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My 2015 Model S 60 backing out of my garage on its own after I hit the "Summon" function on my smart phone's Tesla app. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR Let's clear the air on why just over a year ago I used $30,000 from my retirement fund to put down a deposit on the purchase of a Tesla Model S 60. I didn't do it to save money on gas, for crying out loud; I owned Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrids for 11 years, and hardly noticed my spending on gas. Yet, the media continue to report that sales of EVs and hybrids have been negatively affected by low gas prices. That's because they refuse to recognize there are consumers like me who want to slow climate change by driving hybrids, having solar panels installed on their homes and putting an all-electric car in their garages. Of course, the media aren't in the least bit interested in making the world a better place. They're beholden to the oil companies, GM and other traditional automakers, and greedy auto dealer...

The oil industry dominates New Orleans, where a few concessions to the environment include  small solar panels atop parking meters, above, and a growing network of electric streetcars, including this one on Canal Street, below. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR NEW ORLEANS -- On a six-day visit to the Big Easy, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Downtown streets were filled with an unusually large number of big SUVs and pickup trucks, and only a small number of gas-electric hybrids. I rode plenty of electric streetcars, but saw not a single all-electric car from Tesla, Nissan, BMW or other manufacturer. And solar panels seemed more common on parking meters than on buildings and homes. In the city's Garden District, I saw a rare Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid in a neighborhood filled with SUVs. Oil, music and fish A visitor soon learns how important the petroleum industry is to New Orleans and Louisiana, despite the Deepwater Horizon spill six years ago that nearly destroyed th...

Comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Saturday Night Live demonstrating how the all-electric Mercedes-Benz Double AA Class luxury sedan can dump all of its 9,648 batteries at once. The TV skit last Saturday night may have been aimed at the German automaker's pathetic efforts to catch the all-electric Tesla Model S, which this year outsold Mercedes' big gas-guzzler, the S-Class luxury sedan. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR "Batteries not included." That was the final punch line in a Saturday Night Live send-up of Mercedes-Benz -- the German automaker that has spent more time churning out annoying TV commercials than developing an all-electric Tesla fighter. Host Julia Louis-Dreyfus unveiled the Mercedes Double AA Class luxury sedan. "No more plugs, no more charging stations, just 9,648 Double AA batteries," she said on SNL's show last Saturday night. Top speed: 52 mph. Click here to see the entire video: Batteries not included

A Tesla Model S with a freshened front bumper and grille, giving it a family resemblance to the new Model X. The image appears on  Tesla.com , the company Web site. The front bumper and oval grille on a 2015 Model S. The Model X is billed as the safest SUV on the road. Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiling his $35,000 Model 3 on March 31 in California. This smaller Tesla could use the same slit grille as Model X and the freshened Model S. -- VICTOR E. SASSON

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiling his $35,000 Model 3 in California on Thursday night. Editor's note: On April 7, Tesla announced more than 325,000 reservations for the Model 3 had been received in the week after the car was unveiled. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR At the unveiling of the Model 3, the first words out of Tesla CEO Elon Musk's mouth were to alert the media to the dire state of the environment. But his strong environmental message -- that this affordable all-electric car will "accelerate sustainable transport" -- was virtually ignored by reporters and financial analysts. Noting record high carbon-dioxide levels, Musk said 53,000 deaths a year are caused by auto emissions. 200,000+ reservations CNBC.com quoted Musk as saying 232,000 Model 3 reservations at $1,000 each were placed in the first 24 hours after Tesla stores opened on Thursday morning. No other single vehicle in the history of the automobile has generated this kind of excitement. This is a watershed m...