DETROIT, May 22 (Reuters) – Electric carmaker Tesla Motors
Inc on Wednesday paid off its U.S. Department of Energy
loan nine years earlier than required, using money raised last
week in a stock and debt offering.

The automaker said on Wednesday that it wired $451.8 million
to repay the full loan with interest.

DETROIT, May 20 (Reuters) – The launch of General Motors
Co’s redesigned Chevrolet Silverado, the most important
since the automaker’s bankruptcy and $50 billion taxpayer-funded
bailout in 2009, is on track and advertising for its full-size
trucks should begin in a few weeks, a top GM executive said on
Monday.

Mark Reuss, head of GM’s North American operations, said the
launch of the 2014 Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups is going
“really good” and there had been no hiccups to slow the rollout.

, May 14 (Reuters) – Cars that “talk” to
each other to avoid crashes or traffic jams, like those being
tested here, will save lives but the cost of the systems will
determine consumers’ acceptance of such technology, the U.S.
transportation secretary said on Tuesday.

“These are definitely safer vehicles. At what cost though?”
Ray LaHood told reporters at a connected-vehicle conference in
Ann Arbor, Michigan. “To me, that’s what the bottom line’s going
to be. Safety has a cost and we’re going to have to make that
judgment.”

SAN JOSE CHIAPA, Mexico (Reuters) – The automotive industry’s growing love affair with Mexico was celebrated here on Saturday as Audi executives laid the foundation stone for its first assembly plant in the Americas.

Volkswagen AG’s (VOWG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) premium brand is joining a parade of automakers who have announced plans to build cars in a country that is seen as a doorway not only to the rest of North and South America but to the world. Audi officials said the $1.3 billion plant will open in three years and eventually be the German brand’s only source globally for its Q5 SUVs after it opens in mid-2016.

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) posted stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as the U.S. automaker kept a tight grip on costs in its North American and European businesses.

GM shares rose 3.6 percent to $31.27, near their initial public offering debut of $33 in the fall of 2010, and hit the highest point since July of 2011.