Because only 4 percent of vehicle fires are caused by collisions, Tesla’s Model S sedan, with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, is statistically more likely to catch fire in those incidents than cars with gasoline tanks, wrote Kevin Bullis, senior editor for energy for MIT Technology Review.

One in 32,603 registered vehicles catches fire compared with 1 in 6,333 of the Model S, Bullis said in a blog post today, using U.S. government data. Fewer than 1 percent of registered vehicles are plug-in electrics.

In a statement, Tesla said, "There was a failure in a low-pressure aluminum casting press. Three employees were injured by hot metal from that press. We are making sure that they receive the best possible care."

The victims suffered moderate to serious burns and were taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose. Two patients were in the burn unit, and the third was being evaluated, said hospital spokeswoman Joy Alexiou.

Yet Musk is also emblematic of a curious strain of denial that seems to infect Silicon Valley as a whole. His breakaway success is a powerful reminder of how the public sector can turbocharge innovation. It brings to mind the government-backed $500,000 investment in a young startup known as Apple—and the federal grants that funded the prototype for Google. But rather than becoming poster boys for public-private partnership, Musk and other Valley entrepreneurs have gone out of their way to distance themselves from their patron. Shortly after paying off his $465 million loan, Musk proclaimed that government should no longer provide such assistance. A "carbon tax would be a better way," he tweeted, adding: "Yes, am arguing against subsidies and in favor of a tax on the end bad created. Market will then achieve best solution."

In a fitting finale to a week Tesla Motors executives would rather forget, a law firm announced Friday that it had filed a class-action suit against the electric car maker for allegedly misleading investors over the fire risk posed by the company’s Model S sedan.l

The firm of Pomerantz Grossman Hufford Dahlstrom & Gross accused Tesla of making misleading statements about the car’s safety, in spite of “undisclosed puncture and fire risks” that the law firm attributes to “material defects” in the Model S battery pack.

On Wednesday, a Model S caught fire on a Tennessee freeway after striking a metal towing hitch lying in the road. The hitch punctured the electric car’s battery pack, which lies beneath the floorboards and is protected from the road by a steel shield. It was the third Model S fire in six weeks, and it helped drive down the company’s stock.

-They really like technology, with a strong emphasis on Apple, Facebook, Twitter, and Bioengineering.
-Among their favorite media are The Atlantic and the New York Times. They are closely following matters related to international security and right-wing politics (not necessarily because they agree with them).
-Perhaps unsurprisingly, they are keenly interested in Eco-friendly subject matters and Social Change.

-1.2 times more likely to enjoy physical exercise
-2.5 times more likely to like Yoga
-1.3 times more likely to be interested in McDonald’s
-9.1 times more likely to dig Tyler Perry
-13.6 times more likely to love Apple
-Slightly less likely to be interested NASCAR, Football, and Waffles (their Sundays must be so empty)
-6.3 times more likely to be concerned about Sustainability
-Just as likely to enjoy Ninjas as everybody else

-Environmentalism is not a substantial area of interest in the Tesla Model S Interest Graph. This may indicate that Tesla interest is driven by the technological or aspirational aspects of the brand rather than it’s environmental benefits. This is supported by the fact that, while the Tesla audience is 8.5 times more likely to be interested in fuel efficiency than the general population, Prius fans are 4x more likely to be interested than the Tesla folks (34x general population).
-Business and finance were dominant categories of interest. Interest rates, economics, the economy of Saudi Arabia, and bubbles, both real estate and economic, were high on the list.
-They are thirsty. Maker’s Mark, breweries, and Jim Beam are Tesla aficionado favorites.
-They like things that go. private transportation, Ferraris, and motorcycles were of high interest.
-Their lifestyle interests are a mixed bag. While family topped the category, Tesla fans do exhibit abnormally high levels of interest in cannabis, erotic dance, strip clubs, and Lululemon. It is unclear from the data available whether the Model S/”big night out” relationship is causal or simply correlated.

-2.5 times more likely to be wired on coffee
-90% more likely to be interested in social issues
-5.2 times more likely to be interested in cannabis
-4.1 times more likely to like magazines
-41.8 times more likely to be interested in SpaceX
-3.8 times more likely to like Evernote
-10.7 times more likely to dig Marissa Mayer
-96 times more likely to be concerned about traffic congestion

The United Auto Workers has set up an organizing committee at the Tesla Motors plant in Fremont, CA, but says it is meeting with resistance from management despite CEO Elon Musk’s pledge to let the workers decide whether they want union representation.

UAW President Bob King tells WardsAuto his group is actively looking to recruit workers at the Tesla factory, which is building 400 battery-electric vehicles each week. The plant employs about 2,000 people, but not all are production workers the union is targeting, he says.

“It’s growing fast,” King says of the support for the committee. Establishing a pro-union committee is only the first step in any UAW organizing drive.

The UAW has met with Musk, and King says the Tesla founder was “very open and said he would respect what the workers wanted. But his operating management has done the opposite. The operating management has taken a very anti-union stance.

Minmin began to work in Foxconn's Shenzhen factory last year, but the pay was simply not desirable. When she was regretted taking the job, one girl from her hometown told her about the "available part-time job." Minmin accepted the offer without giving it too much thought. "I'm young. Making money is the most important thing right now," she said.

For some girls, the "part-time" job proved so profitable that they eventually opted to do it full time,