Clean technology, in short cleantech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Clean technology includes a broad range of technology related to recycling, renewable energy, information technology, green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, grey water, and more. Environmental finance is a method by which new clean technology projects that have proven that they are "additional" or "beyond business as usual" can obtain financing through the generation of carbon credits. A project that is developed with concern for climate change mitigation is also known as a carbon project.
Tesla, Inc. is an American electric vehicle and clean energy company based in Palo Alto, California, United States. Tesla designs and manufactures electric cars, battery energy storage from home to grid-scale, solar panels and solar roof tiles, and related products and services. In 2020, Tesla had the most sales of battery electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles, capturing 16% of the plug-in market and 23% of the battery-electric market. Through its subsidiary Tesla Energy, the company develops and is a major installer of photovoltaic systems in the United States. Tesla Energy is also one of the largest global suppliers of battery energy storage systems, with 3 gigawatt-hours (GWh) installed in 2020.
Martin Forest Eberhard is an engineer, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and inventor. He received a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1982 and an MS in Electrical Engineering from the same school in 1984. In 2015, he was inducted into the University of Illinois Engineering Hall of Fame. He co-founded Tesla, Inc. with Marc Tarpenning In 2003, where Eberhard was its original chairman, and served as its CEO until late 2007.
SolarCity Corporation was a publicly traded company headquartered in Fremont, California that sold and installed solar energy generation systems as well as other related products and services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company was founded on July 4, 2006, by Peter and Lyndon Rive, the cousins of Tesla, Inc. CEO Elon Musk. Tesla acquired SolarCity in 2016, at a cost of approximately $2.6 billion and reorganized its solar business into Tesla Energy.
Hayes Barnard is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, known for his role as Chief Revenue Officer at SolarCity. Barnard is currently the founder, chairman and CEO of GoodLeap. Paramount Solar, a subsidiary of his holding company, was acquired by SolarCity in 2013 for $120 million.
A Tesla Supercharger is a 480-volt direct current fast-charging technology built by American vehicle manufacturer Tesla, Inc. for their all-electric cars. The Supercharger network was introduced on September 24, 2012, with six Supercharger stations. As of February 18, 2021, Tesla operates over 23,277 Superchargers in over 2,564 stations worldwide. There are 1,101 stations in North America, 592 in Europe, and 498 in the Asia/Pacific region. Supercharger stalls have a connector to supply electrical power at maximums of 72 kW, 150 kW or 250 kW.
The electricity sector in Australia is historically dominated by coal-fired power stations, but renewables are forming a rapidly growing fraction of supply.
The Tesla Powerwall is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery stationary home energy storage product manufactured by Tesla Energy, the clean energy subsidiary of Tesla, Inc. The Powerwall stores electricity for solar self-consumption, time of use load shifting, and backup power. The Powerwall was introduced in 2015 with limited production. Mass production started in early 2017 at Tesla's Giga Nevada factory. As of May 2021, Tesla has installed 200,000 Powerwalls.
Tesla Energy is the clean energy subsidiary of Tesla, Inc., headquartered in Fremont, California, that develops, manufactures, sells and installs photovoltaic solar energy generation systems, battery energy storage products, as well as other related products and services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Marc Tarpenning is an American technology entrepreneur who is the co-founder of Tesla Inc. with Martin Eberhard in 2003. Marc served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Vice President of Engineering of Tesla.
A battery storage power station is a type of energy storage power station that uses a group of batteries to store electrical energy. Battery storage is the fastest responding source of power on grids, and is used to stabilise grids. At full rated power, battery storage power stations are generally designed to output for between one and several hours.
The Tesla Semi is an all-electric battery-powered Class 8 semi-truck in development by Tesla, Inc. Two concept vehicles were unveiled in November 2017, and production in 2022 is planned.
Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg is a European manufacturing plant for Tesla, Inc. under construction in Grünheide, Germany. The campus is 35 kilometres (20 mi) south-east of central Berlin on the Berlin–Wrocław railway, which forms the north border of the site between Erkner station and Fangschleuse railway station; and the A10 motorway, which forms the west border.
Tesla Giga New York is a photovoltaic (PV) cell factory leased by Tesla subsidiary SolarCity in Buffalo, New York. The factory, owned by the State of New York, was built on brownfield land remediated from a former steel mill. Construction of the factory started in 2014 and was completed in 2016–17.
NIO is a Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Shanghai, specializing in designing and developing electric vehicles. The company is also involved in the FIA Formula E Championship, although NIO has ended funding the team after selling to Lisheng Racing.
Byton is a Chinese-German all-electric vehicle automotive brand established in 2017 and incorporated in Hong Kong, co-founded by former BMW and Nissan Motor executives. Byton unveiled its first concept car to the public in January 2018. The company is currently running a trial shop at its Nanjing headquarters where drivable prototypes are built. It plans to introduce its M-Byte SUV model first, with the start of production scheduled for late 2019. The SUV was expected go on sale in China at the end of 2019, followed by the U.S. and European markets in the second half of 2020.
PlainSite is a US based website dedicated to legal data transparency advocacy developed in conjunction by Think Computer Corporation and the charitable organization Think Computer Foundation, all of which is owned and operated by Aaron Greenspan. PlainSite provides both free and paid access to legal documents and information about the US legal system on a variety of subjects and caselaw. The website previously collected legal documents via the Free Law Project's RECAP archive until the archive adopted a fee-based approach.
Criticism of Tesla, Inc., especially under CEO Elon Musk, ranges from potential safety issues to questionable business practices which include alleged fraud, a history of environmental violations, disregard for workers' safety, and Musk's excessive compensation package. Tesla and Musk have also been criticized for their attempts to intimidate and silence whistleblowers, journalists, and other critics who have spoken out against the company.
