Tesla Motors and Government Money - Page 12

TEG · 03-20-2009, 02:52 PM

They might want to contact "Red Herring" (a popular publication). I doubt Red Herring readers would go looking for corrections over on Jalopnik...

TEG · 03-20-2009, 03:02 PM

Red Herring certainly wasn't the only place, though.

Tesla Motors To Receive $350 Million In Loans | Automobiles, Transportation, Vehicles

Quote:

The company's shrewd loan application to the government has also been approved. It expects to receive $350 million in loans over the next four to five months, in addition to the $40 million of venture capital it recently signed up. The company also said it is still on track to develop an electric version of the Smart in a partnership with Daimler.

Tesla Gets Federal Bailout Dough - Where Are The Jobs Going To Be?

stopcrazypp · 03-20-2009, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEG

They might want to contact "Red Herring" (a popular publication). I doubt Red Herring readers would go looking for corrections over on Jalopnik...

Yes, I assumed they contacted others and corrected it but I guess they didn't. It could be that this email newsletter was supposed to be only for customers and the media picked it up, so they didn't bother going around to try to find all the outlets that picked it up (they only made clarifications after Jalopnik contacted them), since it isn't a standard press release where they know who picked it up.

In the original message:

Quote:

Regarding funding, I am excited to report that the Department of Energy informed Tesla last week that they expect to disburse funds from our $350M Model S loan application within four to five months.

Which strongly implies the DOE already approved the application but is waiting to give the funding.

The blog entry which was off by one day had a very slight change in wording:
Tesla Motors - Tesla Leadership

Quote:

Regarding funding, I am excited to report that the Department of Energy informed Tesla last week that they may disburse funds from our $350M Model S loan application within four to five months.

This seems to imply things are not set yet and they are still deciding on the application.
The wording is still iffy and it seems to me Elon could have made it much clearer that the loan isn't approved yet just by adding "pending application approval".

TEG · 03-20-2009, 05:06 PM

Yeah - just searching on Tesla and "$350 million" turns up many places that ran with the original "story" and no correction...

Breaking: Tesla to Unveil Model S Sedan on March 26 and Has Been Accepted for $350 M in Government Loans to Build it - AllCarsElectric.com

Note, the above story quotes it as a "Press Release", not a customer newsletter...

Tesla Gets $350m Loan, To Unveil Model S in March, Go On Sale In 2011

This one gives more details and poses some questions:
Timeline Revealed for DOE Loan Program: Don’t Get Your Hopes Up

TEG · 03-22-2009, 03:21 AM

Autoline EXTRA: Diarmuid O'Connell, VP Business Development, Tesla on Autoline Detroit

dpeilow · 03-24-2009, 03:58 AM

Greentech Media | BrightSource, Tesla Expect Fed Loans Soon

Quote:

Tesla, an electric carmaker in San Carlos, Calif., also applied for money under the 2005 legislation. But it has since applied to a different loan guarantee program and is hoping to receive about $450 million under the program created by the Sec. 136 of the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program (ATVM), which Congress created as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Congress set aside $7.5 billion last fall for the program, which aims to help car and auto parts manufacturers outfit their factories for producing energy-efficient cars.

The terms of a ATVM loan guarantee is more favorable than the one created in 2005, said Rachel Konrad, a Tesla spokeswoman. The DOE hasn't announced any loan guarantee approvals from this program, but has said it could do so within weeks, Konrad noted.

"It allows you to amortize certain engineering costs, among other factors. It's a less expensive loan – if you look at all the terms," said Konrad, who declined to disclose how much savings Tesla would get.

Tesla is seeking $350 million to build a factory for its second electric car model called Model S, as well as another $100 million for powertrain manufacturing, Konrad said.

NEWDL · 03-25-2009, 09:34 AM

This is a typical sales tactic. I actually think it is quite smart. Get the media stating that the DOE has accepted the application and will disperse funds and now the DOE has the issue of, if it were to decide to deny the application, explaining why it is now denying the application when it seemed like a done deal.

Almost like a salesman having you sign your name next to some arbitrary figure. It creates the illusion of commitment.

I personally hope it works...

Maybe this was on purpose, maybe not, but I think it was a good move.

TEG · 03-25-2009, 03:58 PM

Sometimes a strategy like that can backfire if the other party resents having words put in their mouth. For instance, when CARB started to tell the auto industry that not only do we want their EVs, but they MUST make some, it seemed that was part of the story that turned it into a "if you say we must then you can't have any" sort of response.

Lets just hope it isn't another "counted your chickens before they hatched" story.

Solyndra funding is a good sign though.
Solyndra Snags DOE Loan Guarantee No. 1

It does appear that the DOE loan logjam/floodgates are finally open.