Elon Musk has been mentioned quite often in the automotive industry. He heads up Tesla Motors, which is a relative newcomer in the world of cars. The new Model S sedan might be sold through a rather unique type of dealership.

Unlike other electric cars that are sold at regular dealerships, Tesla Motors has modeled their distribution network around the famous Apple stores. Apple has had a great deal of success with their direct sales program, and Tesla wants to do something similar. Ten new stores will be opened up this year.

Northeastern states will see the highest concentration of Tesla dealerships, though one is set to open up in Portland, Oregon. Another one is supposed to open up in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company strives to ultimately get a run on reservations so that they can deliver 20,000 motor vehicles next year. While many drivers might be skeptical, Tesla actually already has some sales figures under their belt.

According to Musk, the company already has 10,000 Model S sedan orders. They’re set to fill 5,300 orders this year before they hit the 20,000 mark next year. Around 4,000 visitors come to Tesla stores each week, which is remarkable for a chain of car dealerships. Tesla Motors hopes to add around 25 to 30 more outlets next year.

Tesla’s name might interest business scholars as much as the company interests drivers. The firm is named for Nikola Tesla. As an inventor who was well known for many innovative concepts that pushed the envelope of technology, Tesla is an excellent figure to look up to when developing a new class of car.

Low-end Model S Tesla sedans cost around $57,400. However, higher end models can cost up to $105,400. Federal tax credits for purchasing the vehicle can refund around $7,500. While many electric cars have very short ranges, top-end Tesla motor vehicles have a range of around 265 miles. This can actually make them rather competitive with their internal combustion cousins.

Strangely enough, the company’s stock prices continue to rise but the company hasn’t actually turned an annual profit yet. However, some of their investors might turn heads. Daimler and Toyota have decided the project worthy enough to put their money into it. Maybe that means that Tesla is here to stay. Direct deliveries of cars to customers have already begun, so one might imagine that 20,000 vehicles could actually ship during the next fiscal year.

Remember the iconic DeLorean featured in the movie “Back to the Future?” The vehicle was manufactured for a very short period during the early ’80s, resulting in approximately 9,000 of the cars being sold commercially. The DeLorean DMC-12, the technical name for the vehicle produced by the DeLorean Motor Company, was the only model produced by the company. After only seven years in existence, the DeLorean Motor Company declared bankruptcy in 1982.

Today, approximately 6,500 of the DeLorean DMC-12 models are still in existence. However, the highly recognizable model is about to be joined by an all-electric version, projected to be available commercially by 2013.

Although the DeLorean Motor Company went bankrupt nearly 20 years ago, Texas businessman Stephen Wynne bought the rights to the name as well as all of the leftover inventory of the vehicle manufacturer in 1995 and set up headquarters in Humble, Texas. Although the new company is not technically affiliated with the original DeLorean Motor Company, the aim of the new company has been to support owners of DeLoreans.

Since 2007, Wynne’s company has been releasing newly built DeLorean DMC-12s in limited edition, partially building the vehicles using the leftover parts inventory purchased from the original DeLorean Motor Company. There are four dealerships in the United States and one in the Netherlands that are authorized to sell the vehicle, which retails for $57,400.

Since the only model produced by the original DeLorean Motor Company has remained a collector’s item, partially due to its being featured in “Back to the Future,” it makes sense that Wynne would wish to bring the model back with a modern twist. The company is developing the electric vehicle in conjunction with Epic EV, a company specializing in electric vehicles made for on and off-road use.

Currently, there are few details about the all-electric DeLorean. It will be designed to look much like the DeLorean DMC-12, and it will be a completely electric vehicle. While the company projects that the vehicle will be available commercially by 2013, no details regarding whether the vehicle will be available in early or late 2013 have been released.

Imagine that you are driving your car on a dark road at night when you glance at your fuel gauge only to see the needle dangerously close to the large, brightly colored “E”. For whatever reason, drivers often forget to fill up at a convenient time and are put into a scenario that leaves them searching for a gas station in order to keep from running out of fuel and being stranded on the side of the road. Thankfully, in most places in America there seems to be convenience stores and fuel stations on every corner, or so it seems at least.

Despite the large number of gas stations in most towns and cities, when your fuel light indicates that you are low on gas or diesel there is often a slightly sick feeling that comes over you. This queasy sensation often occurs because it is absolutely no fun to run out of fuel and be stuck on the side of the road. Now imagine that you have a totally electric car and instead of having your fuel light come on, it is your low battery light that pops up. Now imagine trying to find a place to charge your car before you get stranded. Most likely, you are feeling queasy just thinking about this scenario, but for electric car owners it is a fear often based in reality.

All electric cars can often go anywhere from 75 to 300 miles on one charge, but what happens if you need to drive further than that? Many large cities have charging stations very similar to gas stations and often near a traditional fuel station. However, in smaller towns and cities, finding a place to charge an electric car can be both frightening and challenging.

The United States government is on course to help with this electric range dilemma in the coming years. More specifically, The U.S. Department of Energy has dedicated more than $400 million to help build an electric vehicle infrastructure according to CNN’s Steve Almasy. There are several energy companies planning to build thousands of charging stations in the coming years in order to help with this electric car range issue.

As the industry stands now, many potential buyers are turned off by electric cars because of the fear and anxiety directly related to charging issues. Another problem that may continue to turn buyers away is that fully charging an electric automobile can take up to four hours, time that many drivers cannot spare while traveling.

While electric vehicles have many advantages, the automobile industry and other entities must create solutions to the worries created by the limited travel range that these new cars offer.

For most of us, the most important thing we do before bedtime is making sure our cell phone is charging. However, many people may have to start remembering to charge a much more important belonging…their car.

While hybrid cars have been on the market for some time, fully electric cars were a bit rarer. This is rapidly changing, however, and now many car companies have produced electric vehicles with many outstanding features.

Fully electric cars must be plugged in to an outlet in order to charge the batteries that give the vehicle power. The motors in these cars are fully electric, making electric cars very popular with environmentalists because there is no tail pipe pollution produced in electric automobiles.

While many advantages of owning an electric car are very obvious, many cool features in electric cars may be really shock consumers. Sure, electric cars are energy efficient and they will generally help people reduce their carbon footprint. Other advantages include possible federal and state tax breaks after an electric car purchase and eliminating fuel costs and dependency.

Other positives of electric vehicles or EVs include a smooth ride, less noise than many traditional vehicles, as well as a surprising amount of power. That’s right…POWER. Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer who recently received a multimillion dollar contract to begin producing electric Toyota Rav4s, also makes some stylish electric sports cars. The Tesla Roadster Sport maxes out at 14,000 rpm and has a surprising 288 horsepower. The stylish car can get up 60 miles per hour in a very respectable 3.7 seconds and tops out at 125 mph. This car can go up to 245 miles on a single charge, much more than original electric prototypes of several years ago.

For consumers looking for a more traditional “daily driver”, there are also many options that will be available as well as some that are already on the market. For example, the Nissan Leaf is a compact electric vehicle similar in style to the Toyota Prius or Honda Fit. The Leaf features an 80 kW AC synchronous electric motor and a 24 kWh lithium-ion battery. The Leaf can easily be used for commuting to work for many people because it can go around 100 miles on a single charge. The Leaf has an MSRP of more than $32,000 but with incentives and discounts up to $7,500, the actual cost is much more respectable.

While there are some drawbacks to fully electric vehicles such as limited driving ranges, long charging times, and higher initial costs, going electric could mean more money in your pocket, less fuel dependency as a nation, and a smaller carbon footprint. So unplug your hair dryer or your electric razor and make room to plug in your car.