Koo’s Corner

A lot of things have been going on in the tech world, but its been a pretty busy past week for me. Below is a quick update on some interesting news.

Tesla Gets Funding

After a round of layoffs and reports of a very tenuous cash position (9 million in the bank), Tesla Motors was able to raise $40 million. Unlike previous fund raising efforts, this round is convertible debt, meaning its a loan unless the investors want to convert it to equity.

Its still an uphill climb for Tesla who announced they are delaying production on their next car model and focusing solely on delivering Tesla Roadsters in higher quantities.The good news is that a $200 grant from the Department of Energy is believed to be around the corner in 2009 which should be the financial push needed to ramp up production as needed.

AOL Users Heavily Skew Old, White, Rural, and Conservative

Sites like Twitter and Youtube became hot beds of election activity, the majority of which was in support of President elect, Barack Obama.

While cutting edge technology user groups seemed to almost all skew towards Obama, dial up internet provider AOL allowed their users to vote (results below). AOL’s image problem continues to grow as its clear its subscribers are a far ways off the pulse of America.

Speaking of Technology and the Election

A very interesting story came out of Austin as back up Longhorns Center, Buck Burnette was kicked off football team. Why you ask?

After Obama’s win, Buck updated his facebook status that was a two pronged sword of bad judgement that included a racial slur and a hostile threat towards Obama.

I have seen this coming for awhile. You have Josh Jarboe getting kicked off of Oklahoma for rapping about violence on youtube, and this is not the first incident involving facebook in college football.

Universities need to understand that social media like Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, myspace, and hell even Yardbarker is a popular way to communicate but is very much public facing. Athletic departments should be wise to implement social media policies and coaching to avoid expulsions like Burnette and Jarboe.

Apple Engineering Superior for Phones too

It blows my mind to think about the Apple and their success with the Iphone. Here is a company who has never made a phone. They decide to take the plunge and develop the Iphone. With all the scrutiny on them, they deliver with a great product. Despite never making a phone ever…..they pretty much made what consumers consider the best phone out there made by all vendors with much more extensive expertise.

But guess what, it doesn’t end there as apparently the Iphone is more dependable then other smart phones as well. This reliability only helps Apple who is really pushing the value proposition of the App Store with great effectiveness.

So I am on the verge of Ecstasy. For a variety of reasons, the past 5 nights have been the worst stretch of getting sleep in my life. No crazy vices going on here, but just random freak flareups of items that I take I had to handle. From Friday night until this moment, I have not had a night of sleep more then 4 hours. That’s really not good and I can feel it right now (typos beware?)

But before I hibernate for god knows how long, here as always are some cool updates.

First off I am going to do an interview sometime soon with good longtime friend Andrew Greenstein who is CEO and Founder of Bojam

So what’s cool about Bojam and what will we talk about? Well I caught up with him today and was extremely blown away with the company right now and can tell Andrew will do a great job telling us himself. Below is their TechCrunch 50 demo at their company launch, and if you don’t know Tech Crunch or the event, its kind of a big deal.

Speaking of TechCrunch, they are now covering porn 2.0. The following link is border line work safe and discusses how companies are now following Itunes lead when it comes to video distribution.

So here is some great news. It looks like I will get to also do an interview at the Tesla store in Menlo Park and am crossing my fingers I get to go out for a ride in one. Not sure when this will happen, but I think its on thanks to the great people over there. Also I need to correct my earlier post which had some minor very small inaccuracies that I need to correct. The Tesla people are coo like that.  I can’t wait until this happens!

Also wanted to plug the big day its been for Yardbarker. First Donovon McNabb wrote another really arituclate well thought out blog on his dissapointment of how the season has gone. The fact of the matter is that he’s right, but that he is also being very hard on himself. The Eagles have had a tough schedule and have not caught any breaks. Unfortunately for my team, Mcnabb rolls into town this weekend looking to get back on the right track. Yikes…..Let’s keep this one respectable.

Yardbarker on Sportscenter!

We’re also real pleased with some recent big announcements that WigetBox and Yardbarker are working together to make these awesome sports, athlete, and team specific widgets based on Yardbarker content. Take a look. I am adding mine real soon (PESTRO?)… Also some big announcements as we grow and diversify our network.

Finally I wanted to again plug the guys at Pantless Knight. You have to check out their Search Engine Rap Battle. Below is Google and MSN. There are 3 of these. They are all good.

I score it as MSN 0-2 (figures and makes it realistic although he was good)

Yahoo 1-1

Google the rap king. Voting on their site goes for 2 week. Their latest project looks really cool as well as I just glanced it.

I was stoked to hear 60 Minutes was doing a piece on a company I keep an eye on here locally, Tesla Motors.

I was interested in potentially joining Tesla and it didn’t work out, but I came away really impressed with the vision, the people, and the passion I saw when I visited the offices. I know they have an uphill climb, a unique one we have never seen before here in Silicon Valley, but they’re far enough away from base camp where you’re kind of thinking/hoping that they are going to make it as a company and more importantly make a social impact. I applaud anyone who works there or invested money in the company.

Anyways, below is the video. Kudos to CBS for letting bloggers embed it.

So the piece as you can see (only 12 minutes long) is not solely about Tesla but rather the idea that Tesla and maybe someone else in Silicon Valley starups can embarrass the hell out of the Detroit auto industry.

It paints Detroit and particular GM/Chevy as a bunch of stubborn old dinosaurs/old boys network too set in their ways create a new wave of innovative more eco friendly automobiles. Trying to quell that notion is really old (76) GM Vice Chairman of Global Product Development, Bob Lutz.

Lutz came off as genuine and did an admirable job touting GM’s efforts to release a hybrid/ electric car named the Volt (below by 2010).

Some background on Lutz to consider…

- He hasn’t worked in Green tech at all….He called global warming, a crock of sh%t

- He got a MBA from Berkeley in the 60’s. Would love to hear about that….

- He has 2 helicopters and a plane (not sure why this was relevant but it was interesting)

- Lutz has a blog. Good for him.

So now back to the real meat of this story. Its huge billionaire company vs tech startup who apparently does not like hiring people who work at car companies (has since switched this philosophy).

The Volt is supposed to come out in 2010. They billed it initially as an every man’s car at around 20k. Their up to 40k now and they will lose money it for sure.

Lets compare to Tesla. Tesla has dealerships company owned stores. Tesla has cars on the road. Tesla has good will. Tesla has endorsements from stars from Hollywood (Damon, Clooney, Flea) to Silicon Valley power brokers, to the Governator.

Tesla’s beauty below costs 109k and I would say maybe 100-200 are on the road, but I am picking that number out of the air. Maybe higher.

The plan is to launch their luxury sedan in 2010 and for them to be mass produced and sold through a growing dealership distribution channel. Profits from these cars (to be sold around 60k) will then hopefully allow them to produce a true every man’s car by 2012 for around 20-30k.  The plan sounds good, but they will have to execute on all sides at a high level (engineering, qa testing, sales, marketing). Most likely they will slip a bit in terms of the plan laid out, but if 2010 comes at Telsa has modest sales to America’s green tech savvy white collar professionals in their Sedan and the Volt is still not out, then its officially game over.

Goliath admits they will look like idiots if they can’t enter the market effectively. If their car does not perform or sell well, this will only add fuel to the fire that Detroit has completely deteriorated to a bunch of under performing, unimaginative, out of touch, bureaucratic idiots. If Silicon Valley/Tesla make the impact they predict, then its a big win for Silicon Valley in general as lots of local VC’s and Millionaire CEO’s are invested in the company.

It would be a message to the world, that we have great ideas, visionary people who are willing to take risks, and some of the hardest working people in the world killing themselves to roll this ball up a mountain. I am rooting that they get there, because I really liked what I saw when I visited the HQ. The car is amazing, and we just straight up need less dependence on oil (foreign, domestic, vegetable, olive, peanut, virgin, Sesame etc).

Also Below is a table on how much revenue Tesla would make in 2009 with assumptions that each car would be $109,000. I am guessing they will be able to produce and sell 3-4 a day in 2009 (aggressive maybe)

1,000 produced and sold ( 2.73 a day)-    $109,000,000 (not shabby, probably likely?)

3,650 Produced and sold ( 10 a day) -       $397,850,000   (freaking sweet, small longshot?)

Links to previous Tesla articles……

San Jose Lands Tesla Motors Facility….Sweet Deal for Tesla

Governator Out Muscles New Mexico for Tesla Production Facility

California Green Transportation Updates- High Speed Trains and Tesla Motors Updates

LA- Where Silicon Valley Rolls out Luxury

Vudu Arrives, First Impression (and subsquent Who Killed the Electric Car Review)

Below are some random things on my mind tonight.

- Yesterday I commented on Tesla Motor’s big announcement to produce cars in California over New Mexico. Today another big rumor is floating around that Tesla has reached a deal to sell batteries to Mercedez in their efforts to sell electic cars by 2010. With other big name auto companies believed interested in similar deals, one wonders if Tesla’s future may one day be mainly as a battery maker and secondarily a car manufacturer.

Tesla Battery Below

- Yahoo email freaking blows compared to Gmail. Most of the emails in my inbox are spam and a good 25% of non spam emails end up in the spam folder.

Emails I have had to dig out of my spam folder include 2 job offers, a reply email from a friend, a response from an Ohio State professor about a speaking engagement, and notification that I won an African lottery ….kidding.

Gmail on the other hand is pretty much balls on accurate. Yahoo is a crap shoot, and I am thinking of phasing out the account.

- I gave into the temptation to join Twitter tonight. I’ll recap my thoughts in it in a couple of weeks. Feel free to “follow” me at http://twitter.com/bkoo

- Finally wanted to give a look at how sweet Yardbarker is. There are a lot of cool fuctions and things we are doing, but what continues to amaze me is how easy it is for fans to interact with athletes. Below are some schreenshots of some exchanges between me and Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe and Angels Pitcher John Lackey

Wanted to throw a couple of interesting updates on the Green Technology fronts.

I have covered Tesla Motors and even had the pleasure of visiting to their offices in San Carlos. The overhead costs associated with launching a car company are ginormous and rumors are that Tesla is seeking some more dough to help get their efforts off the ground.

“Tesla looking for another $100 million — The electric car maker’s plan is to push production up to 150 cars a month by the end of the year, according to VentureWire. To do this it needs more cash. It will likely get it. Enough said.” per VentureBeat.

While funding for a company as ambitious as Tesla would seem like a daunting challenge, this Bay Area startup seems to have made believers out of VC’s, auto enthusiasts and journalists, Silicon Valley investors (a who’s who of valley CEO’s), as well Hollywood’s A list. Although another $100 million is a lot, VentureBeat is right on as the company has come to far and is too close to slow down now.

In other Tesla news, although many celebrities have said to be on the waiting list for their own Tesla Roadster, Matt Damon became the first celebrity to be seen in one. Although just a test drive, its more encouraging news for Tesla as their production begins to ramp up towards 150 cars a month.

In other green transportation news, this weekend I stumbled upon the California High Speed Train proposal and debate. Likely to be on the ballot this November, the 10 billion dollar proposal looks to connect Sacramento, the Bay Area, Central Valley, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and San Diego on one high speed train line.

Great video below…starts kind of slow.

You can learn more on the proposal’s wikipedia page or check out the state’s official blog found here.

My take: I have read some analyis taking both sides of the proposal and find myself overwelmingly for the implementation of this system. Housing costs are high forcing a lot of people to make far commutes, gas prices are high, highways are overcrowded, and their is now convenient system connecting this great state’s commerce centers. Yeah this thing is going to be a bitch to build, and usher through all the government bureacy, but the value is their for California citizens and voters. The ends justify all the means and then some. Most transportation efforts at the local effort have failed, so lets’ sack up and Swing for the fences now.

I would have had no clue today was Earth Day, but thankfully the major online search engine and portals remembered. Its become the industry standard of late for online portals to create event specific banners to celebrate holidays. Below are some examples of the Earth Day banners. Ask.com had a similar one , but its too big and also who really goes to ask.com.

So rather than pointing out how online companies utilize graphics to get in the spirit of holidays, I thought it would be a good time to bring attention to a couple of interesting investments in Green Technology.

Its clear that corporate America has come around in acknowledging the need to be viewed as a environmentally responsible company. At the forefront of this is GM and Chevron, who are spending millions touting their green technology initiatives. Unfortunately I view most of this self proclamation of a change of heart, as being too little too late.

2 initiatives that do stick out as being whole hearted attempts to be more eco friendly is Tesla Motors and Boone Picken’s recent investment in wind energy.

Pickens, a billionaire oil kingpin (manages BP), recently announced a 10 billion dollar investment to setup the world’s largest wind farm.

Below is a video from a year ago highlighting the initial proposal.

Picken’s wind farm upon completion will be about 5x the largest wind farm in the world, will cover 200,000 acres, and will generate enough electricity to power one million homes.

Yeah this should have been done years ago, but its encouraging to see one of the world’s most notorious oil tycoons turning the corner and investing in a cleaner form of energy.

Next up is Tesla Motors who makes the car below.

The Tesla Roadster is lightning quick going 0-60 in under 4 seconds, has RPM redline of 13,000, and is the premier car for Silicon Valley CEO’s and Hollywood’s A list. Why you ask? Because its electric.

With a 220 mile range and a MPG equivalency of 135 mpg, the Roadster doesn’t sacrifice much and has been compared very favorably to other sports cars (MotoTrend review below)

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=j6b4qbBvkAc]

Tesla is slowly rolling out the Roadster to those who have pre purchased and hopes to ramp up production through out 2008. The good news is that Tesla is hoping to release a luxury sedan and an economy car in the coming years.

While building a car company from the ground up is nearly impossible, Tesla is well funded and is backed by a powerful assortment of VC firms and Silicon Valley CEO’s. Below is a recent video of the first Roadster being assembled in San Carlos.

I have been following Tesla for awhile and have even met a couple of their employees. I am an avid fan of what they are doing and am optimistic that the future is bright for them as they begin to ship more cars and develop different cars. Clearly the idea of $4 gas is going to drastically change our buying preferences for cars, and Tesla has the product and vision to deliver on this unfulfilled market.

Haven’t seen to many new ads I like this week. Chevron has some cool advertisements about clean energy that I like, but I know its just a lot of fluff and marketing spin. I think most viewers are probably skeptical of if as well.

One company that seems to be legitimately committed to improving fuel stands is Toyota who owns Lexus as well Scion. Below is a new Lexus ad promoting their three hybrids, that they bill as the only luxury hybrids on the market. Lexus has been pushing their hybrid fleet of late knowing that most auto companies plan on rolling out more luxury hybrids over the next couple of years. But until those cars hit the market, Lexus is in good position in attracting buyers who want luxury and efficiency.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=fzuwrHSX4mI]

With blu ray vs hd dvd being a dead topic, I am starting to grow my interest the automobile industry as fuel standards and non conventional gas engines become more prevalent. Tesla Motors is  a cool company right down the road who is beginning to make a lot of noise on this front, who has caught my eye.  Do a google news search on them or check out their wikipedia page. With all the stagnation in the US auto industry, it would be great to see some Silicon Valley innovation really spearhead a movement to decrease dependency on foriegn oil.