[Posted on October 30, 2007 - 1:40 PM]
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Electric cars have been around for decades, and much of the new development in this area has simply taken advantage of incremental improvements in technology of existing components. By contrast, Tesla Motors Inc. has garnered more than $100 million in venture capital investment and considerable buzz in tech circles based on its promise of developing fundamentally new car battery technology.
So it's understandable that Tesla is sensitive to rumors about the progress of its battery development. The company on Monday made The New York Times back down from a seemingly offhand comment in a story on a new electricity distribution scheme suggesting that delays in introducing its first cars are related to battery problems. Within hours of the story appearing, Tesla's vice president of sales and marketing, Darryl Siry, assured investors and the media that he had secured a promise from the Times for a correction. He also directed people to his blog for a further explanation and some speculation as to why rumors (which he acknowledged went beyond the Times report) were swirling about the company's battery development.
First, Siry reiterates that Tesla's announced delays continue to stem from issues of durability and reliability of the transmission. Now to the average car consumer, manufacturers' concerns about the operation of the transmission might not sound like a good thing, but reiterating that point underscores just how important battery issues are to Tesla's value as a company.
Siry also admits that he has received lots of inquiries about battery issues, attributing them to Tesla's decision to halt a deal to supply its battery packs to a new electricity distribution startup. Siry explains that Tesla's new CEO recently abandoned the relationship with Project Better Place to focus on finishing its own product, but the company left it up to the partner to announce that it would use a new supplier. When word began to spread that Better Place was not using Tesla's technology, rumors circulated that it was because of problems with the technology, culminating with the Times story. That's when Tesla felt the need to clear the air.
Now, about those transmissions ... - Clifford Carlsen
See May 11 story from TheDeal.com
See Oct. 29 story from TheDeal.com
See Oct. 29 story from The New York Times
See Oct. 29 post from Tesla Motors blog
