I’m glad to see that they are opening-up/expanding the market. Only more good things to come.
But there is a place to fill up every couple miles and it takes 10 mins to fill up.
exactly
edit: I have this argument with a friend of mine on a daily basis. He thinks there is some vast conspiracy why there aren’t 100% electric cars being made. But in all reality, it’s technology limited.
if you purchased one as a DD and decided you wanted to take a road trip to Virginia Beach for the week, you’d have one hell of a time getting there between “refills”. You could probably recharge at a hotel, but I’m sure they wouldn’t just give it to you either. At this time, a hybrid is really the best viable option until technology improves.
either way, sounds like a fun car :tup:
You tried to argue that it’s going to be so great on the track. Clearly you’ve never actually driven on a track. My last trip to Dunnville I went through 7/8th of a tank lapping, and I wasn’t even out there for the full sessions because of brake overheating. If you think that think would get 125 miles on charge in a track setting you’re crazy. 5 laps and you’d probably be lucky to have enough battery to make it home.
Yeah, you could commute with it, but how many people are really going to buy a 90k 2 seater as their commuter car? Because they’ve given the car such a narrow demographic they have essentially created a really expensive toy.
Look, I’m not trying to say the car is a POS, quite the contrary. If I had the kind of money that allowed me to buy 90k toys with little to no practical use I’d probably have one. I bet it’s a blast to drive with all that smooth electric torque. What I’m saying is Tesla would have been so much better off making their first release something they could market to a larger demo than the big boy toy crowd.
It works for Locomotives.
Why not Diesel electric?
a Single cylinder torquey bitch turning a giant alternator charging the batteries, thus giving power when the batteries get low. or providing power when they are dead.
It would get like 300mpg.
Think of how much torque a 8hp lawnmower engine has. Single cylinder gas, That could turn a mighty big alternator, probably in the neighborhood of 1000 amps.
I dont see why this wouldnt work.
diesel emissions.
Yep. By the time you add all the stuff needed to make a clean diesel you’ve added a ton of weight to an already heavy electric car.
Still, I think plug in hybrids are the only reasonable solution to a mainstream electric car. At least until capacitor technology reaches the point where a cap can store as much as a big li-ion battery. You could charge a capacitor in less time than it takes to fill an 18 gallon gas tank. And unlike adding hyrdogen or E85 pumps with their lack of pipelines and distribution networks electricity is already run everywhere. Just put in a metering pump and run a high voltage line from the store to the pump island.
Even without using diesle, you could go a Electric Car with gas motor to charge an alternator and run it if the batteries run too low.
could be done with a very efficient small engine
The idea of the electric motor is to get away from oil. Although, personally I think Hydrogen is the answer, if not for cars, at least for powerplant to make the electricity to run the cars. Also, hydrogen doesn’t need pipelines, at least not a large system. They have developed refrigerator sized machine that can produce the hydrogen right at the gas station. The electricity need is still the issue, but we have lots of renewable options (Thermal, Hydro, Wind, Solar, Hydrogen).
Jay Leno’s test drive of the Tesla…(After the Pontiac Ad)
Tesla opens first dealership in Los Angeles
Mark Rechtin
Automotive News
May 2, 2008 -
LOS ANGELES – Electric-vehicle maker Tesla Motors opened its first dealership on Thursday, May 1, here, at one of the busiest intersections in the city.
Close to the crawling 405 freeway and the congested corner of Santa Monica and Sepulveda boulevards, the Tesla factory store makes a potent statement for gridlocked Angelenos to buy an electric car.
Of course, Tesla needs to get its two-seat roadster into serial production to give its dealership something to sell. The company has 600 sold orders and a waiting list for 400 more, but only four production cars have been built. A development glitch with the Magna two-speed transmission has forced a rapid redesign of a one-speed transmission in collaboration with Ricardo UK Ltd.
Built in England
For the next several months, until the new transmission is ready, Teslas will be built on a slowed-down schedule by Lotus Cars Ltd. in England. Early-build cars will later have their transmissions replaced in a two-hour fix.
By December, Tesla hopes to have 300 cars built. At that time, serial production of 150 cars a month should begin, said Darryl Siry, Tesla vice president of sales, marketing and service.
Next year, Tesla hopes to build its $109,000 roadster in knockdown form in northern California, with the rolling chassis shipped from Lotus, Siry said.
The steep cost of having its European manufacturing base in euros and pound sterling has made business difficult. Plus, because the hefty 1,000-pound battery pack is assembled in Northern California, the logistics of putting a manufacturing base there makes sense.
The Tesla store looks more like a cool ad agency or hip restaurant than a car dealership. Its industrial look features poured concrete floors, exposed beams and ductwork, mirrored front glass and planter boxes filled with horsetail stems. The service department is out in the open to allow customers to see what is going on with their cars.
[[RIGHT]ENLARGE[/RIGHT]](javascript:var n=1)Tesla’s dealership cost about $2 million to build.
Photo credit: MARK RECHTIN Store cost $2 million
The 10,000-square-foot dealership cost about $2 million to create, including the dismantling of the two adjacent buildings to make one showroom, Siry said. He declined to give the cost of rent.
Being a factory store, the employees work for Tesla. The sales staff is salaried, not commissioned.
Company founder and financier Elon Musk defended the concept of factory stores.
“The Apple Stores have worked out well. It’s a fantastic consumer experience,” Musk said. “We wanted a nontraditional automotive experience, and we have it.”
The next Tesla store will be in Menlo Park, near the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters. It should open by summer. Tesla is looking to add four stores in New York, Miami, Seattle and Chicago by the first quarter of 2009, Siry said.
After that, expansion will be based on market demand and creating service points. Other logical areas could include Washington, D.C., Durham, N.C., and Boston.
:tup: I am interested to see the 4-door they want to come out with.
and $2mil for what it described is cheap, I wonder if the building is green though.
I think this is a milestone and the Major manufacturers are watching closely.
Why isn’t anyone talking about the 6400 little batteries that its powered by?
Can you imagine the cost to service that apposed to one large battery?
i need to know. How old are you?
maybe i should go take some pics