[Posted on February 22, 2008 - 12:27 PM]
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Move over Tesla Motors Corp. Miles Electric Vehicles just got its first institutional investment, a $15 million round led by the Angeleno Group, a private equity firm focused on the energy sector. That's a drop in the bucket, compared with the $140 million Tesla has raised from VCs and private investors, including chairman Elon Musk (the serial entrepreneur best known as the founder of PayPal Inc., which eBay Inc. bought for $1.4 billion in 2002). Tesla, which makes the sexy but oft-delayed $100,000 Tesla Roadster, recently closed a $40 million round from Valor Equity Partners and Musk, who hopes to raise another $250 million to develop a sedan and may take the company public this year or next.
By contrast, Miles has done everything on a smaller scale, focusing on low-cost, low-speed electric cars made in China that are more suitable to a country road, or slower city speeds, than to a racetrack. Now the company plans to develop a high-speed sedan, the Miles XS500, powered by lithium-ion batteries.
Miles was founded in 2005 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Miles Rubin, who has led a wide range of companies, including Polo Ralph Lauren and Detroit Iron & Metal. Rubin's inspiration for an all-electric, zero-emissions car company reportedly came while watching a presentation on hydrogen cars. When Rubin, 78, heard hydrogen cars were still about 18 years away -- past the time he expected to be alive -- he asked what could be done in 18 months. The answer was an electric car, and Miles invested $30 million to launch Miles Electric Vehicles. Now he expects the high-speed Miles XS500 to hit the road in roughly 18 months. - Mary Kathleen Flynn
For discussion of electric cars see TeslaMotorsClub.com
