The first modified electric car comes from BRABUS - or at least that’s what the German firm that specialized until now on Mercedes-Benz and Smart models, supports in its press release. For its first take on an all-electric vehicle, BRABUS limited modifications to the Tesla Roaster’s interior/exterior styling and wheel/tire options.

However, the Germans did develop the so-called ’space sound generator’ system with which the occupants of the Tesla Roadsters can choose from several simulated engine sounds including that of a V8 engine, a racecar engine and two futuristic soundscapes named ‘Beam’ and ‘Warp’ - make a bet that someone will find a geeky hack? BRABUS claims that the volume of the sound depends on the momentary power output of the electric motor.

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Tesla Motors continues its hiring spree by bringing on Deepak Ahuja to serve as the company’s CFO. Ahuja comes by way of the Ford Motor Company, where he was heading up the project to bring small European Ford’s to America. Prior to that, Ahuja carried various other important financial roles with Ford and Mazda. Tesla’s goal of becoming “the next great American automobile company” is a brash one, but much more likely to pan out with the proper people at the helm. Considering the rate at which Tesla Motors has been bringing on talent, including the recent addition of Franz von Holzhausen as Design Director, it is clear that the budding automaker takes its goal rather seriously. See the full press release after the break.

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Tesla Motors held the grand opening of its Northern California dealership in Menlo Park Saturday evening. A slew of valet parkers greeted. Then, I walked down the red carpet past an orange Tesla Roadster to the large showroom. Beyond the gazpacho cocktails and first of three full bars one entered the even larger service area where the Elon Musk and Ze’ev Drori mingled among the hundred or so invited guests.

Conversation with various Tesla personnel revealed that founder Martin Eberhard received his repaired Roadster earlier in the day. Presumably his blog will shortly contain his first impressions. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, I was told, will be delivered his Roadster within a few weeks, although the color remains top secret. Once he and the state’s First Lady Maria Shriver spend some time driving this powerful and impressive electric car one can only hope state policies will begin to reflect the near-term role that plug-in cars can play in carbon and petroleum reduction.

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Fisker Automotive isn’t exactly on good terms with its client-turned-competitor Tesla. But as Engadget reports, Valmet Automotive now announcing its intention to manufacturer its Karma plug-in hybrid sedan in serious numbers in Finland—as many as 15,000 annually, with the first arriving in North America sometime in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Europeans will begin receiving their cars directly afterward, sometime in 2010. The article also said that Valmet was chosen to manufacture the car after an “extensive global search, with its location in Finland in particular working in its favor given that more than half of Fisker’s cars are expected to be sold outside of North America.” The car is still expected to cost $80,000, which splits the difference between Tesla’s current $100k roadster and its no-longer-secret $60,000 sedan project.

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Check out 10 of this year’s most outrageous, extravagant and, simply put, cool autos to look for in the coming year, from green car to supercar and beyond!

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From next year onwards the Tesla Roadster will no longer be a U.S. only model as the company has confirmed it will start selling its all-electric car in Europe in just over 12 months. Tesla had always planned to make its Roadster a global model but with the U.S. dollar falling sharply against the euro over the last two years and Europe’s strong concerns about global warming and its eagerness for sustainable motoring company bosses sped up the export program.

Furthermore, rules for homologating a new car for sale across Europe will be simplified in April next year and will allow Tesla to introduce a special limited edition model ahead of its original scheduled launch planned for later in the year. This special limited edition will sell for €99,000 for a fully loaded car, to be delivered in 2009 shortly after the rule change takes effect. Tesla’s first planned event in Europe will be at the Top Marques Monaco on the 24th of this month and will be followed up later in the year with the establishment of sales and service facilities.

Original: Last week we reported that Tesla was speeding up its export program to take advantage of the weak U.S. dollar, and now the electric car company’s CEO has confirmed the roadster will be sold in Europe by the third quarter of next year. Although the Tesla’s chassis is manufactured in the UK by Lotus, most of its hardware, including the expensive batteries, is put together in California. This makes exporting the car to Europe very lucrative for Tesla.

Speaking with the Financial Times, Tesla boss Ze’ev Drori revealed final pricing for the roadster in Europe would stand at €100,000 ($156,000). By comparison the car sells for just under $100,000 in the U.S., but Drori is confident Europe’s higher fuel prices and shorter average driving distances makes the car much more appealing for Europeans than it is for Americans.

Key markets include Germany, France and the Netherlands, as well as countries such as Norway and Denmark, which offer generous tax incentives for low-emission cars. The UK will miss out initially as there are no plans for a RHD version in the short term.

Tesla has already racked up 1,000 firm orders for its electric roadster but with production limited to just 250 units per month there will be significant delays for the car unless capacity is increased. To cope with the extra demand, Drori revealed Tesla will establish another factory for finishing cars in Europe

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