Surreal Technology

Tesla Inc. plans to begin production in Buffalo by the end of this year of the solar roofing tiles that the company hopes will become a signature product for its renewable energy business. Tesla, which acquired rooftop solar installer SolarCity in November, said Wednesday that it has started making the solar roof at its pilot production facility in Fremont, California, meeting a goal that the company set this spring. By saying that solar roof production will shift to Buffalo by the end of December, Tesla is putting a more precise timetable on the startup of manufacturing for the solar roofing tiles in Buffalo. Tesla executives previously had said that, once pilot manufacturing began in California, they expected production to shift from Fremont to Buffalo "shortly thereafter." In the spring, Tesla executives said they expected production to begin by the end of summer. Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, said he expects production of the solar roof to start off slowly and the...

Electric car maker Tesla says its much-ballyhooed Model 3 car for the masses will go on sale on Friday. CEO Elon Musk made the announcement Monday on Twitter. The car is to start around $35,000 and with a $7,500 federal electric car tax credit, could cost $27,500. Tesla says the five-seat car will be able to go 215 miles (133 kilometers) on a single charge and will be sporty, accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in under six seconds. Musk had said that production was on track to start in July, but Tesla has often faced delays in getting vehicles to market. The Palo Alto, California-based company aims to make 5,000 Model 3 sedans per week by the end of this year and 10,000 per week in 2018. Whether Tesla can meet its production goals is an open question. Its last new vehicle, the Model X SUV, was delayed nearly 18 months. Musk says the Model 3 is much simpler to make, but 14-year-old Tesla has no experience producing and selling vehicles in high volumes. Tesla made just 84,...