Skip to Content

Daimler and Tesla to Make Electric Vehicles

The German automaker has invested in the company behind the Roadster electric sports car.

Tesla Motors, which makes the Roadster electric sports car, would like to start producing a new, less expensive electric vehicle called the Model S, which it unveiled in March. But it’s having trouble footing the bill for a new manufacturing facility.

Now, as Tesla waits for a possible U.S. government loan, help has arrived from another quarter. The German automaker Daimler just bought 10 percent of the company, establishing a partnership that Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, in a press release, “will accelerate bringing our Tesla Model S to production.”

Tesla and Daimler have been working on an electric version of the Smart Fortwo minicar for a few years now. Prototypes have been tested in London since 2007, and production of up to 1,000 of the cars will start later this year. Tesla hopes to start selling the Model S by late 2011. Already 1,000 people have signed up to buy it.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI

The tool, called Nightshade, messes up training data in ways that could cause serious damage to image-generating AI models. 

The Biggest Questions: What is death?

New neuroscience is challenging our understanding of the dying process—bringing opportunities for the living.

Rogue superintelligence and merging with machines: Inside the mind of OpenAI’s chief scientist

An exclusive conversation with Ilya Sutskever on his fears for the future of AI and why they’ve made him change the focus of his life’s work.

How to fix the internet

If we want online discourse to improve, we need to move beyond the big platforms.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.