This is my super duper post dfgdfg

 

Tesla Motors, the company behind the Roadster electric vehicle, might look for additional funding from equity sales to help pay for development of its third electric car — the sport utility vehicle styled Model X — according to the company’s CEO Elon Musk.

The company is working on another electric car model that’s geared toward car buyers interested in an SUV or a minivan. Details about the Model X have been scarce — one of the few facts known about it is that it will use the same power train as the Model S — and the car should be unveiled at the end of the year, Musk said. And while the company is on track to be profitable in the future once it releases the Model S, it might look into selling additional equity to help ramp up production of the Model X.

“We do have enough capital to reach cash-flow positive without raising another dollar,” Musk said on the earnings call. “There’s a decent chance we will raise a secondary for the Model X activity and some additional potential headroom growth on the Model S production.”

The electric car manufacturer is still working on its second car, the Model S sedan that’s geared toward more casual car buyers and first-time electric car buyers. It recently completed its alpha models for the Model S and has begun quality testing them, meaning demonstration models for press and analysts will be out by the end of the summer, Musk said. The production model will come out in the United States around summer next year, and then in Europe toward the end of 2012.

The company added 900 new reservations for the Model S last quarter — which requires a cash down payment of $5,000 — bringing its total reservations for the Model S up to 4,600. Tesla Motors also sold 1,650 Roadsters and is on track to run out of Roadsters at the end of the year. The company’s debut electric car was a sports car based on the Lotus Elise chassis that carries a hefty initial price tag of $109,000. The Model S is priced at $57,000 before government incentives for purchasing an electric car.

Most of the reservations for the Model S come from U.S. consumers — but that’s how Tesla Motors wants it, because recalls will be easier to manage if there are any problems, Musk said. About 75 percent of the reservations for the Model S came from U.S. car buyers, while the rest came from European buyers.

Tesla Motors’ cars have some of the largest plug-in electric car ranges. The Tesla Roadster can travel around 200 miles before needing to recharge, and the Model S is expected to have a range of up to 300 miles between charges. The Nissan Leaf — though much cheaper, at $32,000 — can only travel around 100 miles before needing to recharge. Musk didn’t indicate what kind of range the Model X will have, though it will probably be somewhere between the Roadster and the Model S if it uses the same power train as the Model S with a larger chassis.

Tesla Motors posted a lower-than-expected quarterly loss, hemorrhaging $48.9 million, or 51 cents per share. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to lose 53 cents per share and bring in $47 million in revenue. The company brought in $49 million in the first quarter this year, more than double the $20.8 million it picked up in the first quarter last year. The performance pleased shareholders, bringing the electric car manufacturer’s shares up 3.7 percent to $27.67.

Most of the performance came from the company’s sale of battery components and chargers to Daimler for its Class-A and Smart Fortwo electric vehicles. Development services revenue also rose because Tesla Motors partnered with Toyota to provide powertrain systems for the company’s RAV4 electric vehicle program.

[Photo: norio.nakayama, jurvetson]

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You never expect to run into your mother in certain places: a nightclub, a concert, or at one of those juice-detox bars that are springing up everywhere in Los Angeles. But how about in the middle of an intersection on Crescent Drive in Beverly Hills? I mean, I really ran into her….or I better say I crashed into her! Yes, with my car, in the middle of a posh residential area in the flats of Beverly Hills. Luckily she was in her car as well or I could have done serious damage.

It all happened so fast. One minute I was driving home from an appointment. The next minute two boys on their bicycles by the street corner caught my eye, and the next minute I found myself swerving my car to avoid hitting a silver Lexus that had suddenly appeared in my path. Well, you already know that I did not succeed.

The first thing that popped in my head was I hope the lady in the car is okay. "The lady" drove her car to the side of the curb and I followed. I could only see the back of her head, and from the greying hair I could tell she was an elderly woman. Needless to say, I felt even more terrible. I immediately got out of my car to apologize. I knew I had been careless and had not paid attention.

Just imagine the sheer horror in my face, and my mom’s as well, when we finally saw each other. With both hands on the steering wheel, my mom leaned out of the window and squinted, "Angel, is that you?" I didn’t know what to do first: pick my jaw off the floor, drive and run to my room and close the door out of sheer embarrassment, or pretend that I was not me. The afternoon sun was glaring into her face. I could tell that she was clearly shaken up. And did I tell you, I felt horrible?

Nothing had really happened to my car, but her Lexus was badly dented. I made my way towards her, my eyes downcast, "Yes it is me, Mom." The words barely come out of my mouth. As I was reaching for my mother’s hand, a witness came by and asked my mom if she needed her testimony.

I ignored the question and asked, "Mom, are you okay?" My mom straightened herself up right away, patted her hair down, paused and looked down at her hands that lay once again on the steering wheel and quickly looked up at me. The mother that she is, her first instinct was to want to protect me, exonerate me of my guilt. "Yes, yes. I am okay. Are you?"

The witness interrupted us again, "Ma’am, do you need any help?" she asked. I turned to her and explained that I was her daughter.

She shook her head in disbelief, "I’ve never heard of anything like this!"

"I know," I sighed and turned to my mom. I got lucky; my mom wasn’t hurt. We both drove off, and of course, this accident became the butt of our family’s joke for the next week. I managed to get her car fixed within a week. As much as I nervously laughed and joined in on the joke with everyone, I wanted to quickly erase any evidence of what I had done.

A few weeks passed, and I was sitting next to my oldest brother at a restaurant. He was telling my husband and me how he is enjoying taking up the santur (a Persian musical instrument). His wife interjected and said, "He loves to practice, and what is so funny is that when the teacher comes the following week, he can’t believe his remarkable progress."

It was no surprise to any of us. My oldest brother, along with the rest of us in the family, tends to have this laser beam focus when it comes to mastering something. Granted he seems to take first prize in that category (he skipped three grades in school and recently won in a competition in downhill skiing), we all appear to have picked this habit up from both my mom and my late father. "Believe me," I said, "by next week, he will have skipped an entire method booklet." I looked over to my brother, Jamshid, and noticed him leaning back in his chair, chuckling, first looking down at his hands, then quickly looking up.

That was it! I instantly recognized that look. I leaned in and said, "You know, this very look you just gave? Well, it’s exactly the same look that mom sometimes has." "It’s unbelievable," I added. I don’t remember his response, or even what we talked about after that. I sat back, thinking how much I missed my mom. I mean I speak to her almost everyday, and we do see each other at least once a week. But this was a different kind of missing.

That night I went home and thought about how startled she was when I had found her after the accident, the vulnerable, yet strong look on her face. In our family, we all love each other deeply, but we’ve been raised in a very formal and traditional way. Outward displays of affection are reserved for big celebrations or special events. Come to think of it, in our Persian language, the word "love" is not spoken between a parent and a child or visa versa.

Blame it on my more American upbringing, my sensitivity, or even the fact that I felt bad for running into my mom. The very next day, I called my mom and asked her if I could come over her house. "Mom, I love you," I said in English over the phone. She let out a belly laugh and replied, "I love you too," in her strong Persian accent.

I felt stupid, as if I were an 8-year-old child. But I guess it doesn’t matter how old you are; from time to time, you want to feel mothered. I told her I wanted to come over so that she could give me a hug. There was a pause for a few seconds. I imagined she probably thought I had fallen out of the wrong side of the bed. But her voice cracked when she said, "Come over, my little one." Being the youngest of five kids and with a petite build, my father had nicknamed me — koochooloo, meaning little one. Once, when I was in my early 30s, I went to visit my father. Upon seeing me enter the room, he sat up, snapped his fingers, and flashed his blue eyes in delight. "Bah, bah! Koochooloo is here. She looks like she is only 18," he said. Well, I am sure I looked older than a teenager, but this goes to show that parents see their kids with different eyes. No matter how old we are, we remain their children — beautifully preserved in their memory.

"I am waiting for you my little one," she said again, this time with a little tickle in her voice. I was smiling on the other end of the receiver. In my mind’s eye I could imagine my mom first looking down and then shifting her gaze forward before saying those endearing words to me. And, looking over her shoulder while she drives on the streets of Beverly Hills!

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