Tesla S--all electric---300-mile range, 0-60 in 5.5s

[SHRED]

---

Isn't this the kind of vehicle our government should get behind?

:shrug:









Some other fast facts:

* The car fits seven people and their luggage: five adults and two children in rear-facing seats under the hatch inside, with luggage in the boot up front.
* If not people, it can fit a mountain bike with its wheels still on, a surfboard and a 50-inch television at the same time.
* The dashboard screens were installed to rid the interior of buttons. The 17-inch main display is fully 3G and Internet capable.
* The 300-mile range is possible (vs the Roadster's 244-mile range) because the S has 8,000 battery cells vs. 6,000 in the Roadster, the batteries have been improved in mass and volumetric performance, and there is more advanced cell chemistry in each cell, and the S has a cd of about .27 vs. the Roadster's drag coefficient of .35.
* On a 220V outlet, the car can be recharged in 4 hours.
* Option packages are being decided, with the only initial option being the battery pack. Customers will also be able to buy the 160-mile pack and rent the long range pack for a trip.
* They are finalizing the warranty, and expect it to be 3-4 years for the car and 7-10 years for the battery pack. They expect replacement battery packs to come in at "well under $5000" according to Elon.
* The quickness: the standard S will get to 60 in 5.5 to 6.0 seconds. A coming sport version will get to 60 in "well under five seconds," Musk says.
* The car will get a single-speed transmission.
* The body panels and chassis will be primarily aluminum, with a total weight of just over 4,000 pounds, about 1,200 pounds of that being battery mass.
* For infrastructure, Tesla is working with a government-affiliated partner to set up battery changing stations at various locations. They will be able to change the battery in 5-8 minutes, "quicker than filling up your car with gas."

According to Tesla's numbers, buying a Tesla S will save you $10-$15K vs a comparably priced gas-powered sedan when gas is $4 per gallon. For an equivalent comparison, you'd have to lease a $35,000 gas-powered car. The biggest hitch: the car doesn't go into production until Q3 of 2011.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/03/26/tesla-model-s-50-000-ev-sedan-seats-seven-300-mile-range-0-6/


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[MannyGoldstein]

1. Very, Very Expensive - $50k Plus

Gas is not likely to be $4 a gallon for many years.

I'd love to use an all-electric car, particularly for my commute, but $50k is a lot of dough.

[SHRED]

2. That is why government backing...

...like we do with the oil corporations, is needed.

Use our tax dollars for something good for a change.

[leveymg]

5. You haven't priced a BMW 5 Series, Audi A6 or even a Cadillac CTC-V, have you?

$50K is very competitive with mid-level luxo brand offerings.

You want a cheap electric car? So do I, but we're not likely to get one anytime soon. That's the last thing the oil companies want us to have.

[UnrepentantUnitarian]

3. It's a start...

Good range, good power, good recharge time...now all they need to do is keep refining and working that price down.

[cosmik debris]

4. Do you believe everything a car salesman tells you? n/t

[paparush]

6. Just saw a great interview with Elon Musk (founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX)

http://kevinpollakchatshow.com (episode 3, part 2)

Here's Musk's/Tesla's plan:

Roadster - Expensive - High Profile Small Market Reach

S model - Less Expensive, Competitive with current luxury models, Broader Market Reach

3rd Gen - Even Less expensive, Able to compete with mass market models.



Musk is one of the most creative, sensible guys you'll ever listen to.

[SlingBlade]

7. The Price of these hybrids, Must come down

If there is any hope at all for this technology

Henry Ford knew that in order to succeed he would have to produce a vehicle
that was affordable to the working class families of the U.S

Anything over 20 grand kills hybrids for the vast majority of working folks

Especially now during this down turn


:kick:

[paparush]

8. Price is coming down.

That IS his business model.

The guy is building everything from scratch, so yes, the initial models will be pricey.

[d_r]

9. not a hybrid

this is completely electric

[Old and In the Way]

10. This is a smart business plan.

I like his "quick change" concept for batteries. Logically, every gas station in the country could also have a few batteries on charge that could be used to swap out exhausted cells. This makes a lot of sense. That S model has a lot of styling and could easily compete with high end imports.

[TheWraith]

22. Musk is a lot of things. Sensible isn't one of them.

He cost them millions on the Tesla Roadster by demanding resigns over trivia, like carbon fiber door panels instead of fiberglass, lowering the door sills 3 inches because his wife found it hard to get out of the car wearing a dress, etcetera.

I love the company, and I think that they've got a good business model for their operation, but Musk definitely isn't responsible for all their best decisions.

[Skink]

11. What if it needs to get fixed at a dealership and you don't live in CA?

[byronius]

12. Off to the greatest page.

[progressoid]

13. And then we build some more nuke plants to power them.

[paparush]

15. Or, instead of wasting 3 trillion dollars destroying Iraq, we invest some serious $$

into solar R&D.

Solar rooftops help offset the energy demands of the EVs.

Perfect? No.

A step in the right direction? I have to say yes.

[diane in sf]

21. No, we charge them at night, our current power sources have surplus production problems

at night.

[excess_3]

14. why does the US, have to pay for everything? n/t

[whopis01]

18. cause we do a good job at using it up or destroying it. n/t

[Nederland]

24. Because we've got all the money (nt)

[Gregorian]

16. Just don't watch the last Top Gear where they trash it.

I was all excited about this thing. But then you know Clarkson. However he did make some good points. The charge time sucks. I forget what else. But it was not insignificant. They had two of them, and both didn't perform due to problems that were unforgivable. Mainly the batteries. We do not have batteries to power electric cars for more than simple trips. Which in my book is just fine. I could easily accept the Tesla. But so many pigs drive a hell of a long way to get to work. And it just doesn't do that.


But getting back to the basics AGAIN... It's not the car. It's not the car. It's how we produce the energy that drives it. Ie., we still aren't fully capable of powering these electric cars without creating global warming, or nuclear waste. This is the big issue. Electric cars are trivial in design. We have the design. When GM finally decides to get off it's ass, there would be a cheap, high perfomance car. Assuming we had batteries for it. Which we don't yet.

[Nederland]

25. It IS the car

Once you get rid of the hundreds of millions of CO2 automobiles, the scale of your problem becomes much more manageable. It is much easier to force thousands of utility companies to change the way they produce power than it is to force hundreds of millions of Americans to change the way they drive. Getting rid of the ICE is the first step, and a crucial one.

[swishyfeet]

17. I'm skeptical...

If they can sell this thing for $50k I'll be amazed. That's a fabulous looking car; beautiful shape, nice wheels, glass roof... you can't buy a GAS powered car that looks anywhere near as good for that kind of money.

If their Roadster costs $101k for a small, light Lotus based car - I just can't see how a big luxury GT can cost half.

Oh, and that 4hr recharge is probably 4hrs at 220V @ 70 Amps. That's 15,000 watts.

[DCKit]

20. Actually, just over 61K watt HOURS...

or about $9.24/charge or <$0.05/mile - at 200 miles/charge.

Unfortunately, I too will be waiting until, at least, the 3rd (if not the 5th or 6th) generation before MY price-point is within sight.

However, if the batter pack is only $5K, there's no damn reason a 15K "Fit" or "Versa" version shouldn't be on the road within the next couple of years. I'm tired of the excuses:

1) Electric cars are easier to engineer and less expensive to build. Otherwise, our kids would be playing with gasoline-powered toys.
2) This "hand-built" excuse is BS. When GM, Ford or Chrysler still had the money to do so, they could have built a production line for an electric car. Somebody at the secret energy meeting must've told them not to worry about oil prices or deregulation destroying the economy.

As for the look/configuration of this car, there's no reason in the world it needs to look anything like anything else on the road. It's an aesthetic move (and quite effective, too. Damn!).

[swishyfeet]

19. Some good vids from Top Gear

Gregorian mentioned this one on the Tesla Roadster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG3bMKR5eXk

Then the Honda FCX Clarity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AUurBnLbJw

[electricaid]

23. Our reputtal to Top Gear pluss a challenge to Bill O´Reilly

After those infamous reviews was aired by Top Gear, we decided to hit back. We work in the Norwegian Film industry and we therefore decided to get a hold of an electric car to but Top Gear straight. It was a huge success and you can see the film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMF2zn4IxLY

So before we knew it, we got more involved in the EV scene. We started htt://ElectricAid.org and today, we have put together an open letter and challenge to Bill O´Reilly to go electric, based on statements he has made in the past! Hope you enjoy it : http://electricaid.ning.com/profiles/blogs/electricaidorg-is-challenging

All the best,
Richard
ElectricAid.org