As expected, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has fired back after Chrysler issued out a rebuttal to the electric-car manufacturer’s claim that it was the first American car company to have fully repaid its government loan.

Yesterday, Chrysler called Tesla out stating that Chrysler was actually the first U.S. automaker to pay back its loan to the government, contrary to what Tesla stated in a press release.

“As many have already noted, Chrysler is a division of Fiat, an Italian company. We specifically said first *US* company,” tweeted Musk.

SEE ALSO: Chrysler Calls BS: Refutes Tesla Loan Claim

Of course Chrysler’s Gualberto Ranieri responded that Chrysler Group LLC had repaid everything that it owed and at the time of the May 2011 repayment, Fiat held less than 50 percent of Chrysler. It’s hard to side with either automaker on the issue of course since it gets down to technicalities, but let’s remember that Chrysler repaid money used to bail out, while Tesla repaid a loan used to further technology.

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As expected, Tesla has repaid its government loan nine years early, becoming the first American automaker to have paid back the government.

Originally awarded a loan by the Department of Energy in 2010, Tesla sent over $451.8 million today to repay the full loan with interest. The loan was originally granted as a milestone-based loan and as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program.

SEE ALSO: Tesla Aims to Repay Government by Wednesday

The payment made used a portion of the approximately $1 billion raised in Tesla’s offering of common stock and convertible senior notes. Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and co-founder, purchased $100 million of common equity.

“I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate,” Musk said. “I hope we did you proud.”

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Elon Musk, Tesla’s ever enigmatic CEO, announced over Twitter that the company will likely repay its government debt by Wednesday, May 22. 

“Given govt loan repayment this week (prob Wed), Supercharger update will be next week. Work continuing independent of announcement,” Musk said through his Twitter account yesterday.

SEE ALSO: Tesla Offers $450M in Stocks, Musk Buys $100M Worth

A Tesla spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters that he was referring to repaying the Department of Energy loan.

Last week the company announced that it would use $452.4 million from a bond and stock offering to repay the loan in full with interest.

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Tesla announced a new offering of 2.7 million shares of common stock today, along with $450 million worth in convertible senior notes.

Tesla plans to use the aggregate gross proceeds of the offerings, which they predict will be around $830 million, to pay back the US Department of Energy. Timing is also crucial with this announcement, as Tesla stock has nearly doubled in value since early April.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also announced that he will personally be purchasing $45 million in common stock offering, and approximately $55 million directly from Tesla. Currently, Musk owns about 27 million Tesla shares, or 23.6% of the outstanding stock.

In connection with the note offerings, Tesla also announced that it will be entering into convertible note hedge transactions and warrant transactions which are meant to prevent dilution up to %100 over the offering stock price.

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Tesla’s stock price rose 24 percent Wednesday after the electric car maker reported its first quarterly profit.

The maker said that it’s first-quarter net income totaled $11.2 million, up from a $89.9 million loss a year before. Tesla’s revenue grew from $30.2 million in the same time period last year to $561.8 million in this quarter on sales of the Model S sedan.

A total of 4,900 Model S sedans were sold in the first quarter, and the maker said it raised the full-year sales forecast to 21,000 from the previous 20,000 figure.

But the brand’s success isn’t as straightforward as car sales translating to income. It gathered $68 million in zero-emissions vehicle credits sold to other automakers. Brand boss Elon Musk said the ZEV credits were a one-time-time gain.

Despite that, he also expects Tesla to manage a 25 percent gross margin return by the end of the fourth quarter.

[Source: Automotive News]

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Although the Tesla Model S scored a near-perfect 99 out of 100 in Consumer Reports latest test, the product testing outlet won’t list the electric luxury car on its recommended list. 

“Another concern is investing in a new car and startup company with no track record for reliability or resale value, and a skimpy (although growing) service network,” says Consumer Reports in its full review. “So, yes, despite its stratospheric road-test score, we can’t recommend the Model S until we have sufficient reliability data.”

Basically, CR is saying that despite car being great, it is still dangerous to be an early adopter, especially when it comes to EV tech from a startup company

SEE ALSO: Tesla Model S Rated 99 out of 100 by Consumer Reports

Despite the words of caution, the rest of the the review is spent effusively praising the car. “Slipping behind the wheel of the Tesla Model S is like crossing into a promising zero-emissions future,” says the review. The Model S is “brimming with innovation, delivers world-class performance, and is interwoven throughout with impressive attention to detail.”

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[Source: Consumer Reports via Hybrid Cars]

The Tesla Model S continues to earn rave reviews, the latest coming from the notoriously picky team at Consumer Reports.

In recent testing of the American-made electric luxury sedan the outlet says getting behind the wheel, “is like crossing into a promising zero-emissions future.” But the praise doesn’t stop there.

After performing the same thorough test as all of its cars, CR says the Model S, “is brimming with innovation, delivers world-class performance, and is interwoven throughout with impressive attention to detail.”

SEE ALSO: Click Here to Build and Price Your Tesla Model S

As a result, the car has earned the highest rating the consumer outlet has bestowed on a car: 99 out of 100.

Perhaps the closest rival, the Porsche Panamera, earned an 84, while the plug-in Karma sedan from the nearly bankrupt Fisker company was slapped with a paltry score of 57.

SEE ALSO: Tesla Model S Wins AutoGuide.com Reader’s Choice Car of the Year

Calling it, “the most practical electric car we’ve tested,” it also delivers performance that CR says, “will make many sports cars weep with envy.”

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Tesla has formally announced its first quarter 2013 results, reaching profitability for the first time in the American electric automaker’s 10-year history.

According to the report, Tesla generated a profit of $15 million excluding non-cash warrant and stock option items. Its GAAP profit was $11 million, and a total of 4,900 vehicles were delivered in the first quarter of 2013.

SEE ALSO: Tesla Talking with Google About Autopilot Systems

The numbers are impressive for the electric automaker, with record sales of $562 million, up 83 percent from last quarter. Over 5,000 Model S cars were produced during the first quarter, undoubtedly contributing to the successful sales figures. The automaker recognized 4,900 units as revenue and exceeded its Q1 guidance of 4,500.

Looking into the future, Tesla hopes to build 5,000 Model S vehicles in the second quarter with some being exported to Europe starting in Q3. North America will see around 4,500 Model S vehicles delivered in Q2 while the automaker ramps up production in hopes of exceeding 20,000 deliveries by year’s end.

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It’s no secret that Google has been working on autonomous vehicles for quite some time, and now Tesla CEO Elon Musk is considering adding that technology to Tesla’s vehicles.

Musk is currently talking with Google on self-driving technology, though he prefers to call it autopilot rather than self-driving. To him, the term “self-driving sounds like it’s going to do something you don’t want it to do.” On the other hand, “autopilot is a good thing to have in planes, and we should have it in cars.”

SEE ALSO: Self-Driving Cars a Reality by 2025 Says Major Parts Supplier Continental

Regardless of what Musk prefers to call it, self-driving cars are going to become a reality and will be offered by several automakers in the future. With Tesla vehicles already packing a lot of modern technology, it would be a perfect fit for the electric vehicle lineup. But for Musk, he believes Tesla will more likely develop its own autopilot system that would be camera based. He did say that it’s still possible to work jointly with Google on the project.

[Source: Automotive News]

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Tesla is taking the Model S into “supercar handling territory” according to a product description on its retail site.

The new Model S Performance Plus variant costs $6,500, improves efficiency and improves performance. It manages that by adding upgraded dampers, bushings and stabilizer bars. Tesla also added higher performing tires and wider, staggered wheels.

SEE ALSO: Tesla Model S Resale Value to be Industry’s Best, Says CEO Musk

Those wheels are 20 millimeters wider and Tesla says the car’s range improves a modest six to 12 miles.

Apart from the improved range and performance parts, Tesla hasn’t made specific claims to performance improvements like improved lap times or specifications for cornering grip.

Owners with the previous top-dog Model S Performance can also upgrade to the Performance Plus variant, but the tweaks come with a much heavier $13,000 price tag. Unfortunately, the upgrade doesn’t the revised dampers and stabilizer bars.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has admitted that the automaker’s online finance calculator was misleading and has confirmed it will be fixed to not include non-financial factors in the online monthly payment.

Musk admitted fault with the calculator during a conference call on Friday, stating that Tesla was in the wrong, and the media was right to criticize it. The online calculator displays the monthly cost of owning a Tesla under its lease-to-buy offer. Problem is, the calculator included factors such as time saved by not having to pump gas, helping lower the monthly payment presented to shoppers with non-cash savings.

SEE ALSO: Tesla Model S Resale Value to be Industry’s Best, Says CEO Musk

Tesla will be fixing the online calculator so that the cost savings estimates are more conservative.

“We were wrong, those people were right,” he said. “We need to fix it.”

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Last month, Tesla made a splash by offering a resale value guarantee on the Model S, stating it would be higher than that of a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. However, Tesla is upping the ante by offering the best resale value of almost any luxury auto maker.

Buyers of the Tesla Model S will now be guaranteed that their car’s resale value will be higher than that of BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus or Jaguar. Residual value is expected to be at least 50 percent over 36 months.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk made the announcement in a conference call today and acknowledged criticisms of last month’s announcement regarding the brand’s somewhat creative finance calculator.

“We appreciate the feedback from a number of journalists and customers that the first version of our financing product wasn’t quite right,” said Musk. “They were right, so we are fixing it and, moreover, upping the ante by providing the best resale value guarantee in the automotive industry. The Model S is rated by Motor Trend, Automobile Magazine and many others as the best car of 2013, so it should naturally therefore have the highest resale value.”

This change will be applied retroactively to anyone who is financing the Model S, from when the guarantee was first put in place back on April 2nd. Tesla also announced that longer financing terms will also be available for buyers. Financing terms have been extended to 72 months to pay off a Model S.

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