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Big Mac · 11:09 AM

Tesla has released information on its sedan design, the Model S. Base MSRP $49,900 (including a $7,500 tax credit). It looks a bit drab in comparison to the Roadster, but I'm glad the company and EVs in general are progressing.

turtle777 · Jul 5, 2009, 04:36 AM

Better than anything else produced and designed by the Big 3.

-t

OreoCookie · Jul 5, 2009, 05:34 AM

I like the looks quite a bit, reminds me of Aston Martins.

angelmb · Jul 5, 2009, 06:12 AM

Beware! {important device/techology] as you know it will soon be {obliterated/made embarrassingly obsolete} because of {crazy new invention}!

You will eventually buy a new {device}.

Doofy · Jul 5, 2009, 07:37 AM

It's like Ford bought Maserati.

kylef · Jul 5, 2009, 07:38 AM

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

I like the looks quite a bit, reminds me of Aston Martins.

I was about to say the same - reminds me very much of an AM. Most importantly - what is its range like?

OreoCookie · Jul 5, 2009, 08:13 AM

Originally Posted by kylef

I was about to say the same - reminds me very much of an AM. Most importantly - what is its range like?

They have (at least) three battery configs, ranging from ~250 km to 480 km. This sounds very usable.

Eug · Jul 5, 2009, 09:09 AM

I agree, although to get 480 km costs extra money. Having the option of a 5-minute battery swap is great. I wonder how long the swapped battery lasts. Does it cost the full $5000 for the backup battery?

However, what I want is a $25000 one with the specs of a standard family car. I'm not really interested in 0-60 in 5.6 s.

ShortcutToMoncton · Jul 5, 2009, 09:19 AM

Originally Posted by Eug

However, what I want is a $25000 one with the specs of a standard family car. I'm not really interested in 0-60 in 5.6 s.

America just gave GM a few billion for throwing that sort of idea in the dumpster!

Little companies like Tesla can't deliver this, though... at least not yet. You'll have to wait for the big boys and their high volume/low margin approach.

greg

ShortcutToMoncton · Jul 5, 2009, 09:21 AM

Note: base price is 50 thousand which includes the $7500 US federal tax credit.

ghporter · Jul 5, 2009, 10:52 AM

I thought it looked "Aston-Martinish" too.

One major reason the Model S is so expensive is that they can't build a lot of them yet. This is almost a "chicken and egg" quandary, since they need customers to buy them so they can make money to invest in higher production rates so they can lower the price so more people can buy them... Economies of scale are why huge car companies can afford to offer cars at lower prices.

But this is not going to be "just" a niche car forever. And cool styling doesn't hurt at all.

Big Mac · Jul 5, 2009, 11:08 AM

Their current CEO/co-founder wants to step down from that position but was prevented from doing so in order to secure more funding. Their previous CEO is alleged to have almost run the company into the ground financially, which would have been a real pity. I think most likely Tesla will be bought out by either Ford or Government Motors, but hopefully its assets will be managed properly when that happens.

SSharon · Jul 5, 2009, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

Their current CEO/co-founder wants to step down from that position but was prevented from doing so in order to secure more funding. Their previous CEO is alleged to have almost run the company into the ground financially, which would have been a real pity. I think most likely Tesla will be bought out by either Ford or Government Motors, but hopefully its assets will be managed properly when that happens.

Tesla was just lent a few hundred million dollars so hopefully they can put it to good use. If I had a job and therefore the money I would buy a Model S in a heartbeat.

CreepDogg · Jul 5, 2009, 12:16 PM

They also got a substantial investment from Daimler. One thing that's coming out of that is they're going to be using Tesla's battery tech in Smart cars.

Big Mac · Jul 5, 2009, 12:27 PM

Tesla seems to know how to design cars people want to buy, which is what the US government has charged the automakers with producing. Tesla needs the funding and economics of scale that Ford or Government Motors could provide, and in turn it has the sought after designs. If Detroit is serious about the future, then a buyout makes almost too much sense.

ShortcutToMoncton · Jul 5, 2009, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

Tesla seems to know how to design cars people want to buy, which is what the US government has charged the automakers with producing. Tesla needs funding and economics of scale that Ford or Government Motors could provide, and in turn it has the sought after designs. If Detroit is serious about the future, then a buyout makes almost too much sense.

I was shocked when they got as far as the Tesla Roadster to be honest. Maybe they're committed to being an independent company and have resisted buyouts?

Either that, or else the big companies have looked at their product and decided it would be easier to start from scratch and build their own instead...?

greg

Big Mac · 12:45 AM

I'd rather the company stay independent if possible. If things were going that well independently, however, the current CEO wouldn't be itching to step down. I was a bit shocked to see that the allegations of financial mismanagement by the previous CEO - you'd think a company with products that good would be a bit more prudent in managing its finances. If there ultimately has to be a buy-out, I just hope for the sake of America that it's one of our companies and not a foreign corporation.

nonhuman · Jul 5, 2009, 02:51 PM

I've been watching Tesla pretty closely since they first announced the Roadster years ago. I think their approach to building an electric car has been a good one: electric cars are expensive and will be until they become more common, so let's build an expensive electric car that's actually worth the money and build off of that. It's seemed to work pretty well so far, they pretty much hit it out of the park with the Roadster, the success of which has enabled them to release that Model S which brings electric cars down from playthings for the extremely rich to a practical car for the well to do family (still a restricted market, but a much larger one). From the beginning they've been saying that after they release an electric sedan (the Model S) their plan is to then build an electric economy car. So as long as things go well (and the recent federal money they received seems to be a good indicator) I hope to see them realize that goal and produce an electric car that just about anyone could reasonable drive in the next couple years.

I hope to be able to replace our current Mazda 3 with an electric car when the time comes (which won't be for a while, got another 50k miles and 5 years on the warranty...). The stumbling block at this point is infrastructure (our apartment building in Maryland does not have charging stations available, and our condo in Boston only has street parking. With luck though, by the time we replace our car we'll have a house somewhere with a garage. Either that or maybe Shai Agassi's Better Place (another company I've been keeping my eye on) will have gained some traction in the Continental US (they've already got something going on in Hawai'i, I believe, as well as Israel, and a few other countries) and we'll have the infrastructure in place to support electric cars even for people who simply don't have the ability to plug in their car at home.

Uncle Skeleton · Jul 6, 2009, 02:47 PM

Originally Posted by nonhuman

The stumbling block at this point is infrastructure (our apartment building in Maryland does not have charging stations available, and our condo in Boston only has street parking.

Couldn't you dangle a 100' extension cord out a window? I did that once to reanimate a diesel merc that got cold feet. I don't know if I would want to do it every day, but it didn't seem like a show-stopper.

nonhuman · Jul 6, 2009, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton

Couldn't you dangle a 100' extension cord out a window? I did that once to reanimate a diesel merc that got cold feet. I don't know if I would want to do it every day, but it didn't seem like a show-stopper.

The problem in Boston is that we'd sometimes have to park around the corner from our place, so that wouldn't work. In Maryland we'd need about 200' of extension cord and to drill some holes down into the underground parking garage beneath the building. So it's a bit of a show stopper.

Personally I'm hoping for Better Place to succeed.

turtle777 · Jul 6, 2009, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton

Couldn't you dangle a 100' extension cord out a window? I did that once to reanimate a diesel merc that got cold feet. I don't know if I would want to do it every day, but it didn't seem like a show-stopper.

Clearly, you are not showing enough commitment to the environmental cause.

-t

angelmb · Jul 6, 2009, 03:43 PM