This solar-powered car might be better for the planet than a Tesla

You can keep your measly normal electric cars, Elon Musk — the real future of automotive power will be fully powered by the sun.

That's the vision a new Dutch auto startup, Lightyear, hopes the world is ready to embrace with a fully solar-powered, four-wheel-drive luxury sedan. Lightyear is just the latest challenger to Tesla's top spot in the green automotive space, but its claims about the potentially groundbreaking tech powered the car are bolder — and more suspect — than most.

The startup unveiled its Lightyear One concept earlier this week, touting a battery that can constantly replenish its power using the sun and travel a range of up to 800 km (almost 500 miles) when fully juiced. That's just the start: The company claims that in the right sunny environment (say, Hawaii), the One could potentially drive for months at a time between charges. Read more...