Blog
December2018
Tesla Hires Williams & Connolly Chairman and Trial Lawyer, Dane Butswinkas, as General Counsel
We’re pleased to announce that Dane Butswinkas, Chairman of Williams & Connolly and one of the world’s top practicing trial lawyers, is joining Tesla as General Counsel. Dane comes to Tesla after serving for nearly 30 years at Williams & Connolly, where he was Co-Chair of the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Financial Services and Banking Groups.
November2018
How Track Mode Works
Electric powertrains have numerous advantages over internal combustion engines. In addition to low cost of ownership, energy efficiency, and near silence, they also offer unparalleled responsiveness. Since the introduction of Tesla Roadster in 2008, we’ve exploited the immediate availability of motor power and torque to achieve unprecedented straight-line performance, making the car’s forward acceleration a pure extension of the driver. With Track Mode, which is designed specifically for use on closed autocross circuits and racetracks, our goal was simple: use that same motor power and torque to make cornering on the track feel just as natural as forward acceleration.
Announcing Robyn Denholm as Tesla’s New Board Chair
Tesla’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Robyn Denholm has been appointed as Chair of the Tesla Board, effective immediately. So that she will be able to devote her full attention to the Tesla Chair role, Robyn will be leaving her role as CFO and Head of Strategy at Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company, once her six-month notice period with Telstra is complete. Robyn will be serving as Tesla Chair on a full-time basis.
October2018
Introducing Navigate on Autopilot
Today in the U.S., we’re beginning to roll out our most advanced Autopilot feature ever: Navigate on Autopilot. Since introducing Software Version 9.0, Tesla owners with Enhanced Autopilot have driven tens of millions of miles to support the validation of Navigate on Autopilot, allowing us to collect performance and safety data at scale, based on real-world driving.
One Year In: Tesla Safety Update
Last October, I joined Tesla to oversee its Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) team. Reporting directly to Elon and regularly meeting with him, I’ve enjoyed Tesla’s full support as I expanded the company’s global EHS team to 250 employees, adding 35 people at the Fremont factory alone. Over the past year, it’s been clear to me that nothing is more important to Tesla than the health and well-being of its employees. We are the largest manufacturer in the state of California, and while other U.S. auto manufacturers continue to outsource skilled jobs and safety standards, Tesla is creating and keeping more jobs right here in the United States, allowing us to control quality and safety directly. And the result is that our injury rate has continued to trend downward in 2018.
Model 3 achieves the lowest probability of injury of any vehicle ever tested by NHTSA
Based on the advanced architecture of Model S and Model X, which were previously found by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to have the lowest and second lowest probabilities of injury of all cars ever tested, we engineered Model 3 to be the safest car ever built. Now, not only has Model 3 achieved a perfect 5-star safety rating in every category and sub-category, but NHTSA’s tests also show that it has the lowest probability of injury of all cars the safety agency has ever tested.
Introducing Software Version 9.0
This week, Tesla owners across North America are waking up to a car that is smarter, safer and more intuitive than ever before. Our most substantial update yet, Software Version 9.0, introduces a refined and simplified user interface, along with entirely new features for Model S, Model X, and Model 3, as well as on Tesla’s mobile app.
Q3 2018 Vehicle Safety Report
At Tesla, the safety of our customers is our top priority, which is why it’s critical that we design and build the safest cars in the world. Not only do we conduct extensive in-house testing and simulation to ensure our vehicles achieve top safety performance before they ever reach the road, we are also uniquely positioned to leverage the hundreds of thousands of miles of real-world data our fleet collects every month to continuously improve our vehicles and develop a more complete picture of safety over time.
September2018
Company Update
The following email was just sent to Tesla employees:
First, I’d like to thank you for your incredible efforts and contribution as we enter the final few weeks of this quarter. This is a very exciting time for Tesla, to say the least, and you are the reason for the tremendous progress we’ve made in a relatively short period of time. It is easy to forget that our company was almost unknown 10 years ago and didn’t even exist until after the start of the 21st century!
August2018
Staying Public
Earlier this month, I announced that I was considering taking Tesla private. As part of the process, it was important to understand whether our current investors believed this would be a good strategic move and whether they would want to participate in a private Tesla.