A Tesla Tornado Christmas Tree

This instructables is slightly too late for Christmas, but it's so damn cool that you'll want to start your project now. Basically, you take a Tesla Pump (yeah, that Tesla), and use it to swirl liquids around in a pipe. More »

Create Your Own Tesla Coil Musical With the ArcAttack Emulator

If you visited the Giz Gallery this year, you might have witnessed the electrifying (and slightly terrifying) musical spectacle that is ArcAttack. Well, now they have an emulator on their website that allows you to make music of your own. More »

So Long Roadster, Hello Shaggin' Wagon: Tesla Vans Coming Soon

In addition to making electric roadsters, Tesla is also planning on making electric minivans, cross-over utility vehicles and vans, at least according to VP Diarmuid O'Connell. He doesn't give any specifics, but it sounds good to me. [AutoBlog via Engadget]

DIY Tesla Turbine Pencil Sharpener Is Pointlessly Dangerous

Using a CD jewel case, some magnets and a 12-volt air compressor, you can build an elaborate Tesla turbine sharpener for pencils you probably don't even use. Oh, did I mention it could kill you? More »

Tesla Motors Generates Profit For First Time Ever

Don't look now but the stumbling Tesla Motors, the electric car company recently on the receiving end of a $465 million government loan, has turned a profit for the first time in its six-year history. More »

Solar-Powered County Fair Makes So Much Sense

This year's Marin County fair in northern California took its environmental theme seriously. A huge photovoltaic setup provided about 40% of the fair's energy with clean solar power—and a solar-powered county fair makes perfect sense. More »

Tesla Gets Full $465 Million In Federal Loans

The Department of Energy just announced electric automaker Tesla will get the full $465 million in Federal loans it asked for. Ford will receive $5.9 billion and Nissan will get $1.6 billion. America will get three I.O.U.'s. [AP]

Would a Sub $10,000 Zero-Emissions Car Be The Greatest Consumer Gadget Ever?

Speaking at the Wired Business Conference in NYC, Shai Agassi, the founder of green transportation company Better Place, made a bold statement about near-future electric cars: More »

New Lithium-Sulfur Batteries Could Last 3 Times Longer Than Lithium-Ion

Scientists at the University of Waterloo have designed a lithium-sulfur battery that, thanks to nanotechnology, is capable of 3 times the power of lithium-ion batteries with equal volume while remaining both lighter and cheaper to produce. Long-distance electric cars, anyone? More »

Daimler Buys 10% of Electric Car Maker Tesla

Tesla, which makes an electric Roadster and is hoping to make an electric Sedan, just sold 10% of itself to Daimler. More »

Tesla-Smart Collaboration Produces Underwhelming Electric Car

The Smart fortwo seems like a perfect candidate for the electric makeover, and with Tesla lending its expertise to the project, we all expected an impressive showing. But to be honest, we're not thrilled. More »

Strangely, The Man In This Electrifying Photo Is Not Dead Today

Meet Peter Terren. Inspired by the The Thinker, he set out to recreate that classic sculpture using electricity, wire caging, a conductive foil suit, and a death wish. Can't forget the death wish. More »

Tesla Roadster May Set New Record for Distance on A Single Charge

Potentially setting a new record for distance travelled by a production electric car on a single charge, a Tesla Roadster finished the entire, 241-mile-long Rallye Monte Carlo d'Energies Alternatives without even draining its battery. More »

Sweet Songs of Zeus! Geek Anthems Sung By Tesla Coils

Zaps from tesla coils sound like old school synthesizers, so they're the perfect instrument of delivery for 8-bit video game and geek anthems. Plus, lightning. More »

Best Tesla Coils Music Use Ever Will Make the Emperor Happy

We have featured tesla coils music before but, if there's a music piece these things were created for, that has to be the Imperial March. Someone put Luke in between those, please. [Star Wars Blog]

Tesla Jacks Up Prices On Customers Who Already Ordered a Roadster

Not that an extra $9,300 really matters with a $100,000 car, but Telsa jacking up the prices on customers that have already locked in their Roadster orders is just plain shady. More »

Top Gear Crew Puts the Tesla Roadster Through Its Paces

If there's a more entertaining show about cars in the world than the BBC's Top Gear, I've never seen it. Which is why we're psyched to see them take on the Tesla Electric Roadster.

Tesla Needs a Government Bailout Too

Tesla, the electronic auto maker, has just stated that it needs a $350,000,000 government loan in order to produce their upcoming four-door Model S Sedan. More »

Electric Guitar Played Through a Tesla Coil for Added Metal

Japanese guitarist Merce Death set up his Tesla coil to output the frequencies of his electric guitar so even the wussiest John Mayer song would sound badass. He busts out a little 'Sweet Child O' Mine' at 1:05, but alas, not a hint of 'Your Body is a Wonderland.' [OYKOT, thanks John!] More »

Tesla Motors Gets a $40m Cash Recharge, Probably Won't Disappear

Fresh off a pretty huge round of layoffs, their Detroit office closure and a flurry of rumors about their solvency, Tesla Motors has been promised $40m in financing. Considering the fact that Elon Musk, mildly successful space invader and the owner of the company, had admitted just a few weeks ago that the company only had about $9m in bank, this new investment probably means the difference between customers getting their cars on time and Tesla, well, dissolving. So, Tesla, you've got your money — can we have our sedan, please? [NYT]

Tesla Teases Us With Model S 4-Door Sedan's Butt

After laying off 90% of its Detroit staff, it seems that Tesla needs to keep the idea that they are still alive and eager to release their Tesla Model S sedan, even while it's going to be delayed until they get some money from the US Department of Energy. What you can see here is their chief designer von Holzhausen lifting the veil from the back of the $60,000 four-door electric car. [Business Week via World Car Fans]

New Tesla Gearbox Ups Range to 244 Miles, Hits Zero to 60 Time of 4.0 Seconds

Tesla Motors is finally rolling out its long-awaited single-speed transmission for the all-electric Tesla Roadster, which will pare down durability issues while upping torque and range. The new gearbox, made by transmission whiz kids Borg Warner, lets the Roadster hit its promised zero to 60 time of 4.0 seconds while upping travel distance to 244 miles per charge. More »

Key to Cheaper Lithium Ion Batteries Could Be Inside the Microwave

Researchers at UT Austin have devised a new way to create lithium iron phosphate—the compound inside high-density Li-ion batteries being developed for cars and power tools—that uses microwaves to cut costs. The new method requires lower temperatures (300° C rather than 700°) and less time to fabricate the phosphate via the nuking process—just like throwing that Tombstone in the m-wave rather than the oven. The tech probably won't trickle down into laptop batteries, which use a lithium cobalt oxide that isn't capable of the quick bursts of current needed to get something like the Chevy Volt rolling. All the better to crash your Tesla with. [Technology Review]

Tesla 4-Door Model S Sedan Will Be $60,000

Tesla's following up their $100,000 super-electric roadster model with a four-door, five-passenger sedan. It's called the Model S and will go on sale for about $60,000 in 2010. The Arnold (CA Governor) was on hand at the announcement because he's giving an incentive package to Tesla to manufacture the car in California, and will probably be in the Bay Area where we are. Perhaps a Telsa manufacturing plant visit is in our future? [SFGate via Jalopnik] More »

Tesla Sues White Star Ex-Designer for Sabotage

Tesla Motors, maker of the much hyped (and well reviewed) electric Roadster is suing Fisker Automotive, the outfit behind fake vroom-y Karma, for stealing Tesla's design and trade secrets. Supposedly, this pushed the sale date for Tesla's four-door sedan, White Star, back six months, to 2010. Henrik Fisker (the eponymous founder) was hired by Tesla to design White Star. Tesla alleges he took the $875,000 contract, sabotaged Tesla's project with sub-par work, and then made off with their secrets and designs, using the money to launch his rival electric car effort. More »

Tunnel Vision's Light-Sound Architecture Invokes Spirit of Tesla

Paul Klotz is a Dutch applied art engineer and lighting designer who makes crazy light installations under the name of LED-Art. Tunnel Vision is a tribute to Tesla and is a 15-foot-long sound-and light sculpture that changes when you put your hands in the opening—sort of like an audio-visual theremin. Tunnel Vision's shape is, apparently, based on an abstraction of the 100Hz tone made by electrical generators and is known as Magnetostriction. [LED-Art]

Three Tesla Electric Car Reviews

The Telsa Roadster's been a long ways a comin', and here are the first reviews in the March issues of the fossil-fuel loving, pulp-based mongrel cousins of Jalopnik. And after a few hours flogging the e-car on California's Skyline Boulevard, most pubs have concluded that the Tesla is the first electric car—the first green car, really—that deserves a spot in any car aficionado's fantasy garage. More »

Tesla Branches into Gas-Electric Hybrid Market

Tesla plans to enter the gas-electric hybrid market, with the first range extended vehicle (REV) to hit the streets by the end of 2009. Their all electric models negate the use for a gas motor entirely, but by adding a gas motor they will be able to produce hybrid vehicles with better performance. More »