View from Washington [News Briefing]

IT IS NOT AMERICA'S biggest carmaker, but Tesla Motors is rapidly becoming its favourite. And that is although it isn't even America's biggest electric carmaker. That honour goes to Nissan (for the Leaf), followed by Chevrolet (Volt). Tesla and Elon Musk, its charismatic founder, were again laying on the charm this summer. So, a good time for a closer look. Musk fed the Press more about Tesla's partnership with Panasonic to build a battery 'Gigafactory' in the western US. The $4-5bn (£2.4-3bn) project will create 6,500 jobs and aims to bring more economies of scale and clustered manufacturing to e-cars.