silicon valley technology

Media outlets are reporting today that German automaker and Mercedes parent Daimler AG has acquired a stake in Silicon Valley electric-car builder Tesla Motors. Word is, Daimler's nearly 10 percent buy is the latest component in the company's plan to expand production of cars that rely on the power grid, not dead dinosaurs, for motivation.

In San Jose, the unofficial capital of Silicon Valley, technology companies employ more than 300,000 people—practically a third of the populace. The city generates 30 percent more patents than its closest competitor (Boise, Idaho, home to Micron) and receives more than a third of the nation’s venture capital: $5 billion. Headquartered in Silicon Valley are Google, eBay and Cisco Systems; the world’s leading biotech company, Genentech, is up the road.