Tesla now worth half GM's value

Chronicle columnist, Andrew Ross, stands for a photograph inside the studio on Tuesday Jan. 27, 2008 in San Francisco,Calif. Chronicle columnist, Andrew Ross, stands for a photograph inside the studio on Tuesday Jan. 27, 2008 in San Francisco,Calif. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Tesla now worth half GM's value 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

From the what-a-world department: Daimler AG's $50 million investment in Tesla Motors this week means the San Carlos electric car maker is worth roughly half the value of the world's largest auto manufacturer, General Motors Corp. With one roadster on the market and one sedan in prototype, Tesla, thanks to Daimler's 9 percent stake, is valued at $550 million. GM sold 8.35 million vehicles worldwide in 2008; its market value as of Thursday was $1.17 billion, based on the closing stock price of $1.92.

"It's sort of amusing," remarked Daimler co-founder, Martin Eberhard.

Green throwdown: Faster than a speeding bullet, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed's office sent us the news that his city is now considered America's greenest. At least Greentech Media says it is, citing Reed's drive to bring 25,000 green tech jobs to San Jose, among other items in his 15-year "Green Vision" program. Special mentions go to Palo Alto, Berkeley, Greensburg, Kan., and Gainesville, Fla. San Francisco is little more than an afterthought in the online magazine's list of 12. Its green cred: "More than half the city's residents use public or alternative transportation to get to work."

But hasn't Mayor Gavin Newsomrepeatedly told us San Francisco is the greenest of them all? "With all due respect to other cities, San Francisco is much greener than everyone else on this list," Nathan Ballard, Newsom's spokesman, e-mailed me. "Sure, mayors around the country have made a lot of pledges, but we have actually done the work." Ballard says the city'srecord on green building, recycling and reducing greenhouse gases is second to none. Newsom "would be more humble about it," Ballard added. Right.

Check out Greentech Media's list at links.sfgate.com/ZHEF.

MBA BY THE BAY: See how an MBA could change your life with SFGATE's interactive directory of Bay Area programs.

Dark (green) horse: It should be said that this is about the 984th "green cities" survey that has crossed our desk in oh, about the past three months, so one shouldn't treat it as gospel.

However, Reed, I'm told, takes his ambition to be the green leader very seriously. Thus, it was no surprise that he was on hand Monday at the ribbon-cutting on San Jose's Santana Row for one of the first U.S. dealerships to sell Southern California-based Fisker Automotive's plug-in hybrids. Coulomb Technologies, headquartered in Campbell, was also on hand for the installation of one of its electric car-charging stations. Newsom might humbly point out that San Francisco's City Hall already has one of those.

Now if only Tesla Motors, flush with Daimler's $50 million, would open a manufacturing plant, as it once said it would, in San Jose.

Satisfied customers: Of all the banks in California, Oregon and Washington, San Francisco's Bank of the West ranks highest in customer satisfaction, according to the latest J.D. Power and Associates survey.

That's the second year in a row for Bank of the West, a subsidiary of France's BNP Paribas, with branches in 19 Western and Midwestern states. Not that California's fifth-largest bank has escaped the woes of its peers. It recorded an $85 million loss in the last quarter, mainly because it raised its reserves to cover loan losses, primarily commercial.

"Prudent management," said bank spokesman John Stafford, pointing to a Tier 1 capital ratio of 9.3 percent as an example of the bank's sound fundamentals. Bank deposits also grew 12 percent compared with a year earlier. ( www.bankofthewest.com )

Down the hatch: Here's a money-raising idea for our budget-challenged leaders. A 25-cent per-drink increase in California's alcohol tax. Yes, it's that dreaded TAX word, but the Marin Institute, San Rafael's self-styled "alcohol industry watchdog," says it would raise $3.4 billion.

A small recompense for the $38.4 billion the state lays out in connection with alcohol-related illnesses and lost productivity, according to the organization ( www.marininstitute.org). Alcohol tax measures are floating around the Legislature, but their prospects are murky at best.

You may have noticed, however, that the Senate Finance Committee just voted for a federal excise tax on alcohol and "sugar-sweetened beverages" to help pay for President Obama's health care reforms.