Straubel also had responsibility for new technology evaluation, technical due diligence review of key vendors and partners, intellectual property, and systems validation testing.

Volacom worked closely with Burt Rutan at Scaled Composites to design a specialized high-altitude aircraft platform using a novel hydrogen-powered electric power plant.

[12] In the area of technical expertise, Straubel has consulted with venture capital firms Taproot Ventures and Kleiner Perkins, in addition to several other private equity investors, to conduct technical due diligence reviews for many start-ups in the energy and clean energy technologies category.

[20] On June 19, 2021, Boryana was killed while cycling in a designated bike lane in a rural area when a car crossed a double yellow line on Old Highway 395 in Washoe County, Nevada and hit her head-on.

[22] His photograph was taken in July 2006 driving Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Tesla Roadster at its unveiling in Santa Monica, California.

[32] In March 2012, Straubel spoke at the DESIGN West conference, produced by UBM Electronics, at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, CA.

[33] Redwood Materials is a company established in Nevada by Straubel in 2017, to recycle lithium-ion automotive battery packs on a large scale.

[11] On August 29, 2020, Straubel was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal and revealed additional details:[34][35] In June 2021, Redwood announced plans to expand its Carson City, Nevada facility to 550,000 square feet.

Investment management group T. Rowe Price Associates led a Series C round of funding that included Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Baillie Gifford, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Fidelity, Valor Equity Partners, Emerson Collective and Franklin Templeton.