We Obsessively Cover the Green Scene…

When is $20 million not equal to $20 million? When, for some, it's an interest payment and, for others, it's all they're worth. Here's how that one number means two totally different things to two different green car companies.

Speaking to Bloomberg Television about the early repayment of Tesla Motors' DOE loan, CEO Elon Musk said today that, "ultimately, the US taxpayer actually made a profit above $20 million on this loan. For this loan at least, people's tax bill actually went slightly down."

Musk said that, now that the loan has been paid back, more people might take a look at Tesla. "We were attacked a lot in certain quarters for having some government debt," he said. "I think that actually matters to some consumers out there, whether or not a company actually does have government debt, and being able to say we fully repaid that debt with interest, I think it is helpful to some number of people out there in thinking about buying a car." So, for Tesla, which recently raised over a billion dollars, $20 million is an easy price to pay to potentially sell more EVs.

Now, let's look at Fisker Automotive, which is still fending off bankruptcy. We learned this week that VL Automotive and Wanxiang made an offer to buy the troubled automaker for an undisclosed sum. Word out today is that the amount that the two companies are willing to pay for Fisker is, you guessed it, $20 million. That's about one percent of Fisker's $2 billion-plus value back when the Karma plug-in hybrid was launched, according to Reuters. It's unclear how a potential Fisker buyer will have to deal with the outstanding DOE loan amount of $171 million and other issues, but the $20-million offer a striking contrasts to Musk's statement on Bloomberg Television, which you can watch in the video below.

The Nissan Leaf, the Fiat 500e and now the 2014 Chevy Spark EV 1LT. Three different electric hatchbacks that can all be had for the same low lease price: $199 per month. The Spark even has the same appealing $999 down payment as the Fiat (the Leaf's is $1,999) and both require 36-month leases, so the cost of these two city runabouts is identical, at least at the base level. The one potential hiccup: Chevy says it's a "low mileage lease," and you'll pay 25 cents a mile for each mile over 12,000 per year. Considering these are urban-minded vehicles with limited ranges, however, that doesn't seem like as pressing an issue.

If you want to buy a Spark EV outright, General Motors will ask you for $27,495, a figure that will drop to $19,995 for anyone who qualifies for the full $7,500 federal tax credit. That's a good deal for EVs, but the gas-powered Spark starts at just $12,185. Before Fiat announced its low lease deal last month, all GM would say is that the Spark EV would cost somewhere "under $25,000 with tax incentives." Well under, apparently.

The Spark EV goes on sale in California and Oregon in the middle of June. The car is rated at 119 MPGe combined and has a range of 82 miles. When that's not enough, DC quick charging with the SAE combo charger will refill the battery to 80 percent in about 20 minutes (when such DC stations stations become available, since the Spark is not compatible with the already-available CHAdeMO stations).

While we had been told it was coming in 2014, the exact release date of the production version of the Infiniti LE concept might just might hinge on something you can't see and that the Japanese automaker can't control: wireless charging infrastructure. That's the word from Autocar, which talked to Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer, who admits that wireless charging "is this technology we want to shine a light on, so while there is no world standard on methods, the rollout will be dependent on region." In other words, if you want the latest luxury EV, you'd better hide those wires. They're so gauche.

There's a good chance Infiniti will be the first OEM to sell a production inductive charging vehicle (companies like Mitsubishi and Audi are also working on the technology), which is likely to be a double-edged sword. Yes, it'll have bragging rights, but the wired infrastructure is proving difficult enough to put into place, and having the coolest tech doesn't mean much if you can't put it into use. Thankfully, the LE (or whatever it will be called) is also expected to come with conventional wired charging capabilities. Also, Infiniti is, at this point, trying to get induction charging technology to be open source, which could help a lot of players in the industry.

The LE concept, based on the Nissan Leaf, has the same 24-kWh lithium-ion battery pack but a more powerful 100-kw electric motor good for 134 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque.

We're willing to bet there are bottles of champagne popping all the way from Washington, DC to Palo Alto, CA today with the announcement that Tesla Motors has, as suspected, paid off the entirety of its $465-million Department of Energy loan.

"I hope we did you proud" - Elon Musk

As far back as July 2012, Tesla began talking about paying the US government back early, but it was apparently the tremendous rise in the company's stock value recently that prompted CEO Elon Musk to push for the immediate repayment this week. From a price of $33.87 on January 1, TSLA has climbed to $87.24 today (down a bit from the recent highs of over $92). Last week, Tesla sold enough stock to raise over a billion dollars to repay the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan, with interest. This makes Tesla the first automaker to pay the DOE back, and it did so nine years ahead of schedule. In a prepared statement, Tesla CEO Elon Musk thanked the DOE and Congress and "particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate. I hope we did you proud."

The DOE is certainly proud, issuing a release that said the repayment "shows the strength of energy department's overall loan portfolio." The DOE has come under fire recently for the loan it gave to Fisker Automotive. Two other ATVM recipients, Nissan and Ford, have not yet paid all theit money back, but there are no apparent worries there, either. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a statement that, "not every investment will succeed" but that the DOE's overall $34-million loan portfolio of more than 30 loans "is delivering big results for the American economy while costing far less than anticipated." Details in the press releases below.

With a great soundtrack – Patty Griffin's Heavenly Day – Chevy is once again using robot dogs and real deer to tell us how eco-friendly the Volt is. The new Volt commercial, called "Silent Anthem," is basically an expanded version of the Volt's snippets from the Find New Roads commercial from February, but this time we see how wind power is the new gasoline (as you can see in the fictional "Instant History" iPad app used in the spot). Nice.

Sure, the ad doesn't really say anything new about the Volt, but it certainly gives off an idealized vibe, and is a far cry from the way most automakers try to sell most of their cars. Just compare this spot (of Nissan's polar bear ad for the Leaf a few years ago) with most of the car-alone-on-the-highway ads that are apparently filmed after the apocalypse. What's the real message here?

You can chime in after watching below.

Chinese company Wanxiang was in the news earlier this year, as it moved to acquire bankrupt automotive battery company A123. Turns out, while that was taking place in the public eye, Wanxiang was also working with VL Automotive – of Bob Lutz and Destino fame – to try and buy out Fisker Automotive.

According to unnamed sources speaking to Reuters, VL and Wanxiang made Fisker an offer earlier in May to buy the troubled plug-in hybrid automaker through a "prepackaged bankruptcy deal." The talks are apparently ongoing and could well fall through, but it certainly makes sense for both Wanxiang and VL to want Fisker to survive in some manner. A123 supplied the Karma's battery cells and VL needs Karma bodies if it's going to build more than a small number of V8-powered Destinos.

At the end of April, Lutz wrote an article about Fisker's DOE Loan in which he called the Karma, "quite possibly the most beautiful four-door sedan ever." In that article, he also wrote, "The green craze is, frankly, ebbing, and interest in conventional cars remains strong." He's also called his gasoline-powered Destino the Karma that people will actually want to buy.

Reuters also notes there is another deal in the works from European and Hong Kong investors that would buy Fisker's $171-million debt that it owes the US DOE.

With company cousin Hyundai busy working on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, Kia has said it will bring a battery-powered EV to market some time in 2014. We've seen the Ray EV (above), but that was a limited-run production vehicle destined for fleets in Korea. The follow-up is the electrified Soul, and if you're looking for some completely unverified rumors about what the Soul EV will be packing under the hood, Kia World has got you covered.

Kia World says the "mass produced" Soul EV is due in the first half of 2014 for around $35,000 and will be "the very-first electic vehicle to be sold in the global market, including the US, Europe and China." Nissan might take offense at that, but technically, the Leaf will be reworked as the Fengshen E30. As for performance, the Soul EV is supposed to have a range of about 120 miles and a top speed of 87 miles per hours. The 0-60 time will be nothing that impresses ("under 12 seconds" is the rumor) but at least it beats the Ray's time by four seconds.

We've asked Kia for confirmation or denial on these figures, and will let you know if we hear anything substantial.

You can make a coherent, logical argument for cars that don't burn gasoline without once mentioning global petroleum supply. You can talk about international relations and the power of gasoline exporters (just read the first three paragraphs of this for a bit of history). You can talk about climate change. You can talk about the health effects of CO2 in the air. But the fact remains that gasoline (or diesel) remains the go-to fuel for almost every passenger vehicle on the planet, so the question of how much black gold is out there is an important one. The answer, though is not so clear.

Despite some claims that peak out has already happened, a new study (PDF) by the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that increased energy production in North America means that, between now and 2018, global oil production capacity will increase by 8.4 million barrels a day. Since this is "significantly faster than demand," Time says peak oil is dead, with perilous consequences. As the chart above shows, the IEA's predictions are that OPEC will have spare capacity for years to come.

On top of North American production, crazy new energy sources are being investigated (like methane hydrate, or crystalline natural gas. See video below). These require incredibly expensive research and exploration efforts, but the end result could be, as The Atlantic so provocatively puts it, "infinite fossil fuel?" The magazine has a detailed debate on the subject between Charles Mann and Amory Lovins here, here and here. Well worth reading.

Despite the company's recent string of successes, there's still a lot of skepticism about Tesla out there. Some of the negativity focuses on the lack of recharging infrastructure, some on the company's expensive cars and how it'll be difficult to make a mass-market car. And when it comes to the company's stock price – TSLA is currently at around $90 – the predictions are all over the map. Some say it's still worth shorting (that is, predicting it will drop). Some say it could reach $200 before too long; others warn it will fall to somewhere in the $20-$40 range.

"There is a fundamental view of a scenario where Tesla becomes the next GM or Ford."

Still, the big news – that is, something that's actually happened, not just bloviations about the future – is that Tesla raised more than a billion dollars in cash last week by increasing the amount of debt and equity it was offering. Instead of selling a total 2.7 million common shares, CEO Elon Musk put up 3.39 million, and bought $100 million himself. This showed confidence, which was admittedly already there, and Tesla raised far more than the $830 million originally expected. The money will be used, in part, to pay back the US government for the $465-million Department of Energy loan.

The good news prompted an unnamed banker to tell IFR what it looks like on the other side of the skepticism spectrum: "[CEO Elon] Musk has a vision of creating a $50 billion-plus company in five years," adding, "There is a fundamental view of a scenario where Tesla becomes the next GM or Ford."

*UPDATE: Musk just Tweeted that Tesla will likely pay back the DOE loan Wednesday.

The automotive industry is full of rivalries, from Ferrari versus Lamborghini to Ford's recent war on the Toyota Prius. Audi must be feeling the electric heat of Tesla's recent success, because the German automaker has put out a press release with one single message: Hey, let's not love on Tesla too much, mmmkay?

Audi's press release is titled, "Not so fast to put Tesla on that particular pedestal" and it's full of Audi making sure we all know that "some reports are giving Tesla too much credit." What's extra funny is that Audi compares its April US sales (13,157 units) to Tesla's 4,750 Model S sales, mistakenly claiming they, too, were from April. But Tesla doesn't report monthly sales, and the 4,750 number is for the total deliveries for the first quarter of 2013. That fact makes Audi look even better by comparison but even worse for making a stink about the whole thing. You can read the whole thing below.

While Audi's points are accurate, we see this headed into the realm political consultants talk about where if you need to clarify the details, you've already lost. And whatever the mood inside Audi HQ is, the reality is that Tesla has figured out how to sell a good number of luxury electric vehicles, while Audi is still just teasing.

One final bit of rival hilarity that takes on a new light today: Iron Man Tony Stark might sometimes drive an R8, but he is, in fact, based on Tesla CEO Elon Musk (in the movies, anyway).

*UPDATE: Looks like Audi has pulled the press release off its site. Interesting.

Following its official bankruptcy filing, Coda Automotive is back with more not-so-good news. In Delaware bankruptcy court, the automaker has filed a motion to "conduct a voluntary recall of Coda Sedans to replace roof-mounted side curtain airbags."

Last August, Coda recalled 78 vehicles for improper installation of side-curtain airbags. The new filing doesn't specify a number of vehicles affected – but it does say Coda sold less than 100 vehicles, total – just that it expects the recall will not cost more than $40,000.

Coda is not undertaking the recall just for the safety of Coda drivers (though that is a prominent reason). The filing says, "the Coda name is an asset in which the Debtors have invested heavily and is likely to represent a valuable asset to a buyer" and that "the Debtors submit that taking appropriate steps to avoid negative associations with the Coda name that may arrive from failure to address a known potential safety issue in a Coda product makes good business sense."

You can read the court documents below.

Here's a story that certainly plays to stereotypes: a new network of hydrogen refueling stations being built in Japan are the work of, surprise, oil companies. As The Japan Times reports, JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. and 12 other companies – including automakers – are working together to establish about 100 new H2 stations, mostly in major cities.

For its part, the government is ready to "provide financial assistance and is considering deregulation," The Japan Times writes, in part because it can cost up to six times as much to build a hydrogen station as it does a gas station. JX Nippon Oil installed the first of its planned 13 stations in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, last month.

Two Japanese automakers, Honda and Toyota, have long been bigger fans of hydrogen than pure electric vehicles. Honda has been leasing the FCX Clarity (pictured) for years and Toyota is working on a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle for 2015. Hyundai, BMW, Daimler, Nissan and General Motors are among the automakers also publicly active in readying H2 vehicles for the near future.

If you've always wanted to whip a low-slung go-kart around a corner without the noisy rumble of a gas engine behind you – or at least watch – Kartelec 2013 awaits you. For the eighth time, Kartelec will bring students and their battery-powered go-karts the track in Vierzon, France later this month.

The international educational event will bring together more than 40 e-karts that were all designed and built by students from high schools, universities and engineering schools. The competition will take place on a 300-meter track, where the students will participate in a variety of challenges, things like a 50-meter drag race, race for the fastest lap and two endurance runs, of two and four hours.

As you might suspect, Kartelec 2013 is about more than the on-track events, it's about the students actually learning something (see also: the Eco-Marathons). There are the decisions that go into building the karts, of course, but the e-Kart Association is also interested in training students to work on the "electric and hybrid vehicles of the future."

Kartelec 2013 takes place May 23-25. Admission is free. There's a video of the 2012 event below.

There are already lithium-ion batteries in some Toyota vehicles (the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the RAV4 EV and the European Prius+, for example), but the company's standard bearer – the non-plug Prius hybrid – still relies on nickel metal hydride (NiMH) cells. But, the future belongs to li-ion, and that's why Toyota will soon increase its production of the higher-energy-density batteries sixfold with an eye to putting them into the Prius at an unspecified point in the future, according to the Nikkei.

The plan, the Nikkei says, is for Toyota and production partner Panasonic to build a new production line that will be able to make 200,000 li-ion batteries a year (why does that number sound so familiar?). The companies will spend about 20 billion yen (US $194 million) on the project. There's no way Toyota can put li-ion cells in all of its hybrids from that one line, though, since the company sells over a million hybrids a year.

Lithium-ion batteries are smaller, lighter and more energy dense than NiMH ones, but they're also more expensive. They are in widespread use in plug-in electric vehicles from a variety of auto manufacturers. Toyota is also working on future battery technologies, like solid state packs.