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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Government/Legal , Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Their plate may be filled with churning out Tesla Roadsters and developing the Model S sedan, but Tesla Motors can't seem to get a break from the lawsuits. First there was the tiff with transmission supplier Magna , followed by potential development partner Fisker , and now Tesla is facing a class action lawsuit from former Director of Public Relations, David Vespremi. Vespremi ended up on the cutting room floor during the tornado that swept through the company ranks at the end of 2007. According to Tesla VP, Darryl Siry , the firings were centered on slacking employees and mismanagement. However, Vespremi obviously did not agree. Even departed founder, Martin Eberhard, did not see rationalization in the reorganization that occurred. With that kind of reaction, it was not too surprising to see the suit get filed. The details of the lawsuit allege that Tesla Motors did not practice good faith or fair dealing...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Government/Legal , Green Click above for high-res gallery of the Fisker Karma A few months back, Tesla Motors sued Fisker Automotive for allegedly stealing information related to the production of its upcoming plug-in electric sedan named Whitestar and using it to develop its series-hybird, the Karma . Yesterday, a judge ruled in favor of Fisker Automotive by allowing the case to go into arbitration outside the courtroom, which was apparently part of the original agreement between Tesla and Henrik Fisker in the first place. It appears that Tesla went outside that original agreement by bringing forth its lawsuit in the first place, though Tesla may have considered that contract void as the original lawsuit alleged that it was signed merely to gain access to confidential information. Although the arbitration is to be handled outside of court, the judge has scheduled a management conference this August, perhaps to be sure that negotiations are moving along...
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Filed under: Spy Photos , Sedans/Saloons , Government/Legal , Green Click above for more Fisker-supplied spy shots of the Karma Isn't it fitting that Fisker Automotive's upcoming series-hybrid sports sedan is named Karma ?. After having commissioned Fisker to help design its second product, the Whitestar sedan, Tesla Motors sued Fisker claiming it stole trade secrets that were then used on the Karma. Following that lawsuit, Tesla was then sued by Magna , one of its former transmission suppliers, Tesla's suit against Fisker came several weeks after Tesla themselves were sued by Magna Powetrain who had been contracted to develop a new transmission for the Roadster and now Fisker is slapping the upstart electric car company with its own arbitration suit. That's karma for you, right there. Fisker will attempt to first derail Tesla's original lawsuit by seeking to have it moved from San Mateo, CA to Orange County, after which it will then try to prove that Tesla is attempting...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Government/Legal , Green Birthing a car is always difficult, and Tesla has seen its share of problems. The biggest hurdle to getting its all-EV Roadsters in customers' garages has been the transmission. Initially the company wanted to have a two-speed unit, but the unit from its first supplier, X-Trac, wasn't durable enough. Tesla then contracted Magna to help build a tranny, before a final try at designing its own transmission also ended abortively. In the end, to get cars rolling out the door, changes were made to the motor so that a single-speed transmission could be fitted. Magna doesn't seem upset that it was just a stepping stone - that's business. What the company would like, however, is to get paid for the work it performed. Magna is also telling Tesla "told you so" by claiming to have suggested a single-speed unit back in 2006. To recover its $5.6 million, Magna has filed suit in San Mateo to force the issue, which coincidentally...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Government/Legal , Green As we recently reported , rumors have been swirling regarding Henrik Fisker's involvement with Tesla Motors and its upcoming electric sedan prototype known as the WhiteStar. As is often the case, there's apparently some truth to the scuttlebutt, as Tesla has filed a lawsuit claiming that Fisker Automotive is using stolen design ideas from Tesla sourced when Fisker Coachbuild was employed by the young EV automaker for the styling of its sedan. According to Tesla chairman Elon Musk, "We could not use the Fisker styling. The styling was substandard compared to what he unveiled for his product. He gave us an inferior work product, and it's obvious why." In the process of working for Tesla, the lawsuit contends that Henrik Fisker and a few of his associates stole design ideas and confidential information related to the design of hybrid and electric cars. Fisker has since announced his upcoming...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Government/Legal click above for more pics of the Tesla Roadster being crash tested Yesterday the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved a waiver for Tesla Motors so that its all-electric Roadster could be sold in the U.S. despite not meeting advanced federal air bag requirements . Of note, however, are some comments made by the NHTSA when the waiver was granted. The organization gave Tesla Motors the pass because it did try to meet the government's advanced air bag standards and the Roadster will, of course, have airbags, but also because the, "public interest is served by encouraging the development of fuel-efficient and alternative-fueled vehicles." While the NHTSA may want to come off as the benevolent bureaucracy that's promoting the future of motoring by granting this waiver, the truth is that a number of automakers have received the same free pass for their high-end, low volume supercars, including Ferrari, Bugatti...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Government/Legal , Safety click above for more pics of the Tesla Roadster testing for the FMVSS In order to legally be sold as a production vehicle in all 50 of these United States, a new car has to meet hundreds of requirements, some silly and some serious. Malcolm Powell, Tesla Motors VP of Vehicle Integration, reported on the company's blog recently that the Tesla Roadster has finished taking and passed every test of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Perhaps the most important requirements to meet are the crash tests, and as you can see, a number of Tesla Roaster prototypes were sacrificed to ensure that drivers and passengers alike would be reasonably safe in the case of an accident. Emergency cutoff systems have also been put in place for those worried about what happens to those 1.21 gigawatts behind their head in case of an accident. The Tesla Roadster also passed muster in other tests, like being able to defrost the front windshield...
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