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The Tesla Roadster - Electric Car

259 messages,  Last post on Jul 09, 2012 at 7:04 AM

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What is this discussion about? Tesla Roadster, Alternative Fuels, Concept Cars, Future Vehicle, Coupe, Convertible

Messages Page 25 of 26

#240 of 259 Re: The Tesla Roadster [tpe] by gagrice

Dec 10, 2007 (7:25 pm)

Replying to: tpe (Dec 10, 2007 5:30 pm)
Wow, that is not good news for Tesla. It reminds me of Apple, when they forced Steve Jobs out. They headed right for the toilet and stayed there till he came back and gave them a second chance. I think that Eberhard could go to several places and be productive. Maybe Lutz will hire him to head up the Volt program.

#241 of 259 will the roadster have just one-speed? by tpe

Jan 03, 2008 (7:23 am)

One of the biggest delays Tesla has encountered has been due to it's two-speed transmission. They've already gone through a couple suppliers and still haven't found one that's reliable. I'm reading reports that Tesla may consider just offering the Roadster with a single speed transmission. The impact on performance will be that instead of a 4 sec. 0-60 time it will be 5.7 sec. Still very fast but not the Ferrari like number that helped justify the $98k price tag.
 
tesla delays

#242 of 259 Electrics in the news by pf_flyer HOST

Jan 22, 2008 (6:53 am)

More electric vehicle news on the Alternate Route
 
Perfect Storm?

#243 of 259 Re: Targeting the right market [prm2000] by coolrunning

Jul 07, 2008 (7:36 pm)

Replying to: prm2000 (Aug 04, 2006 10:30 pm)
The motors are not actually on the wheels. Instead, they are tucked up into the frame and have drivelines extending out to the wheels for the AWD to work. Teh weight of the cars is actually less than gasoline powered equivilents, and the weight is distributed almost 50/50 front to rear. Technology is great, but much like Tucker and DeLorean found out, a small company with great ideas will always be fighting to survive from day one. I hope Tesla shows the rest of the industry the path to our future vehicles soon enough to make a difference in our lifetimes. We need changes like this now, more than ever, and cannot wait 25 years for it to happen!

#244 of 259 Re: will the roadster have just one-speed? [tpe] by knightskye

Jul 07, 2008 (8:22 pm)

Replying to: tpe (Jan 03, 2008 7:23 am)
The impact on performance will be that instead of a 4 sec. 0-60 time it will be 5.7 sec. Still very fast but not the Ferrari like number that helped justify the $98k price tag.
 
Is it that important? Is there any practical use to have a car that can go 0-60 in four seconds? The only thing I can think of is drag racing.

#245 of 259 Re: will the roadster have just one-speed? [knightskye] by tpe

Jul 08, 2008 (6:48 am)

Replying to: knightskye (Jul 07, 2008 8:22 pm)
Is it that important? Is there any practical use to have a car that can go 0-60 in four seconds?
 
I agree, there is no practical use for having a car that goes 0-60 in four seconds. Obviously anyone thinking about plunking down $98k for a roadster is making a decision that isn't driven by practicality. If I paid this much for a Tesla and the average pimply faced high school kid with his Mustang GT could wax me off the line I'd be a little embarrassed. I'm not a big fan of cars who's design implies better performance than they can deliver. An exotic looking car with an exotic price tag should be capable of performance that matches regardless of whether there is any practical use for it.

#246 of 259 Re: will the roadster have just one-speed? [tpe] by MrShift@Edmunds HOST

Aug 18, 2008 (8:24 pm)

Replying to: tpe (Jul 08, 2008 6:48 am)
I think the idea was that the roadster would be the "halo car" for the company, attracting the $$$ necessary to keep a car company afloat (translation: a mind-boggling amount of money) so that it might create more affordable mainstream products.
 
After reading the Fortune article, I'm starting to get a queasy feeling about the Tesla company because it's exhibiting the danger signs we are all familiar with -- big personnel shake-ups, delays in launch, and perhaps a diminished final product in order to "get something" to market.
 
Preston Tucker might have had the last laugh (his cars sell for ten times the price of a 1948 Buick) but he didn't die happy.
 
From a historical point of view, it seems that if a car company starts humbly and then builds more sophisticated machines, this works better than starting out on the expensive end and working down. Consider the first humble Benz, the BMW micro car, the VW bug, the Model T. Pioneers into new territory seem to end up with arrows in their backs.

#247 of 259 Re: will the roadster have just one-speed? [Mr_Shiftright] by tpe

Aug 19, 2008 (6:41 am)

Replying to: MrShift@Edmunds (Aug 18, 2008 8:24 pm)
From a historical point of view, it seems that if a car company starts humbly and then builds more sophisticated machines,
 
I also have my doubts about Tesla's survival. However I'm not sure it's possible to start humbly with an EV. The people buying $15k cars are typically looking for maximum value out of their their vehicles. Just due to the cost of the battery pack there's no way an EV today can be competitive in terms of price and utility with something like a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris. People buying $100k roadsters are clearly not too concerned with value. I look at EVs like flat panel TVs. The early adopters will be the more affluent and hopefully the price will work it's way down to where the mainstream can afford it.

#248 of 259 Re: will the roadster have just one-speed? [tpe] by gagrice

Aug 22, 2008 (12:27 pm)

Replying to: tpe (Aug 19, 2008 6:41 am)
Looks like further delays on the Tesla. I thought they were already being delivered?
 
Tesla sales begin in UK, Damon Hill to drive Roadster through London
Posted July 28 2008 12:19 PM
 
While most enthusiast car owners face a hefty congestion charge when driving into certain areas of London, owners of the all-electric Tesla Roadster will not have that problem. European customers can now make their reservation for one of 250 Signature Edition Tesla Roadsters, which the automaker says will be delivered in May 2009 (unless more delays set that date back). These 250 cars, priced at 99,000 euros (currently about $156,000) will come fully loaded, while standard Tesla Roadsters will be available in 2010.
 
Formula One World Champion Damon Hill will drive the first Euro-spec Tesla Roadster at the GreenFleet Capital Arrive 'N' Drive 08 event, which promotes various technologies that may help reduce emissions and improve air quality in London.
 
On Thursday, July 31, Hill's Tesla Roadster will join other public and private sector drivers in the 33-mile course. The Tesla Roadster will have a tracking device allowing interested onlookers to keep track of the car as it makes its way through London's streets.

#249 of 259 Re: will the roadster have just one-speed? [gagrice] by larsb

Aug 22, 2008 (12:49 pm)

Replying to: gagrice (Aug 22, 2008 12:27 pm)
They ARE being delivered and ARE on the road:
 
more than a dozen on the road now
 
Tesla Delivers More Than a Dozen Roadsters
The startup says it's delivered more than a dozen of the sporty electric cars and has 15 awaiting batteries and powertrains.
by: Jennifer Kho
Bullet Arrow August 21, 2008
 
Tesla Motors has now delivered more than a dozen of its sporty electric Roadsters, the company said in a newsletter this week.
Advertisement
 
It also is accelerating production. According to the newsletter released Wednesday night, 15 so-called "gliders" - cars equipped with everything but the battery and powertrain - have been completed at the Lotus assembly plant in Hethel, England, and are ready to be shipped to the Tesla offices in Menlo Park, Calif., where they will be finished.
 
The company in May said its production had been slower than expected, with only five of the $100,000 Roadsters completed in two months, instead of the one per week initially expected (see Tesla Production Slower Than Expected). The company said then that it planned to ramp up to 100 cars per month by November.
 
In July, after the company announced plans to build its second model in California, CEO Ze'ev Drori wrote in Tesla's blog that nine Roadsters had already arrived in the state, with another three expected within a few days, and added that 27 Roadsters were in various stages of assembly.
 
"In large measure we deliberately limit the production until we install our own born-and-bred final transmission by mid-September, at which time production will start to ramp up leading toward a monthly rate of over 100 cars in December," he wrote.

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