• San Francisco Chronicle, Friday, February 24, 2012 10:33 AM

It seems that story yesterday about Tesla cars turning into bricks when the battery runs dry has done damage, briefly driving down the stock value of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company.

Responding to the post, Tesla issued a statement saying Roadster batteries can remain unplugged for weeks or even months without losing all their charge.

"All batteries are subject to damage if the charge is kept at zero for long periods of time," the company said. "However, Tesla avoids this problem in virtually all instances with numerous countermeasures." Owners can request that their cars automatically notify the company when the charge drops too low, and the company can then contact the owners. In addition, the cars give visual and audible warnings if the battery's charge falls below 5%, according to Tesla.

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