A Silicon Valley startup called Tesla Motors designs and manufactures high-performance, highly efficient electric sports cars. Tesla Motors cars not only produce zero-emission, they combine style, acceleration and advanced technologies that make them among the fastest and most energy-efficient cars on the road.

Tesla Motors, which unveiled its electric sports car Roadster in 2006 and went into production last month, said it has already pre-sold all the 600 Roadsters the company planned to produce in 2008. The company is now taking orders of the 1,500 cars it plans to produce for 2009.

The Roadster car was developed with more than $40 million of venture capital from investors such as Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The 2-seat car goes from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds and reaches a top speed of 125 mph. It ranges about 220 miles on one charge and can be fully recharged like a cell phone in about 3.5 hours. The 2009 Roadster base price is $109,000.

Tesla Motors recently opened its first store in Los Angeles and plans to open another one in Silicon Valley in the next 2 months. More stores will also be opened within the next year in Chicago and New York as well as Europe.

The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and the Xerox Research Centre of Canada are teaming up to test an innovative type of erasable paper and a complementary printer that produce documents that disappear after 16 to 24 hours.

This type of erasable paper, also known as a transient document, is exactly like regular printer paper but coated with photosensitive chemicals that change color when exposed to light.

The printer prints by exposing the paper to a UVB light source. Images remain on the erasable paper for eight hours before progressively fading away. Running the paper through the printer will also erase the current image, as heat is applied in the printer, which stimulates the erasing process.

Researchers are also developing a pen that writes on the erasable paper by using an internal light source.

The new experimental printing technology eliminates the need for ink and toners, which contribute significantly to reduce printing costs. However, the biggest impact will be the benefit to the environment since it could lead to significant reduction in paper and energy use.

The paper and printer could be out in the market in the next few years.

Aerospace company Boeing announced that it has successfully tested the first manned hydrogen-powered plane in the skies above Spain.

The small (two-seater), propeller-driven craft is powered by hydrogen fuel cells, which produce only heat and water as exhaust products.

Three test flights took place in February and March at the airfield in Ocaña, south of Madrid, operated by the Spanish company SENASA.

During the flights, the pilot of the experimental airplane climbed to an altitude of 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) above sea level using a combination of battery power and power generated by hydrogen fuel cells. The fuel cells create electricity by combining oxygen and hydrogen to power the electric motor coupled to the propeller.

With the success of this testing, the company said that fuel cells potentially could power small manned and unmanned air vehicles. However, for large passenger aircraft it could only be used as a secondary source of energy, but the company will continue to investigate their potential, as well as other sustainable alternative fuel and energy sources that improve environmental performance.