interested Archives

Tesla loan payoff opens up takeover scenario, is Google interested? [w/video]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors

‘Tesla needs to prove success is sustainable and that it is based on a solid financial foundation. If they do, they should be an appealing takeover target.’

Buried in the loan agreement text between Tesla Motors and the US Department of Energy were restrictions on the automaker’s ability to offer itself for sale. Now that the loan has been paid back early, speculation is ramping up that the company will get snagged by a bigger fish through a sale or a takeover. Bloomberg, in fact, is wondering aloud if Google will take the bait.

Now, before anyone gets all excited that the giant touchscreen in the Model S will get a clever logo redesign every holiday, we’ve heard unlikely rumors about other companies buying Tesla before (for example, Google’s competition, Apple) and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said repeatedly that he isn’t going to step down any time soon. In fact, he told Bloomberg last month, “I’ve said from the very beginning, from the creation of Tesla, that our goal is to create a compelling mass-market car. I would not consider stepping away from Tesla until we’re there. We’re several years away obviously.”

Right now might be a bad time to buy the company anyway, given TSLA stock’s high value (over $100 today). In fact, Bloomberg has calculated that Tesla is trading for 816 times(!) its estimated 2013 earnings. If things continue to go well, money-laden companies like Google or another automaker might be interested in the EV builder. The former deputy CEO of Chrysler and onetime Toyota dealer body guru, Jim Press, told Bloomberg that, “Tesla has developed an appealing and credible product with game-changing technology. They need to prove their success is sustainable for the long term and that it is based on a solid financial foundation. If they do, they should be an appealing takeover target.”

Currently, Musk controls about 24-percent of Tesla shares. There are more details in the Bloomberg article here and there’s a video bit of speculation below.

Continue reading Tesla loan payoff opens up takeover scenario, is Google interested? [w/video]

Tesla loan payoff opens up takeover scenario, is Google interested? [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 24 Jun 2013 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Tesla loan payoff opens up takeover scenario, is Google interested? [w/video]”

Mitsubishi interested in electric Formula 1 series

Filed under: Motorsports, Japan, Mitsubishi, Electric, Racing

Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi has expressed serious interest in FIA president Jean Todt’s proposed electric F1 series. The idea is in its infancy, and there is long way to go before silent F1 cars are zipping around the world’s best racing circuits, but interest from the brand gives the idea a bit of a boost.

Over the last two years, Mitsubishi has significantly reduced its motorsports participation, beginning with its withdrawal from the 2009 Dakar Rally. That, coupled with the recent controversy surrounding the future of the Lancer Evolution, has elicited criticism that the Mitsubishi is moving in an anti-motorsports direction.

Company brass say that isn’t true. Mitsubishi claims it’s very interested in electric-vehicle racing as a way to speed up EV technology development and make advancements in its future road vehicles. Still, we’d wager it’ll be years before an electric Evo hits the streets.

[Source: Mainichi Daily News]

Mitsubishi interested in electric Formula 1 series originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 01 May 2011 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Mitsubishi interested in electric Formula 1 series”

Report: FIA president Jean Todt interested in new electric F1 series

Filed under: Motorsports, Technology, Electric

jean todt

Are you prepared for Formula One, Electric Boogaloo? Jean Todt, President of the FIA, apparently is, and he hopes to introduce a few new racing series that will provide a platform for an electrified Formula One racing series.

Before we get to see a fully-fledged electric F1 league, The Telegraph reports that Todt plans to roll out electric car, go-kart and single-seat events. The goal is to increase awareness of electric propulsion and drum up support for its use in a variety of motorsports applications.

Jean Todt may have a tough road ahead of him, though, thanks to assumed opposition from F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. Todt is looking to bring hybrid powerplants to F1 and Ecclestone has already voiced his opposition to that plan. We’re going to guess that Bernie won’t take too kindly to all-electric racing either.

[Source: The Telegraph | Image: Roni Rekomaa/AFP/Getty]

Report: FIA president Jean Todt interested in new electric F1 series originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: FIA president Jean Todt interested in new electric F1 series”

Is Daimler interested in buying Fiat’s Iveco truck ops?

Filed under: Truck, Europe, Work, Earnings/Financials, Fiat, Rumormill

Iveco semi truck

Although many suspect that Daimler wants to buy Iveco from Fiat Industrial S.p.A., the German automaker denies it is angling to purchase the commercial division. According to The New York Times, there were supposedly talks during the summer about Daimler purchasing the “non-car business” – we’re not sure if that means the agricultural and the truck side – but apparently the two sides couldn’t agree on a price.

Daimler is the largest of players in the heavy truck industry – its various brands being among the market leaders on at least three continents. Outside opinion is that the German firm wants Iveco in order to help it penetrate Asia, where its current offerings are priced out of the mass-market competition. If nothing else, it’s being suggested that Daimler might try to work out some sort of partnership agreement with Iveco. Doing so could help keep integration costs way down and avert the scrutiny of anti-trust authorities. Fiat hasn’t commented on the matter, but this kind of tie-up is perhaps exactly what Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne had in mind when he split the company in two.

[Source: The New York Times]

Is Daimler interested in buying Fiat’s Iveco truck ops? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Is Daimler interested in buying Fiat’s Iveco truck ops?”