Electric car manufacturer Tesla has announced plans to dramatically expand its electric vehicle charging network – the company claims that within six months, it will connect most major metropolitan areas in the US and southern Canada. [Forbes]

In somewhat related but perhaps slightly less dramatic news, the US Navy has unveiled its first solar-powered EV charging station in Tennessee. [America’s Navy]

Total Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie could be facing trial in Paris for corruption and embezzlement. The charges relate to bribes to secure Iranian upstream contracts that have already cost Total nearly $400 million in fines in the US. [WSJ]

Google has announced that it plans to invest around $12 million a 96 megawatt SolarReserve thermal power plant in South Africa, its second overseas renewable energy venture. Getting a plant financed and built in South Africa is easier than pulling together funding and navigating the bureaucracy in the US, according to SolarReserve’s CEO. [Quartz]