Tesla Motors : how Elon Musk and company made electric cars cool, and sparked the next tech revolution

In its ten years of existence, Tesla Motors has achieved many amazing feats. The most trusted sources in the automotive industry have called its Model S the most advanced, safest and best-performing car ever built - and it doesn't use a drop of gasoline. Tesla has changed the way the public perceives electric vehicles, and inspired the major automakers to revive their own dormant efforts to sell EVs.However, even amidst the avalanche of media coverage that followed the triumph of the Model S, few have grasped the true significance of what is happening. Tesla has redefined the automobile, sparked a new wave of innovation comparable to the internet and mobile computing revolutions, and unleashed forces that will transform not just the auto industry, but every aspect of society.The Tesla story is just one part of an ongoing tide of change driven by the use of information technology to eliminate "friction" such as geographic distance, middlemen and outdated regulations. Tesla is simply applying the new business order to the auto industry, but the automobile is such a pervasive influence in our lives that redefining how it is designed, built, driven and sold will have sweeping effects in unexpected areas.Just as Tesla built the Model S as an electric vehicle "from the ground up," it has taken an outsider's approach to the way it markets and services its cars. Its direct sales model has drawn legal challenges from the entrenched auto dealers, who fear that their outdated business model will be destroyed. Its systems approach to the software and electronics in its cars has highlighted how far behind the technological times the major automakers really are.It's easy to see why readers find Tesla irresistible. CEO Elon Musk is a superstar entrepreneur, a "nauseatingly pro-US" immigrant and the leader of two other cutting-edge companies. Tesla dares to challenge the biggest of the establishment behemoths and, so far at least, has handily beaten them at their own game.In this history of the 21st century's most exciting startup, Charles Morris begins with a brief history of electric vehicles and a biography of Tesla's driving force, Elon Musk. He then details the history of the company, told in the words of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who made it happen.There are many fascinating stories here: Martin Eberhard's realization that there were many like himself, who loved fast cars but wanted to help the environment and bring about the post-oil age; the freewheeling first days, reminiscent of the early internet era; the incredible ingenuity of the team who built the Roadster; Tesla's near-death experience and miraculous resurrection; the spiteful split between the company's larger-than-life leaders; the gloves-off battles with hostile media such as Top Gear and the New York Times; and the media's ironic about-face when the magnificent Model S won the industry's highest honors, and naysayers became cheerleaders overnight. And the story is just beginning: Tesla has breathtakingly ambitious plans for the future.Author Charles Morris was a participant and chronicler as the internet revolution unfolded in the 1990s, and he draws on that broad experience as he discusses Tesla's lasting influence, and where it fits into the technological revolution that is transforming society.Charles conducted personal interviews with two of Tesla's founders, Marc Tarpenning and Ian Wright, and two members of the AC Propulsion team who were instrumental in the development of the Roadster, Tom Gage and Paul Carosa. He also cites over 300 secondary sources, with links to a wealth of further reading.As Senior Editor of Charged, the print magazine of the electric vehicle industry, Charles Morris is one of the... That this story is still unfolding makes it especially exciting to read. These men are still in their workshops, tinkering their way into orbit. David Gelles, FORBES On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne , built by aircraft designer Burt Rutan, entered space and ushered in the commercial space age. Investment capital began to pour into the new commercial spaceflight industry. Richard Bransons VirginGalactic plans to ferry space tourists out of the atmosphere. Las Vegas hotelier Robert Bigelow is developing the worlds first commercial space station (i.e., space hotel). These space entrepreneurs, including Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, now see space as the next big thing. In Rocketeers , Michael Belfiore goes behind the scenes of this nascent industry, capturing its wild-west, anything-goes flavor. Likening his research to hanging out in the Wright brothers barn, Belfiore offers an inspiring and entertaining look at the people who are not afraid to make their bold dreams a reality. The commercial space race is heating up so fast you need a cheat sheet to keep track of all the billionaires and gamblers vying to be the first private entrepreneur to blast paying customers into orbit. [Belfiore] does a stellar job introducing an intriguing cast of characters. Mark Horowitz, Wired The privatization of space travel is an essential step toward realizing our cosmic destiny. In his engaging, highly readable Rocketeers, Michael Belfiore tells the fascinating story of the entrepreneurs who have already made it happen. Buzz Aldrin A riveting, you-are-there account of how this ragtag collection of innovative thinkers, brave pilots, and bold visionaries isright nowlaunching one of the most exciting new industries in history. Belfiores eloquent writing and exhaustive reporting really bring this mysterious, secretive world to life. Eric Adams, Popular Science In its ten years of existence, Tesla Motors has achieved many amazing feats. The most trusted sources in the automotive industry have called its Model S the most advanced, safest and best-performing car ever built--and it doesn't use a drop of gasoline. Tesla has changed the way the public perceives electric vehicles, and inspired the major automakers to revive their own dormant efforts to sell EVs. However, even amidst the avalanche of media coverage that followed the triumph of the Model S, few have grasped the true significance of what is happening. Tesla has redefined the automobile, sparked a new wave of innovation comparable to the internet and mobile computing revolutions, and unleashed forces that will transform not just the auto industry, but every aspect of society. The Tesla story is just one part of an ongoing tide of change driven by the use of information technology to eliminate "friction" such as geographic distance, middlemen and outdated regulations. Tesla is simply applying the new business order to the auto industry, but the automobile is such a pervasive influence in our lives that redefining how it is designed, built, driven and sold will have sweeping effects in unexpected areas. Just as Tesla built the Model S as an electric vehicle "from the ground up," it has taken an outsider's approach to the way it markets and services its cars. Its direct sales model has drawn legal challenges from the entrenched auto dealers, who fear that their outdated business model will be destroyed In the more than forty years since the first human left the atmosphere of Earth, no one had ever done so without the help of a government agency. That changed on June 21, 2004, when SpaceShipOne, built by aircraft designer Burt Rutan, entered space and ushered in the commercial space age.Investment capital began to pour into the new commercial spaceflight industry. Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic will begin ferrying space tourists out of the atmosphere in 2009. Las Vegas hotelier Robert Bigelow is spending $500 million of his personal fortune to develop the world's first commercial space station (i.e., space hotel). Former PayPal CEO Elon Musk is developing orbital spacecraft to service Bigelow's space station. Others want to tap the vast natural resources of space, including unlimited solar power. These space entrepreneurs, including Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, now see space as the Next Big Thing.In Rocketeers, Michael Belfiore goes behind the scenes of this nascent industry, capturing its Wild West, anything-goes flavor, enhanced by the fact that most of the players live and work in California, New Mexico, Texas, and other western states, with plenty of open space for rocket launching. Likening his research to "hanging out in the Wright brothers' barn," Belfiore offers an inspiring and entertaining look at people who are not afraid to make their bold dreams a reality. Shares the stories of key contributors to the ongoing effort to enabling private and commercial space travel, documenting the 2004 flight of government-unassisted SpaceShipOne while citing the roles played by such figures as Richard Branson and Robert Bigelow.