Texas EV Rebate Law Slaps Tesla Again, Musk Courts India

The Texas legislature wrapped up its latest session by passing a law renewing a $2,500 rebate for Texans who purchase a qualifying low or zero emissions car. The program began in 2013 as part of the state’s Emissions Reduction Program and applied to electric cars, fuel cell cars, and cars powered by compressed natural gas.

The rebate was done away with by the legislature in 2015 but now it is back. There’s just one kicker — the program is administered by franchise car dealers in the Lone Star state. Since Texas law prohibits Tesla from selling cars directly to customers within the state, the rebate will not apply to Tesla.

Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas, tells Green Car Reports the 2017 legislative session was “a pretty lousy session for the environment. The Legislature further weakened local and citizen rights to fight pollution, a win for the big polluters who fund their campaigns, but a clear loss for public health and the environment.”

Tesla Cozying Up To India

It is common knowledge that Tesla is looking to build more factories and some of them will be built in foreign countries. Elon Musk has said recently his company will be building up to 6 million cars a year soon. The Fremont factory is very near maximum capacity now with little room for  expansion.

India is projected to be the third largest automobile market soon and its government has announced it plans to restrict new car sales to only electric cars by 2030. Since Tesla manufacturers only electric cars, the allure of building and selling cars in India is obvious.

But before investing in a new factory, Musk would like to test the waters in India first to see if his products appeal to Indian consumers. And he would like a little help from the government to do that.

14 Jun

Jasveer singh👨🏻‍💻 @jasveer10

Awesome @elonmusk When will Tesla come to India or plan has been postponed? #Tesla https://twitter.com/cnntech/status/875041106190376962 …

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@jasveer10 In discussions with the government of India requesting temporary relief on import penalties/restrictions until a local factory is built

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“They want to start selling the vehicles to understand the market in India,” Abdul Majeed, partner and national auto practice leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, tells Quartz. “From a niche play, they want to get into the mass market.”

And why would India relax its import tariffs for one company and not others? Because Tesla’s corporate philosophy aligns perfectly with the goals of the national government and a Tesla factory would add plenty of new jobs for the citizens of the country.

If Elon feels comfortable tweeting that discussions with the government are in progress, it can be assumed they are going well. When it comes to prognosticating about where a future Tesla factory will be built, it is probably safe to put India in the “Highly Likely” category.

Texas Company Ready To Start Making “New” DeLorean

When John Z.DeLorean shuffled off this mortal coil after snuffling untold quantities of white powder up his nose, the assets of his car company were purchased by DeLorean Motor Company of Humble, Texas. It has quietly stayed in business repairing existing DeLorean cars, thanks to a large stockpile of original DeLorean parts.

Now, a change in federal law is opening the way for it to actually start putting those parts together to make “new” DeLoreans, according to The Verge. The law exempts small volume car manufacturers from the safety requirements applied to most new car makers. It only applies to “replica” vehicles, which means cars that resemble the body of another vehicle produced at least 25 years ago. Think the original Shelby Cobra, the 65 Mustang and of course, the DeLorean.

“It’s fantastic! It is a game changer for us. We’ve been wanting this to happen,” Stephen Wynne, CEO of DeLorean Motors told NBC News in Washington. He estimates he has enough original and replica parts on hand to build 300 new DeLoreans. He will start by making one a month, with hopes to get that up to about one a week in time. Because he has all those original parts, “There’s no need to change the appearance of the car,” Wynne said.

The new law does not apply to engines, however. They must still conform to all current emissions standards. Wynne is investigating the purchase of new crate engines from different manufacturers. All of the engines he is considering have between 300 and 400 horsepower — almost triple the 138 horses supplied by the original four cylinder engine. The new cars will also get larger wheels and tires, Wynne says, because nobody makes high performance rubber for the original 14″ or 15″ wheels any more.

There are still a lot of regulatory hoops to jump through before production can begin. Both DOT and NHTSA regulations must be complied with. Assuming that process goes smoothly, Wynne foresees starting to build cars in the first quarter of 2017. He anticipates the cars will sell for between $80,000 and $100,000 each. That seems like a bargain for a genuine low volume iconic car like the DeLorean, especially one with a healthy increase in horsepower. Maybe Wynne should take reservations the way Tesla does.

John Z. was an interesting fellow. He created the Pontiac Firebird and the original Pontiac GTO. After he left General Motors, he pioneered an innovative 6 wheeled motor home with an air suspension that is still highly prized by the RV crowd. When he decided to build his own car, the government of Northern Ireland made him an offer he couldn’t refuse in order to induce him to build a factory there. The government desperately wanted to create manufacturing jobs at that time.

DeLorean picked out the site himself, but there was a problem. There was a large whitethorn tree right where DeLorean wanted his factory built. He ordered the workers to rip it out. Now, not all of our readers may be steeped in Irish legend as I am, but everyone in Ireland knows the fairies make their homes in the roots of whitethorn trees. Disturbing the “little people” is akin to calling down all the bad luck imaginable upon your sorry head.

The workers tried to convince DeLorean to change his plans but he was having none of it. The rest, as they say, is history. Perhaps now the “little people” have rescinded their curse and are ready to let the DeLoren be reborn, faster and better than ever. It won’t have a flux capacitor, but with up to 400 horsepower, it will have no problem reaching precisely 88 miles per hour.

Photo credit: DeLorean Motor Company

Second Tesla Gallery, Service Center Opening This Weekend In Houston

Tesla Model S

Tesla Motors may not be allowed to sell its electric cars directly to customers in Texas, but it can still put them on display.

After failing to convince the Texas legislature to legalize direct sales (twice), the company is opening a second gallery in Houston this weekend.

Like the existing Tesla gallery--also in Houston--the new one will show cars, but it cannot legally facilitate sales.

The new Tesla gallery will also include a service center for existing Tesla owners, reports the Houston Chronicle.

It joins an existing Tesla gallery at Houston's Galleria mall, and a service center in the city's Westchase area.

A second Texas gallery could be considered a small victory after two failed attempts by Tesla to get the state legislature to legalize direct sales.

Tesla owners & supporters gather in Statehouse in Austin to support company [photo: John Griswell]

In 2013, CEO Elon Musk came to Texas to lobby, even dangling the possibility of a second Tesla factory--one that would build an electric pickup truck, in fact.

He found sponsors in both houses of the legislature for a bill permitting an American manufacturer making 100-percent electric cars (i.e., Tesla itself) to sell directly to consumers in Texas.

The bill wasn't passed, though, and because the Texas legislature only meets every other year, Musk and company didn't get another shot until 2015.

He and other Tesla representatives returned to Texas earlier this year, hoping to reach a compromise with the franchised dealers that bitterly oppose direct sales.

Tesla owners & supporters gather in Statehouse in Austin to support company [photo: John Griswell]

Musk suggested something similar to a previous arrangement arrived at in New York, where the number of Tesla stores in the state would be capped.

At the time, he said Tesla would be happy opening just seven retail stores in the Lone Star State.

The legislature was unmoved, though, and Musk won't have another opportunity to make his case until 2017.

If Tesla can crack the direct-sales ban, Texas could be a potentially lucrative market for the company.

It may be known as the home of Big Oil, but Texas represents a meaningful part of plug-in electric car sales, thanks in part to well-developed charging infrastructure.

“No Charge to Charge” Program for New Leaf Buyers in Texas

Since September, NRG Energy has offered a “No Charge to Charge” program to new Nissan Leaf buyers in Texas. “No Charge to Charge” includes twelve months of unlimited charging at eVgo’s Texas Freedom Station network of public charging stations at no cost to new Leaf owners.

The Nissan Leaf has a range of approximately seventy-five miles on a single charge, which will get drivers most places they might want to get around a major metro area like Houston. It’s still nice to know there are places around town where an electric vehicle can get a bit more charge while out and about. It provides that little extra peace of mind. “Increased range confidence” is how Erik Gottfried, Nissan’s director of EV Sales and Marketing, puts it.

The Freedom Station network is comprised of twenty-three locations in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex and seventeen locations in the Houston area. Most of these locations are at HEBs (grocery stores), Walgreen’s, and Cracker Barrels, making them a convenient place to charge while shopping or dining. Park N’ Fly lots at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) are also included in the eVgo network and the free year of charging.

Two kinds of chargers are available at Freedom Station sites: DC Fast Chargers and Level 2 Chargers. DC Fast Chargers can charge a Leaf up to a range of sixty miles in less than thirty minutes. Level 2 Chargers charge at a rate of between twelve and twenty-five miles in an hour. Since most electric vehicle charging is done at home, public charging stations are mostly used to top off a charge.

With such a large and convenient network of public charging stations, it’s not surprising that Nissan Leaf sales in 2013 were up 500% from 2012 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The “No Charge to Charge” program is being given for free with new leases and purchases of Nissan Leafs in the Dallas Fort Worth and Houston markets until March 31.

Images Courtesy NRG

Tesla Motors Could Build Electric Pickup At New Plant In Texas!?

Texas has had a solid reputation as a “red” state where pickups and cowboys are the norm since the Nixon era. Yet the Lone Star state has a lot of green credibility too, and Elon Musk is trying to entice Texas lawmakers with the possibility of opening a second manufacturing facility that could, potentially, build an all-electric pickup truck.

Musk is hoping to convince Texas lawmakers to vote yes on a new law that would allow electric vehicle makers to sell cars directly to customers. Right now, Tesla has two “galleries” that are legally prohibited from giving potential customers any sales information, including cost, financing, warranty, or even test drives. Texas Tesla service centers can’t even evaluate cars for warranty infomation, making it quite difficult to actually sell a Tesla Model S in Texas.

Despite this, Tesla has still managed to sell 400 Model S sedans to customers in Texas, though Musk believes that if this new law were in place, annual sales could amount to 2,000 vehicles or more. This would make the Lone Star state second in Tesla sales, behind California, which led Musk to dangle the potential for a new manufacturing facility in front of legislators.

And what would this plant build? At first, probably just more Model S sedans, though Musk has an idea for an electric pickup that might float better with Texas. An all-electric pickup? Musk says it would have “sports car performance” but would be geared towards towing and capacity, more than a comparable gas or diesel truck.

As wild as it sounds, an electric pickup could be as reliable, if not even more so, than a diesel truck, as there are far fewer moving parts. But would Texans really embrace an electric pickup? We have awhile to wait, as Tesla still has to make the Model X SUV, a BMW 3-series competitor, and a new Tesla Roadster before a pickup can even be considered. Meanwhile, VIA Motors is already offering plug-in hybrid pickups for fleet purchase, which gives them a head start on Tesla, if nothing else.

But maybe one day, Texans will have their choice between gas, diesel, hybrid, and electric pickups. Wouldn’t that be something?

Source: Automotive News

Don’t Mess With Texas: State Considering An Electric Vehicle Tax

Texas joins a growing number of states considering an electric car tax to make up for lost gasoline revenue.

So far Virginia is considering electric car tax and Washington State already has a $100 fee put into place. Now Texas has added itself to the mix. The state of Texas, like Virginia, has not changed its gas tax in about twenty years – the Texas gas tax sits at 38.4 cents per gallon.

Republican Representative Drew Darby, who has come out to be the voice of this proposal, has suggested that, “electric vehicles that tear up our roads”, need to pay their fair share.  Plug-In Texas, a growing group promoting the use of hybrid and battery electric technology, say there are currently only 2,000 plug-in vehicles in the state of Texas. 2,000 plug-in vehicles are not really going put a negative dent in the current gas tax revenue.

There are many concerns here, but let us focus on two. The first concern is that an additional tax on electric vehicles to make up for lost gas revenue will drive consumers away from the electric vehicle market. The second concern is that of a double tax. The vast majority of electric car owners charge their electric cars at home. That’s using electricity that you are already taxed on to power your car. So you’re paying taxes on your electricity and now also to make up for the lack of gas revenue, even though your electric car requires no gas. Oh, and there’s the fact that big rigs and heavy trucks dohundreds thousands of times more damage to the roads than any passenger car or pickup. If anybody needs to pay more road taxes, it is commercial trucking companies.

Policy issues such as this really interest me, what’s going on here? Is this a fear of acceptance of a new technology? We talk about getting away from reliance on oil and yet when we make steps to do just that, in this example using electric vehicles, we discourage the public by slapping a tax on them. Is this about politicians being invested and backed by oil companies? Is this really about generating needed revenue because our American infrastructure is in such bad shape? Or are politicians just being lazy and not taking the time to figure out solutions to complex situations?

I don’t have all the answers, not yet anyhow. But keep an eye on this issue because as more electric vehicles hit the roads it will be interesting to see how certain groups of people react.

Source: csmonitor.com