable vehicle a “Best Invention of 2009″ award.

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What’s Wrong With This Picture: Tomorrow’s Award Today Edition

Volkswagen will continue its pioneering work testing the boundaries between platform-sharing and brand-engineering, reports Autocar, with a new platform destined to underpin some 60 models globally. The modularen querbaukasten (modular transverse engine, or MQB) architecture will form the basis of models ranging from the sub-Golf Lupo to the Sharan MPV, starting with the next-gen Audi

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VW: 60 Models, One Platform

According to the Financial Times General Electric’s in-house virtual bank, GE Capital, has agreed to give JLR (Jaguar-Land-Rover) new financing secured by vehicles as they come off the production lines. Cash flow wise, JLR will get money almost instantly upon completion of production rather than later on down the road when the dealers and/or their

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GE Capital Backs Jaguar/Land Rover