Now it appears that Sarah Palin will have to eat crow, as Tesla has repaid the entire government loan nine years early.

Tesla today announced that it has paid off the loan with one final, huge payment of $451.8 million. The funds were paid out of nearly $1 billion in funding that was raised in Tesla common stock and convertible senior note offerings this month. The company now employs more than 3,000 U.S. citizens.

“When you’re talking about cutting-edge clean energy technologies, not every investment will succeed – but today’s repayment is the latest indication that the Energy Department’s portfolio of more than 30 loans is delivering big results for the American economy while costing far less than anticipated,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

The loan repayment is yet more good news for Tesla investors. Earlier this month, the car company’s Tesla Model S car was given a 99 out of 100 score in Consumer Reports – the highest rating the publication has ever given a car.

“I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate,” said Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. “I hope we did you proud.”

(Image courtesy Tesla Motors)

If you want to skip right to it, go to about 30 seconds in. There, you’ll see a car launched at least 20 feet into the air, flip, and land off-camera.

If you’re looking for a Russian dash cam video that doesn’t scare the crap out you, check out this clip that captures to good in humanity.

[via reddit]

First, a study just published in the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics concludes that “nearly half of US high school students aged ≥16 years report TWD during the past 30 days, and these students are more likely to engage in additional risky MV behaviors.”

What risky behaviors, you ask? Well, the study, based on data from the CDC, found that these teens who texted while driving were more likely to not wear their seatbelts and were also more likely to drink and drive (or at least ride in the car with someone who has been drinking).

The CDC study asked a sample of around 8.500 high school students whether they had texted while driving in the past month. Just shy of 45% copped to it. Those teens were then found to participate in other high-risk driving activities at a higher rate.

“Multitasking is fine if you’re sitting in your dorm room or at home in your bedroom, but multitasking in the car is a terrible idea,” said CDC director Tom Frieden. “It’s amazing how quickly things can go wrong in the car.”

Here’s another alarming find for you parents out there: according to another study, texting while driving is now killing more teens that drunk driving.

The study comes from the Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York. They say that over 3,000 teens now die every year as the result of texting while driving. That number just beats the number killed in drunk driving accidents – 2,700.

Of course, texting is a more common practice than drinking while driving. But still, it’s a shocking figure.

“The reality is kids aren’t drinking seven days per week – they are carrying their phones and texting seven days per week, so you intuitively know this a more common occurrence,” said Dr. Andrew Adesman, Chief of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center.

Although these studies focused on teens, it’s not just the younger crowd who is guilty of texting while driving. A recent AT&T study found that 49% of adults admitted to the practice, compared to just 43% of teens. And it’s not for lack of knowledge. 98% admitted that they knew it was wrong, but did it anyway. 39 states currently ban texting while driving and another 6 ban it for novice drivers.

At a recent Lamborghini 50th anniversary party, car designer Walter De Silva debuted the Lamborghini Egoista, a “supercar” designed for “hyper-sophisticated people who want only the most extreme and special things in the world.”

“I am very attached to this Italian brand, being an Italian myself,” said De Silva. “I wanted to pay homage to and think up a vehicle to underline the fact that Lamborghinis have always been made with passion, and with the heart more than the head.”

The car has room for only the driver, who pilots the vehicle from a carbon fiber and aluminum “cockpit,” which includes a four-point harness. The steering wheel must be removed for the driver to exit the car. Much of the car’s exterior is also crafted from carbon-fiber and aluminium. Under the hood, the Egoista includes a 5.2-liter V10 engine and 600 horsepower.

“It represents hedonism taken to the extreme, it is a car without compromises, in a word: egoista (selfish),” said De Silva.

As an added bonus, it also features Nemoy doing his Bilbo Baggins song.

But it’s not all explosions, crashes and such on Russian roads. Good stuff is happening too, as this beautiful compilation proves. Sure, there’s still a lot of crazy stuff happening, even when we see a good samaritan helping out his fellow man – but this is better than most of those videos you’ve seen, right?

[ArkadiYM93 via reddit]

Audi has turned two brand new 2013 models in paintball-mounted, high-speed war machines and stuck them in an aircraft hangar to let them do battle. Plus, bonus “Push It To The Limit.” Hell yeah.

As one YouTuber comments, “did Audi just invent a new sport?”

[AudiChannel]

Wired has a great piece up today on Kor Ecologic – a company dedicated to rethinking the automobile with the help of 3D printers. The company, started by Jim Kor, is building a new kind of car called the Urbee 2. The vehicle features a lightweight chassis made possible by the ABS plastic its printed with.

A lightweight plastic chassis seems kind of dangerous though. Is this 3D printed car even road safe? The answer is a resounding yes as Kor uses a 3D printing method called Fused Deposition Modeling that can make ABS plastic as hard and resilient as traditional cars produced in a factory.

What may interest most people about the Urbee beyond its 3D printed chassis is the fact that it should get exceptional fuel mileage. The car’s light weight means that it will burn far less fuel when on the road, and it will save even more fuel with its hybrid engine.

The Urbee may be desirable for its reported safety and fuel mileage, but how will various regulatory bodies feel about the vehicle? Will it get a pass? Kor told Wired that he feels confident that the Urbee’s three-wheeled design and light weight will ensure that it gets passed as a motorcycle. That being said, the team will conduct extensive safety testing to make sure it “exceed[s] most, if not all, current automotive safety standards.”

So, how much will the Urbee 2 cost when it goes into full production? The original prototype was priced at about $50,000. The price of the production model shouldn’t be too far away from that.

To get an idea of how the Urbee drives, here’s a video from last year of the first prototype being taken out for a test drive:

[MINI via Fark]

It should probably be noted that the ad is currently featured on the front page of YouTube, as an actual ad. Still the comments on the video are overwhelmingly positive.