EoW July 2010

noted by networkworld.com: this spring, last fall at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and over a year ago at the Stratus launch. But if Mr Duffy is holding Juniper’s feet to the fire, he sees some promising signs. For one example, “Juniper beat Cisco in landing the NYSE account, a demanding environment in which latency cannot be tolerated when billions of stock market trades are executed daily.”

Automotive

On a former Toyota-GM site, Toyota-Tesla will explore the ‘infinite possibility’ of Tesla’s electric-car technology

Toyota Motor Corp is acquiring a $50 million stake in Tesla Motors, Inc, the Palo Alto, California-based designer and manufacturer of electric vehicles and power trains, and will develop EVs with Tesla. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on 21 st May that Tesla is buying a shuttered factory in the Silicon Valley city of Fremont, in the San Francisco Bay area, to build its Model S and other cars. The companies are to cooperate on EV development, parts and production systems, and engineering support. Tesla will revive the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc plant, known as NUMMI, a 25-year joint venture between Toyota and General Motors that came to an end in April. The deal will create 1,000 jobs immediately, Mr Schwarzenegger said, and more jobs later on. As reported by Bloomberg News , the announcement of Toyota’s investment came as Tesla, which notably sells the $109,000 Roadster electric sports car, prepares to launch an initial share sale to raise some $100 million. “I’ve felt an infinite possibility about Tesla’s technology,” said a surprisingly rhapsodic Akio Toyoda, chief executive of the Japanese auto maker founded by his grandfather. “By partnering with Tesla, my hope is that all Toyota employees will recall that spirit [of the Toyota-GM venture].” Patrick May, of the San Jose Mercury News , collected other lyrical passages on the Tesla-Toyota initiative. “This is like Christmas in May,” said one respondent. Another said, “In a great big hurry, our fortunes have changed.”Mr May contained himself: “Fremont’s back on its feet,” he wrote. “Or at least up on one knee.” (“Resurrection of NUMMI Auto Plant by Tesla and Toyota Lifts Spirits All Over Fremont,” 22 nd May) If the wish of its mayor that Fremont become the electric ❈ ❈ car capital of the US is to be fulfilled, Tesla must overcome competition from General Motors, Nissan, Ford, and even Toyota. Bloomberg noted that Tesla, which lost more than $230 million while it was selling some 1,000 Roadsters, is using the share sale and a $465-million government loan to help produce its lower-price electric sedan. The company has said that a federal tax credit will enable it to offer the Model S for less than $50,000. Tesla founder-CEO Elon Musk – who also founded the online payment company PayPal – had spent more than $70 million on Tesla up to May 2009, when German automotive giant Daimler acquired nearly 10% of the company. Mr Musk said at the time that Tesla would supply Daimler with battery packs for use in its own electric Smart car.

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EuroWire – July 2010