Terrific News!

Finally! Thank you so much for all the hard work you guys at Tesla have put into making the dream a reality!

Congrats - big milestone…

PLEASE get rid of the “fastest top gear acceleration of any production car tested by Car & Driver magazine in 2007″ tagline since:
1) it is enormously misleading, and if it attracts a potential customer to examine the vehicle they will only be left with a bad taste of disapointing marketing
2) it is extremely dificult to actually explain what the “top gear acceleration” metric even is to the average consumer
3) as written in the press release, the claim is likely not even true… it is only (possibly) the fastest top gear acceleration when measuring from 30-70 (omitted from the press release), not fastest in general

I really admire the company, and I strongly support the effort, but recognize that because you are trying to do something that many have called infeasable, you will be held to a significantly greater level of scrutiny. With a product as spectacular as yours, it should be easy to under-promise and over-deliver, don’t do the reverse.

congratulations!

Congrats. Gave you guys a shout over at my blog: www.orange-element.com/blog

Congratulations!

Roadster production began on March 17, St. Patrick’s day. I wonder if the first car will be green!

Great!
I’d like to congratulate every current and former employee for reaching this very important milestone. We hope to see this car hitting the roads of Switzerland in the near future. Driving this car up and down an alpine pass appears to be the second best in the world. The best ever is…. ).
Cheers, Patrik

Awesome!

So, Ze’ev, are you on the list of buyers now? I recall that as of the last town hall, you weren’t. I guess the Red Hot Chili Peppers beat you too it!

Congratulations to the whole TESLA TEAM, to the whole present staff and also to ALL of TESLA’s GREAT PIONEERS. You have done a wonderful job.

With the best greetings from little switzerland, Europe! Felix

##David wrote on March 17th, 2008 at 11:16 am

##PLEASE get rid of the “fastest top gear acceleration of any production car tested by Car & Driver magazine in 2007″ tagline ##since:

I agree 100% with David’s views as expressed in his comment above. You don’t even need to do this. You’ve sold this year’s production, why would you want to mislead people in this way? If even fans of the Tesla like David and myself are offended by this kind of thing don’t you think your competitors might use it against you eventually? I’m sure if we took a vote every one of the regular commenters on here would prefer you not to use this statistic. It proves nothing about the car but sadly it proves there is something not very honest and straightforward about whoever decided to use it.

Congratulatoins! When will there be a distributorship in Houston Texas? Those of us in Austin are ready!

This is wonderful news - I hope. I don’t know far down the list i am, but since I didn’t get signed up in time for a $30k deposit, only $5k, I wonder how far into 09 I might be waiting? Will there be a way to track your car on line? That would certainly add to the reality of the ultimate delivery date excitement.

I just read in People magazine (I think it was) that George Clooney has reserved a Tesla. Is there any way to find out which color he chose???

:-)

Congratulations on your Production Start !

By the way, how come you had to go to the UK to begin production, for a vehicle that was invented in the U.S ? - just curious …

J. Alfonso
an Enthusiast

I recall that Martin was supposed to take delivery of P2 today. Did that happen?

PS: I agree with david and andrew!

Once AGAIN a great day in our history in America!!!!
A really cool idea would be to have a ticker showing how many are rolling out & their number in line. Also being able to track color & owners( if they feel comfortable with it) Be pretty interesting to hear of the celebritys such as Clooney, Shwarzenegger & hear their reactions to being proud new owners

The idea of a counter on the web site showing how many cars have been produced is excellent. I also agree with the writer who wanted to get some idea about where we buyers stand in line and when we can expect delivery. Even a ballpark datewould be useful. This information will help in planning car purchases or sales, garage construction, power installation, etc over the next year. How much notice was Tesla planning to give before the car went into production lineup so we can add features or change colors last minute?

Finally, I would love to be able to test drive the car, or even see it without travelling to California. I live in Connecticut and have not heard of any publicity or demonstrations on the East Coast. I ordered sight unseen on the great idea of owning a zero-emissions car that is totally hot.

Bravo!!
Who Resurrected the Electric Car? TESLA Motors Did!!

Waiting for the “WhiteStar Sedan” , like many other 90% of prospect clients.

Cheers!

I am so happy to hear all your porgress in production. EV is a great hope for people world wide.

Congratulations guys!!
Keep up the great work:)

As for the question:
“Joseph wrote: ‘Roadster production began on March 17, St. Patrick’s day. I wonder if the first car will be green!’”

They are all ‘Green’ ;o) (jk, I know what you meant)

This is great! Do have a question though & I do apologize if this has been covered already but for those who can purchase one of these awesome vehicles, when the batteries DO wear out (as I’m sure they eventually have to be replaced at some point) where can we purchase replacements? Also, will we be able to carry the charger on the road? Can we plug it in to charge easily just anywhere or will we have to ask permission from someone to use their electricity or pull into a camp site that offers electrical hookups? Also, are the potential buyers still not allowed to actually DRIVE the car before buying? What if we put down money & finally get the car & don’t like it for some reason? Is there not a ‘test track’ of some sort on the property that would allow potential buyers to drive it themselves? I purchased what was my dream car some years ago & ended up hating it after a short while & regretted buying & I actually got to take THAT car home for a day & test it. This car is undoubtedly what I would refer to as a dream car for more than the obvious reasons but feel that the car is just too expensive to buy w/o getting to test drive it first. What if I get in it to “take it home” & can’t see out of it very well to change lanes or to back up. Like most sports cars, I assume there will be ‘blind’ spots or spots that conceal too easily & have seats are seated ‘low’ no matter how high you move them so you understand why I’m asking. Is this car easy to drive for anyone under 6′ tall? Can a woman of normal or what’s considered below average stature be able to drive it w/o problems? I understand the need to weed out those who just want to ‘try it out for fun’ from those who are REALLY interested & will buy but still, I don’t understand why the apparant leeryness of allowing us to test drive it personally. There really wasn’t an explaination as to why this was nor was it mentioned as to how new batteries can be purchased & for how much on the newsprogram on which I first learned about Tesla Motors. Thanks & I hope these comments will only be viewed as just questions & questions about possible situations that probably haven’t been thought of that I have that I haven’t found the answer to & not as sarcasm or heavy criticism. These are real, genuine questions that I have & hope to receive the answer to. Thanks & looking forward to more great vehicles coming our way!

Just want to add my congratulations to an already long list. Well done!

I live in Australia, and I want one! Great work guys.

Great News! I can not wait to get our car! I can only assume that it is REAL soon.

Carolyn Eberhard

#NewTeslaGirl wrote on March 17th, 2008 at 5:10 pm

#When the batteries DO wear out?
Maybe after five years, maybe not. They carry a warranty, however, for five years.

#Also, will we be able to carry the charger on the road?
You can buy a cord with adapters that will allow you to charge (slowly) for nearly any outlet.

#Also, are the potential buyers still not allowed to actually DRIVE the car before buying?
Many buyers have driven the car. Some of them have posted comments on previous blog entries.

#What if we put down money & finally get the car & don’t like it for some reason?
If you put your money down now, delivery probably won’t happen before late 2009. depending on a number of factors. By then, you’ll have a chance to inspect the car up close in the LA or NY showrooms.

#Is there not a ‘test track’ of some sort on the property that would allow potential buyers to drive it themselves?
Not that I know of, but who knows what TM might come up with!

#Is this car easy to drive for anyone under 6′ tall?
You might check out some of the future owner blogs entries on this issue. One woman, I believe, was around 5′2″ and enjoyed the car.

#But still, I don’t understand why the apparant leeryness of allowing us to test drive it personally.
The car, until now, has been a prototype. Any manufacture might be understandably leery of allowing the public to use prototypes.

#New batteries can be purchased & for how much.
No one knows, at this point. The best estimates of battery cost range from $12K to $20K. The battery market is fluid and changing, however.

CONGRATS—Tesla Motors, one and all.

I too would like to see a car “counter” and maybe even a “production line” where say Car #29 is finally assembled–or even steps along the way—ESS installed, Final Fit and Finish, Delivered to Customer.

I can understand that you may want to keep those “events” on a private owners site—but over all numbers of cars produced would be great for the “public”.

And as one who just saw “Who Killed the Electric Car”—please do start marketing the Tesla overseas and have major components continued to be made overseas so it’s less likely you will get “killed” here in the good ol’ U S of A….like the EV1 and RavEV were.

It would seem like a Presidential Candidate would be saying to America—”Look—Tesla Motors has done it with just 3 years and $60 million—GM, FORD, GE….where have you been and what have you done with your trillions of dollars?” But they have to worry about what they said in kindergarten—

Again—thanks to all at Tesla Motors!!!

Congratulations!!!…from Argentina.

Thank you for being the inivators and taking the risk with this production. As soon as I can, I’ll be buying one.

So is see the wake up call to all the car manufacture’s has begun. I have been watch your progress since 2006 and I am very impressed.

Congratulations.

Any chance that now things are in production you can change the buttons & banners to reflect this??
They are a great means of free advertising for you guys!!!! Personally I LOVE spreading the Tesla name!

Congratulations! This is great news!

I am from Czech Republic. And if it will be possible in the future, I will buy this car (ok, now I do not have enough money !
This is really my dream-car. No emissions, no noise, simply fantastic car.

I am looking forward to see more such cars in Europe!

Jiri

Fantastic news !!! Congrats Tesla (and to Lotus) for bringing us the future !!!

“it would seem like a Presidential Candidate would be saying to America—”Look—Tesla Motors has done it with just 3 years and $60 million—GM, FORD, GE….where have you been and what have you done with your trillions of dollars?” But they have to worry about what they said in kindergarten—”

is a very good point…probably all went on lunches for the fat cats and football season tickets for the oil producers….

And if poor little Katrina daaahling can’t wait a few more months for the biggest single technological advancement in personal transportation since the wheel, maybe she better run home and tell Mummy about the nasty people at Tesla who are making her wait so long…..

Looking forward to the European release day guys, !!!!

Many congratulations to the Tesla teams across the world. Keep those component deliveries synchronised as production rate ramps up.

Congratulations!! -
It´s the best news of the year, I am looking forward to see more such cars in Spain -
This is really my dream-car. I am looking forward to your future successes at Tesla team!!
Regards

You realized a great step for mankind ! My best congratulations for your excellent work ! You finished talking and just did it !

So, let’s answer the questions
1. How long do the batteries last?
2. What will the replacement cost be?
3. Can they be refurbish?
4. Where can they be purchased?

Congratulation !

From the first day, i hear from the tesla project it was very interessting for me to see how your company and projekt is going up. I think that this would be a step in the right direction of car technology.

You’ve done a great job. I hope we in europe can buy your car in the near future. Please let us know, what’s your plan for export your cars.

Paul
(AUSTRIA)

The sales news is most exciting to me. I went to Ford to buy an Escape Hybrid, and despite being prepared to pay far more than normal cars are valued at, I was treated to the traditional High Pressure tactics of used car sales. Had I not wanted to get an Escape so badly, there were three turning points where I should have walked out of the dealership, not the least of which is when the salesman, for no explicable reason, began to yell at me.

I’ll gladly pay 60K or more for a Tesla, and to be able to order online without having to deal with commission salesmen. Ford has lost a lifelong customer. Please keep us informed with this blog. Had I not been reading reddit I would never have seen this announcement in traditional media.

-D

Hi Ze’ev,

This is a fantastic breakthrough.

Malcolm Babbin
associate publisher
Automotive Industries

Congratulations. A new era in personal transportation began yesterday. It could have been GM, but they lacked the forsight. It could have been Ford, but they didn’t want to make the effort. I hope you make them feel a serious, lasting regret….

“The potential of this company is vast but it is dependent on meeting our commitments and that starts with delivering the 2008 Tesla Roadster to our customers.”

And what about your “commitment” to Start Construction on the Whitestar plant in Albuquerque in April of 2007?!? That’s going on a year ago in case you can’t do the math! And your “commitment” to have the Whitestar in production by Fall 2009?!? Both “commitments” were made when the site location was announced.

www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=257

The delays in the Roadster, the unstarted plant (as far as I know - I’ve pretty much stopped reading your blogs on a regular basis), and the probable delay in production of the Whitestar, along with your recent personnel fiasco, have all left me pretty indifferent about Tesla Motors. That’s OK though. There are several other EV and PHEV vehicles (particularly Serial Hybirds) that are going to be available long before the Whitestar and 3rd model are out, and some of those will even have better prices. Even if some are just conversions of existing ICE models to EV or PHEV, it just means that their development time will be greatly reduced. IF you want to get my attention back on Telsa, all you have to do is get an AFFORDABLE vehicle (EV with LONG range, or Serial Hybrid with good EV only range) on the road QUICKLY!!!

Congratulations. I am on the list for 2009, so I have a while to wait but I will mention your news on my blog tomorrow (Wednesday is my regulart car day) at tonysclimateblog.blogspot.com.

I also have been following Tesla and these blogs since 2006. Early on, we had discussions about how long it takes to make game-changing technology happen. My yardstick was/is 3-5 years, based on experience on the inside at Apple and other pioneering personal computer and software companies during the 80s and 90s. The Teslans had already been working hard for two or three years when the blogs first went up (July 2006). So I figured that if it took another couple of years to see cars rolling on the road, that would still be exceptional performance. As hard as getting personal computers to market is, putting a car on the road is a lot harder, due to higher expectations for reliability, user interface simplicity, and costs of regulatory compliance. Guess what: There are still over three months between now and the two-year point, and if everything goes as planned, there will still be two months to go when Martin Eberhard gets P2! From what I am reading, here and elsewhere, it won’t be much longer than two years, even by the time that early adopters get their transmission upgrades.

All Teslans, past and present, deserve not just applause and congratulations, but ADULATION for this tremendous accomplishment. It is one of the few efforts I have seen in decades that deserves to be described as “legendary.”

With all the dismal and even frightening economic news lately, it was a pure joy for me to start my morning today by opening this blog and seeing the great news and everyone’s reactions to it. It is still possible in America to do good and make money by channeling the talent and inspiration of good people into the realization of compelling products. The fact that not everyone succeeds, regrettable as it may be, still makes the successes we do enjoy all the sweeter. So savor this moment.

Like many, I wish that the Whitestar plant were up and running, too: I want MY Tesla! But given yesterday’s news, and the impact of that news, which I see this morning, I have every confidence that we will get there. It’s hard to be patient. But Tesla has rewarded our patience once, and I do not doubt that, in this case, lightning will definitely strike at least twice!

Thank you again, all Teslans, everywhere.

Ze’ev,

Will there be a choice of premium and regular electricity for cars in the future!

Why can’t electric cars have an on-board charger to keep the batteries charged at all times? You could use moving parts such as steering wheel, break and accelerator pedals, break rotors, wheels, etc., regenerative breaking like the Ford Escape Hybrid, maybe airflow while the car is moving, design body panels and windows to be used like solar panels. What about four motors, one in each wheel like Volvo is working on?

What about when the vehicle is going down a steep hill or mountain? It would be nice if the vehicle could recoup some energy while coasting down declines.

How do you feel about the electric vehicles that Zap (www.zapworld.com/) makes? They have various models of cars, utility vehicles, bikes, etc. Do you ever plan to partner with another company?

Thanks,

Jim

Congratulations to Tesla and Ze’ev!!!

It seems that lately Tesla has nothing but a string of great news!!

I like the idea of a counter myself. I think it should be “cars delivered” though. No need to let the competition know how many cars are produced, but it would be great to show off how many cars are already in owners hands!!!

If possible, I think it would be great to see more “owners feedback” blogs as well.

-M

AMAZING!!! Please make it affordable

Nice work! Like many others, I’d like to hear more details. How long is it currently taking to build one Roadster? What’s the expected throughput this month? When will the first customer deliveries happen? I think the counters people have mentioned above are a great idea.

Now…on to that Whitestar information you said we’d be getting soon…

Some notes on above comments:

1. I agree with those who dislike citing the Car & Driver top-gear acceleration; among other things, it’s totally unfair to compare a two-speed running in second to a 6-speed running in sixth.

2. Katrina, keep your pants on. That’s a pretty sour-grapes way to look at the start of production.

3. About “only zero emissions electric vehicle in production today” …why did you skip the “highway-capable” that was in the press release? Your version isn’t even arguably correct.

4. For those who questioned doing assembly in the UK, let me say that trying to set it up domestically was not at all a practical option. Tesla isn’t building these themselves; from the beginning it was obvious that they would need to partner with an existing manufacturer for parts and assembly. Unfortunately, the big three don’t really play that game, and I’m unaware of any low-volume shops around here that could compete with Lotus. Once Lotus won the design contest with a concept based on their existing Elise, it was really a no-brainer. They already had tooling appropriate for the extruded chassis and other important items, they had parts suppliers lined up, and they had a workforce accustomed to this type of thing. As someone (Martin?) said in a blog long ago, Lotus is really well-known as the best (only?) cost-effective option for low-volume contract sportscar production. In any case, I doubt there are a great number of people employed in Roadster assembly, and the important part is that the value-added stays here in the states. Whitestar and future vehicles will be built here, so by the time it’s a significant number of jobs, they’ll be employing American workers. Tesla, any word yet on whether that NM plant will be union?

5. NewTeslaGirl, when the batteries wear out (which is to say when they no longer give the range you want…they slowly die over time rather than just stopping one day) you will basically get them refurbished by Tesla. They will pull (and recycle) the old cells and replace them with new ones. The reason they haven’t said what it will cost yet is that they don’t know…by the time they start replacing dead packs battery prices will have come down quite a bit. They may even use a different chemistry by then, which could affect cost and/or range. What they’ve said on the subject is basically “we won’t screw you on them.” Of course we’ll see…but they seem to have been pretty forthright so far. As for test driving the car, I’m confident this will be an option…once the car is in its final form (including drivetrain 1.5) and once they have enough of them to have a couple set aside for the purpose. Right now I’ll bet the folks on the waiting list would be a bit miffed if they knew they were having to wait longer for their slot to come up because Tesla was holding back cars for showroom drives. Particularly when all the people on the list anted up without ever getting to see one.

6. Dale, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. These guys are doing incredible things…and now you’re “indifferent” to the whole thing because they had a few-month delay in production? Pretty whiny if you ask me. I say let them take the time to do it right.

7. Jim Marts, the Roadster does have regenerative braking (not breaking thankfully), so you can indeed recoup energy when coasting down hills and coming up to stop signs/lights. The rest of your energy-production ideas are poor ones. Trying to capture the energy of the steering wheel is counter-productive (even if it was enough energy to matter, which it isn’t) because that energy is supposed to be going through the steering rack to move the wheels. So you’re really talking about reverse-power-steering…making it much harder to turn the wheel. Bad idea. Similarly, the amount of energy you’d get from solar panels or pedal energy is laughably small. And the “generators on the wheels” thing is classic perpetual-motion stuff…it doesn’t work, because it always takes more energy to turn the generator than you get back out. As for hub motors (a motor in each wheel) there are a few problems. First, it’s less efficient and powerful; unlike gas engines, large electric motors are usually more efficient than smaller ones. So for a given weight of motor(s) the more motors you have the worse you’re doing. But more importantly, having motors in the wheels moves weight to the corners of the vehicle and greatly increases the unsprung weight. Both of these things would have a large negative impact on handling. This is addressed in more detail in a blog from a while back.

Anyway, congratulations again, and bring on that Whitestar info!

Congratulation Tesla Motors team! I wish you continued success selling this vehicle and I look forward to see soon a vehicle which is also affordable to the ‘man/woman on the street’. Your statement:

“With this milestone, the Tesla Roadster is the only zero emission electric vehicle in production today – this is in stark contrast to the others who only talk about their future plans. Tesla’s remarkable achievement validates the vision, ingenuity, hard work and commitment of Tesla’s employees.”

is unfortunately not quite correct. I agree that the choice is very limited on production electric vehicles available today. And this is especially true for the US, but elsewhere you can actually buy electric vehicles, not sports cars like the Tesla, but e.g. city cars like the Th!nk, Twike, CityEls…Some are not really full-blown cars, but they are vehicles too.

Otherwise, keep going and best of luck!

Well done on getting production up and running!
However, this is by no means the first EV- others have mentioned Zap, Think, (even GM’s EV1), but lets also remember Going Green and NICE (in the UK), both of whom have been selling EVs for some time.

Alex,

No one ever said it was the first EV. What they said was …

The Tesla Roadster is the only highway capable production electric car of any kind for sale in the United States.

Which is true.

Also I have to say how much I love you guys at Tesla and you make me more excited about the future than any other company. I think i’m going to buy one of those wallets you sell for merchandise just so I can own something Tesla. I would get a shirt but their kind of lame. How about just a plain white or black one with the Tesla badge over the chest, where supermans logo goes in his outfit.

Hey Pete,

I’m not Ze’ev, but I think I can answer your question based on the information available on Tesla blogs and elsewhere. Yesterday was the START of production on the rest of the cars (post production unit #1, which Elon already has taken delivery on). The information available also says that the cars being produced now (I assume starting with P2), will be delivered to the US in about 4 weeks, according Tesla’s VP of Sales, Darryl Siry. So Martin should be getting his car, P2, in about a month.

Steve

Congratulaciones al equipo TESLA por crear un vehículo de alta prestación con emisiones cero. Es un proyecto que merece toda la divulgación y el aplauso de la comunidad global pues es el primer gran paso REAL en el camino del reemplazo de los autos contaminantes. Hay que trabajar muy duro en reducir su costo,

Kevin Harney yes I’ve seen several places that Whitestar is anticipated in 2010. I also saw the press release that said it would be out in late 2009. I don’t put much stock in timetables this far out, and I don’t mind that delays inevitably happen. What I’m more interested in is seeing actual details about the car (and the plant) and its progress toward production. Having an “open channel” like the Roadster blogging tells me a lot more about the status of the project than any projected dates. I’m very hopeful that now that the Roadster is shipping the blogs will shift to focus on Whitestar and drivetrain 1.5 development.

HEY HERTZ! I WANT TO RENT ONE OF THESE FOR THE WEEKEND!!!!!

Love the car, now how about that sedan for those of us with anchors….I mean kids.

As a CEO of a high tech Silicon Valley company, I can honestly fully appreciate your achievements. Your first release of a high performance electric roadster was a brilliant move at many levels. The internal combustion engine is an archaic technology and it’s about time that it’s challenged with newer and better technology. One of the biggest challenges I think Testla will face is in the political arena. I say this because of what happened to the EV1. The best way to combat this is to educate the consumers about the benefits of electric vehicles and answer all the myths about them. Once you’ve got the consumers on your side, it will be all that much easier to combat your opposition. Secure a steady supply of lithium battery manufacturers and make sure your competition can’t buy a controlling share of their stock!!! Good luck Tesla, I support your vision and direction 100%. I can’t wait to get mine.

Congratulations!

Like Mr. Merritt, I too have been following your progress since late 2006. Meanwhile, Tesla’s unique and stimulating Blogs have marked the passage of major milestones in my life (I won’t bore you with the details of *which* milestones). It seems only yesterday that I was giddy with excitement watching video of the winter testing (and thinking, “Wow! The car actualy runs, and it looks like they’re taking US regulatory compliance seriously . . . !”)
I seem to remember also being young and learning about the major human accomplishments of the 20th Century: Humans Achieving Orbit & Landing on the Moon, the Atomic Project, etc. It seemed like, for people of my generation (X-ish), everything that had been done, that was worth doing, was done by our parents (with major funding from the government).
Now, here we are at what would appear to be another moment of historic proportions (although I suspect many will only recognize it in retrospect). Not our parents, this time, but our generation. Not the government, this time, but a small start-up from California.
Its time to ask yourself, “where were you when . . . the first electric car went into production?” Seriously, say that out loud, it sounds impressive. When my son is old enough to understand, I’ll make sure he hears about this (hell, we may just be driving in one of your vehicles when I tell him). As for me, I was *here* (not even a real place if you think about it).

Thank you again, ladies and gentlemen of Tesla, past and present, for your hard work and vision in providing me with yet another “Kool-Aide” moment (”Oh yeah!”)!

# 1. I agree with those who dislike citing the Car & Driver top-gear acceleration; among other things, it’s totally unfair to compare a two-speed running in second to a 6-speed running in sixth.

I don’t understand the issue with this.

Car and Driver uses this SAME top gear acceleration metric for cars with CVT which have no gears and for automatic transmission cars. Both have a decided advantage over a manual transmission car in this particular test. In fact I believe their next fastest car was an automatic Mercedes with 500 or 600 HP that no doubt dropped to 2nd gear during this test. The point is that the Tesla didn’t require any time to shift for an automatic, any time for a CVT to move to the right ratio or any time to shift a manual. The power was available instantly. This is actually a very big deal.

30-70 mph is THE real world region many of us will notice a lot more than 0-60. And in the real world if you are in a Tesla and decide to hit the accelerator while merging into traffic on the highway or to pass a slow moving vehicle, you don’t have to wait for the transmission to kick down a gear, you are accelerating instantly.

Is it not obvious that this is actually where most people will feel the Tesla’s advantage and that it is going to be more of a selling point in a test drive than the 0-60 time? Effortless power is a sensation that is hard to describe. If you have read the test drives from people who talk about how amazing it is to drive, I doubt the off the line acceleration was as impressive to them as the immediacy of power available to them at all normal driving speeds.

Also take into account that cars like the Corvette will lock out gears and cause you to skip gears when upshifting a manual transmission to improve gas mileage unless you are flooring it. “Features” like that keep the car’s full potential from being available at all times unlike the Tesla which has all of its available acceleration available at any given instant.

Mark, I think you may be misunderstanding the top-gear acceleration metric. For this test they force the car into its highest gear, at least for manuals. I don’t know what their procedure is with respect to automatics, but if they are letting them downshift for the test (and that doesn’t seem right), then the metric has been absurdly stupid since long before we all started talking about it. You say that “30-70 mph is the real world region many of us will notice a lot more than 0-60.” I agree, if you’re talking about the actual, real world acceleration. But if you’re out there in a Corvette driving around at 30 mph in sixth gear, that’s not the real world. Unless you’re a very bad driver. The right “real world” comparison is 30-70 mph acceleration in appropriate gears for the car, with shifting if necessary. This top-gear metric was never supposed to be “real world” at all…it’s designed as a way to show the “flexibility” of an engine, or how it deals out power/torque at extremely low revs. In other words, it’s not supposed to show anything at all about any car’s actual driving acceleration, as you can see from the numbers posted by most very fast cars. I think someone cited the Corvette’s top-gear 30-70 as taking longer than it’s standing 0-100mph.

Yes, “effortless power” is a selling point for this car. Yes, it’s nice that no one ever has to go gear hunting. Yes, it should probably compare favorably with most other cars in “real world” 30-70mph acceleration. But it’s not close to the fastest in this speed range, there are several good reasons why this metric is a bad comparison, and it’s dishonest to throw it around without qualification so that it can be misinterpreted all over the place by people like yourself.

how are things brewing today ?? ‘need 4x drive ssytem for Hermes-Pegasus.Biz 1000 bHp 300 kW MPV….

good job !!!!!!!!!!

sinc. Soeren Algreen-Ussing

Kudos Hunter - thanks to all the fans that stood up for a bit of constructive critisism… I posted this in a previous blog, but for anyone that wants to see the real list of top 30-70 vehicles, it can be found here www.supercarworld.com/cgi-bin/showtop10.cgi?24… in retrospect, given that my previous post was the last on a blog roll, I don’t think anyone saw it… so I’ll repost:

Top-gear acceleration does not compare to real world 30-70 mph numbers… if it did, a GMC Canyon truck with Top-gear acceleration, 30-50 mph: 3.8 and 50-70 mph: 6.3, would be considered twice as fast as a Corvette Z51 with Top-gear acceleration, 30-50 mph: 9.8 and 50-70 mph: 9.0… Car and Driver, unfortunately, does not test for 30-70 mph acceleration, but if you check www.supercarworld.com/cgi-bin/showtop10.cgi?24 , you will see the standard fare supercars that you would expect.

Also worth noting - www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/sports_car_central/dodge_viper_srt10_coupe_road_test+page-3.html - it seems a Viper would be left in the dust racing a UPS truck since the Viper “will not accelerate from 30 mph in 6th gear”

Further worth noting is the caveat of “in 2007″ - Car and Driver has tested the Mercedes SLR McLaren in 2005 which posted faster times - www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/german_performance/mercedes_benz_slr_mclaren_road_test+page-3.html - and though they did retest it in 2007 - www.caranddriver.com/buying_guide/mercedes_benz/slr_class/2007_mercedes_benz_slr_mclaren/2007_mercedes_benz_slr_mclaren_722_edition_first_drive_review - and conceded it to be a faster vehicle than previous years, they did not specificaly test top gear perfomance… Finaly, it should be noted that it is all the more misleading to compare the Tesla Roadster to vehicles that are even tested by C&D in this category since even when automatic transmissions are available (as in the Corvette), C&D will never test them since they are attempting to show the best performance in the 0-60 category… There is little doubt that if these vehicles WERE tested in automatic form they would do better…

Ultimately it comes down to credibility - those that understand the metric know that it is meaningless, those that do not understand the metric will undoubtedly feel cheated when they learn its true meaning… and ultimately, when it becomes commonly known how misleading the metric is, it will be used as a cudgel against Tesla as a credible company.

PS - I don’t know if I had written this clearly above, but the press release in question - www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=841 - does not make any reference to “30 to 70″ at all, it simply says “fastest top gear acceleration of any production car”… which is likely simply not true.

“What about hooking up with NanoSolar and figuring out how to use their new flexible solar-electric cell foil called Nanosolar SolarPly™ which would allow the Tesla to charge itself for free with our most abundant of natural resources, the sun !!”

———–

I think this would be an outstanding idea. The result would be a Silicon Valley hype sandwich. Oops, I forgot the exclamation points !!

I am awed by your accomplishments up to this day and I dream of owning a Roadster someday. However, I am a Disabled American Veteran with an income which will not allow me to realize that dream. I shall wait patiently for a vehicle in the range of $30,000 or less. Good luck and prosperity to you all.

Has anyone and idea how long it takes for a newly arrived Roadster to become “roadworthy” after it arrives in California? My understanding is that more work (Batteries installed?) has to be done before it can actually be driven.

I’m just trying to figure out when we can expect to see them out and about.

Peter J Hedge
Vctoria, BC

“Having your Corvette in 6th at 30 and then punching it to 70 without downshifting is not.”

Hunter, that is a completey fair statement. Let’s take a stop watch for that in a real world environment.

Before we do, consider this. If Tesla accelerated faster than a 600Hp automatic that can downshift faster than a person can shift, how do you think this would actually play out.

You are tooling along and decide you want to go faster.

Tesla:
1. Press accelerator ( instant acceleration from peak torque )

Corvette: (automatic)
1. Press accellerator.
2. Engine automatically retards throttle. ( slowing things down )
3. Transmissions switches gears ( pause accelleration during shift )
4. Engine allows throttle to reengage ( engine starts from non peak torque

Corvette: (manual)
1. Move hand to stick shift.
2. disengage clutch ( coasting )
3. lift throttle ( still coasting )
3. Take stick out of 6th gear ( still coasting )
4. Put stick shift into 2nd gear ( still coasting )
5. engage clutch ( start accelerating )
6. hit trottle. ( engine starting from non-peak torque curve)

Mark,

You are missing the whole point!!!!! We do not disagree on times that it would take to accelerate or not. What we are saying is that the test its self is bogus. Nobody that wants to accelerate a car to pass while traveling at 30 MPH would do so without downshifting. Therefore the test itsself is bogus making the results bogus and unrealistic. You are arguing the wrong point all together. Therefore because the test is bogus and the results are Bogus TM should not use them in their advertising because it is misleading to the public in general. Even you do not understand it.

Sincere congratulations! Don’t rush, increase production with confidence. Build your brand. Lots of succes, I’ll keep reading your blogs.

“We do not disagree on times that it would take to accelerate or not. What we are saying is that the test its self is bogus.”

I look at this test as being an indicator of what Tesla does better than any other sports car, and that is offer peak torque over an enormous rpm range for more instantaneous throttle response than any other car currently offers. It is a test that C&D has been doing for many years.

I think at this point that “we” should just agree to disagree because we are looking at this from completely different viewpoints. This debate is pointless and really one of sematics.

Mark is right on. TESLA has ‘earned the right’ to brag about their torque curve (among other things). The classic 30-70 top gear test is a great way to showcase that strength. Sure, the 600hp competition is fighting a loosing battle in that test. But that’s no reason to try to take the victory away from TESLA. The test is a classic test and the TESLA machine won fair and square. PRINT IT!

Thanks David, for your links to high performance car specs. The 10th place car did 30-70 in 2.8 seconds. The Tesla with its current transmission should take 3.8 (2/3 of 5.7) and the new high power single speed about 2.8 seconds. Since electric motor torque is constant throught the 0 to 70 range I think it is accurate to project the same 40 mph acceleration based on known 0 to 60 times.

Congratulations on the milestone. I have been following the progress you guys have made for a couple years now. Outstanding that you are up and running. While there have been naysayers, and even people still somewhat put off by delays etc, I am quite certain their doubts will be put to rest as you guys have demonstrated a committment to moving the project forward. I hope to one day own & drive one of these cars, economics willing.

Tesla’s coming to Europe! Yea! Norway and Sweden are supposed to have the premiere. Anybody from Tesla to confirm?

www.innovationbeat.com/2008/03/weak-dollar-speeds-teslas-european.html

“The Tesla is a very fast accelerating car by any standards and does not need to be compared with other cars that are in the wrong gear. What on earth would that possibly prove?”

It’s also comparing Tesla to MUCH more powerful cars with Automatic transmissions that can shift faster than a person to get to the right gear as soon as a driver wants to go faster.

Sorry, mark, I was agreeing with you. Meant to address Kevin and Hunter in the simplest possible terms.

As an idea for potential energy storage problems, I’ve heard about some studies being done by MIT about “Carbon Nanotube Ultracapacitors.” Ultracapacitors store energy in magnetic fields instead of chemical reactions, making them more efficient and delivering higher performance. On top of that, they have a 10-year-plus lifetime, indifference to temperature change, high immunity to shock and vibration and high charging and discharging efficiency.

I don’t know how close they are to production, but it’s an idea for the future.

I’m waiting for the day that Martin talks about receiving his Roadster. This will be the ultimate milestone as it will show actual customers receiving vehicles instead of something just for show. Still, this is a huge milestone, and congratulations to Tesla for an outstanding job of making a new production vehicle that isn’t vaporware.

Many more changes to this company are going to happen now that production has started, and it will finally stop the critics who claim it can never happen.

I believe in your product…yet I have never been in one. I believe in your website and the information that is contained within it. I am going to graduate from U of A, one step away from my Technical Degree in Welding. I also have a great interest, in a great many things that range from Blackholes to Electric Cars and beyond… . I would love to be part of the Tesla team in some way…the price is far out of my reach at this time…perhaps someday. If anyone at Tesla sees this, I WOULD LOVE A JOB AND WOULD WORK FOR A TESLA CAR AND A SMALL SALARY SO I COULD EAT AND HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE. I’m sure I wont get a call, my phone number is [deleted].

Congratulations on getting under way.

How about some pictures of the production line please?

We will have some soon! -ed. 

Steve, it isn’t the reporting of Car and Driver’s findings it’s the misreporting of them that we’re objecting to. Both Elon and Ze’ev are using the
C & D results to convince people who don’t understand how the test works that the Tesla is the fastest thing between 30 and 70. It isn’t!
It’s a great car. I wish I could afford one…it accelerates really fast….it has all kinds of wonderful qualities and we all love it, but the way they are
using this test to promote the car is an exercise in deception intended to confuse the unwary. All we are saying is that this is unworthy of this
great little company and we think it makes them look bad. We don’t want them to look bad because we want the company to succeed.
Nobody but a real dork would be driving his McLaren at 30 mph in its 240 mph top gear, so he wouldn’t have to change down to accelerate as
he’d already be in a lower gear and could accelerate much faster than a Tesla. Does that make it any clearer why what they’re saying is deceptive?
I’m as bored with this argument as you are, by the way, but it’s likely to continue as long as people defend the indefensible.

Before offering any “congratulations!!!” I will await independent reviews of production cars by reviewers who apply the same rigorous standards that would be applied to any other $100,000 vehicle; a steady and ongoing rate of car production; and a final version that does what Tesla originally claimed it would do, as opposed to some half-assed car that will be “upgraded” later on. Until then, I think it prudent to regard the most recent statement as another exercise in press releasemanship, which these days is Silicon Valley’s most highly-developed skill.

did you read the independent reviews of the car that are on the stands right now? - ed. 

“did you read the independent reviews of the car that are on the stands right now? - ed.”

Those were only “previews” since the journalists got one day glimpses at preproduction cars.

That’s not to say that this wasn’t a great start. It’s just that the comparisons are going to start getting a lot harder. Now that you are “in production”, you will start being measured by some of the same standards that other auto makers are. This is where the fun starts!

The reality is that car reviews usually require production cars and more time to test them on their turf. Car and Driver even does 30K + mile reviews which let many of the company’s employees drive the car and leave impressions. These let you know how well a car held up over time, what maintenance was required etc… That is when you find out if rattles start or annoyances present themselves over time.

Someday if you are lucky you will eventually produce enough cars to be statistically worth showing up in Consumer Reports reliability reports. Hopefully the Whitestar will eventually hit those numbers. Of course there will be a LOT of N/A’s in their list of reliability items

Ancion,

First car is already delivered and the rest are on the way !!

Great to hear that Tesla might be coming to Europe sooner rather than later and that Darryl said the net will be cast wider than Scandinavia.

To me the UK seems an obvious choice (but then I do live there):

- The cars start life here in Norfolk, so Lotus could integrate the drive train for locally-bound cars.
- You could maybe make use of the Lotus dealer network.
- UK gas prices are some of the highest in Europe, at $10 per gallon.
- The car would pay zero “congestion charge” in London because it is an EV. Equivalent-performing gas cars will soon be charged $50 per day to drive into the city.
- There are a lot of two-seater sports car fans in the UK, but we are getting hit in the pockets hard now. There are also still a lot of good roads to drive them on, fortunately.
- The Elise-derived dashboard should make it easier to switch the steering wheel to the right side

In short I think it would be a big seller, with a lot of sales and service infrastructure potentially already in place. I’ll have my fingers crossed and my bank manager warned for the official announcement.

I would like to congratulate Martin Eberhard and his team of dedicated employees that had the vision and enthusiasm to conceive of, and create, this incredible automobile. I consider it to be a great injustice that he is no longer with Tesla Motors, through no choice of his own. I hope that this not is not an indication of the direction that TM plans to take in the future. Congratulations MARTIN!

I would also like to include Marc Tarpenning in the congratulations for this accomplishment, as I feel that his contributions are sometimes overlooked. Congratulations Marc!

I just wanted to say that you guys have restored my faith in civilization. Petroleum is so 20th century. Thank you for very much for stepping up and proving to the world that a car can be fast, fun to drive, and still not put off secondhand smoke.

We need a new blog. Nothing of any substance has been said in any of them for over 2 days now …. Time for a new topic….

Take a look at the blog posted earlier today: CARB Must Reject Staff Recommendation to Weaken ZEV Mandate -ed

So it’s been a week. I’d love to hear an update of how many cars are being produced and numbers on when / how much they see for future increases in production.

Questions I would like answers to:
As a mechanical engineer, I would love to better understand your motor technology. What really makes this AC drive so much better than all the other guys? What new technology developments are being implemented for the Whitestar or even the revised Roadster drive train? I read somewhere about liquid cooling the motor can you give us more details?
I am familiar with several motor controller achitectures and would like to know what you technically call your achitecture? VF VVF?? Something else? How many IGBT’s are you driving this load with? I am involved with the power electronics on the Boeing 787 (150KW Motor Controller) and have to package all these things and am very interested in your thermal solutions also. Any details you can share? I know, trade secrets not withstanding, can you share something?

Cheers,

Dirk

I’ll echo the sentiments of most everyone else here: congrats! I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. I do have one question however: while I’m certainly impressed with the estimated range on a single charge, I’m curious about ways to extend that range. Specifically, I’m curious if it’s feasible to add solar panels to either the trunk lid or the removable hardtop. As many of us park outside during a significant portion of the day, that seems to be an excellent way to recharge the batteries while away from a plug. I don’t know if I’ll get an answer, but it’s certainly something I’d love to see considered for future model years. Looking forward to the White Star soon, and best of luck.

Mike

Congratulations on this amazing achievement. I have been following TM for a long time and I am very pleased that you have finally made it to production.

I do have one question regarding the change from a two speed transmission to a single speed. What will happen to the shifter in the “center console”? Obviously it won’t be needed for shifting gears but I believe it served a secondary purpose of changing the re-gen profile. Will the shifter remain for this purpose or will there be another mechanism for switching between high and low re-gen?

Well done have been watching this company and product develope and am pleased to see it in production,but the U.K market is wide open for you, with high price of fuel ,where are you ,an why are you not pushing the uk market ?

Well done
Yours Rob Stott

CHEER!

Huzzah! Kudos all around for getting it out the door and selling out all of 2008 production.

I’m looking forward to the sedan (preferably wagon) that I can some day afford (though I would DEARLY love to have the roadster).

Pecos Bill
Denver, CO

Patrick: You have guessed correctly Tesla’s plan. I personally do not approve of their hybrid approach. Not that there isn’t a market for hybrids, there is and should be, until long range and/or quick charge is available. But I think this market will be well served by the major auto manufacturers, and I believe that Tesla will succeed better by differentiating their products by remaining pure BEV instead of competing with the major manufacturers. I believe that they will be able to sell all the pure BEV’s they can make without getting involved in all the extra engineering and parts necessary to include an ICE. I also believe that quick charge is not required, and with better batteries and longer range, nignt time charging will satisfy everybodies needs. There are a lot of promising developments, better batteries are comming. BTW quick charge has already been demonstrated by Phoenix Motor cars, but I believe this technology will always be much more expensive than night charging and therefore relegated to highway service stations catering to trucks and long distance drivers.

Charles: How many years will it be before you find something more productive to do with your time than to bad-mouth Tesla? What’s your motivation? Are you an employee of one of the oil companies? A shill for one of the ICE auto manufacturers? Do you really think spreading your drivel on this site is going to cause any current Tesla customers to ask for their money back or cause potential customers to change their minds? Why so much negativity? As many have stated before, being late to market with such an innovative product is not unusual in the business world. Maybe you’re just sore because you can’t afford one like the over 1000 “idle rich” who have plunked down their deposits.

Those of us with a little more vision can see that what Tesla is doing will lead to a paradigm shift for the automobile industry. Whether they end up being wildly successful themselves, or just spurring others on (possibly even the big boys) to offer alternatives to ICE cars, the writing is on the wall. Take off your blinders, man. ICE cars will be going the route of the horse and buggy, most likely in my lifetime, and I’m over 50.

Steve, I am not the one who made a bunch of promises and produced nothing. I see that the “news” media might be getting tired of slapping its writers’ names on Tesla’s press releases:

www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-fi-garage5apr05,0,3070199.story?page=1

p.s.: There can’t be a “paradigm” shift without a transmission or a car.

So I see several news sites are now carrying reports that 250 examples of the 2009 roadsters will be sold in Europe next year with a list price of €100,000 !!

I hope this isn’t true, as surely Tesla cannot have failed to notice that there are 1.57 Dollars to the Euro at the moment. Such a price would be unjustifyable given that the car starts out life in Europe. If Tesla really are planning to ship the “gliders” across the Atlantic, fit the (Asian) power train and then ship them back, what on earth is that going to do for the cars’ carbon footprints?

Futhermore, reports say a right-hand drive is unlikely. OK, if I have to drive a left hooker then so be it, but £80k (British Pounds) is too much of a stretch. At 50 grand I can justify the outlay, but a 60% premium is out of reach.

Please tell me these reports are the result of some journalist switching the $ for a € or £ because of previous examples of the practice, and that you are not going to lazily follow that trend.

David (disappointed)

We’re coming up to the one-month anniversary of Tesla’s press release about the beginning of “regular” production of its roadsters. How many of them have you produced?

this is the future. i wish i had money to invest in this company. its gonna be huge, as well as other electric-car companies.

It is SO gratifying to watch the Tesla saga unfold. Wish I could afford one, but will happily wait for Whitestar.

As a penniless father of three, I don’t need 0-60 in 4 sec., just to stop going to gas stations; I don’t need 200 mi. between “fill-ups” (charges), 50 mi. would be fine; don’t need the gorgeous design, just a little more room.

Tesla’s on my favorites list and I’m following progress eagerly. Way to go, guys.

Never in my life have I seen an invention both this consequential and good for planet earth. It’s a whole new ballgame!

Can’t wait for Whitestar! I really want an electric family/commuter sedan with performance equivalent to a gasoline automobile. I don’t agree with Randy J (above). 220 miles without a recharge should not be sacrificed in Whitestar if this is going to be a viable replacement vehicle. And I am mean REPLACEMENT. Let’s stop talking about cleaning up the environment and shutting down OPEC and actually DO something. TESLA is and I applaud you! When are you coming to the Dallas, TX area?

Dear Sir,
I live in Italy and I’m very,very,very happy to know that exist finally an electrical car with zero emissions in the future market.
I wish to change my unleaded fuel car with an electrical car.
When that will be possible?
King regards and have a good work!!!!

Paolo

Great stuff from Tesla, but I worry the battery technology needs to improve a lot.

(i) Reliability - How long do batteries last? Do batteries lose storage capacity over time? What is the risk of a battery freeze up causing a life threatening incident on the road?
(ii) Economics - How much do replacement batteries cost? Can batteries be refurbished, and if so where and how much would it cost?
(iii) What If - If we had the same infrastucture (oil exploration/drilling/associated industries, refining, transportation, gas stations, service stations etc) - how feasible is it to have a large-scale battery refurbishment infrastructure in place?
(iv) PHEV vs EV - Why is a pure electric car the right solution - why not PHEVs - where you have the option of backup (reliable) gasoline power?

Sir; Thanks so much for the electric car. I believe you should consider a fixed magnet motor to drive a generator thus eleminating the charge up. This vehicle would have unlemited range
and power. There is talk of such a system to power a car then plug your house into it. Worth a look.

I am eternally grateful to Tesla for trying to produce electric cars, but I have become very concerned about the lack of actual production. I remember reading about plans to be delivering 1000s of cars a year by 2008, and now it looks like 2009. Maybe? Boy, I am just so pulling for Tesla to get it started, good luck and godspeed.

When we ask where the BIG AUTO’s great electric boomrides cars are, we’re told they’re still years off.

One could be forgiven for thinking BIG OIL wants to run your homes on gasoline and faze out efficient electricity.

Hmm, at least Tesla has it right.

“Because we all breathe air”

When will Tesla be available in Australia? Not interested in what the car can do 0 - 100km. Maybe in the future, I can drive an environmentally friendly sports car that I can charge up from a solar panel installation on the roof of my house.

Tesla Motors needs to decrease the weight of the vehicles it is producing and the way to do this is to learn more about Buckypaper being layered together to be stronger than steel, I esp. am concerned with those steel cans for each cell in the battery packs and because I do not know the weight of the 6,831 steel cans. Just how much does that weigh not the battery total of 992 lbs.. I see the vehicle total weight as Curb weight (lbs/kgs): 2723/1238 but how much could be saved by not using the 6,831 steel cans? What I am getting at… Have you seen the article, [Future Planes, Cars May Be Made of Buckypaper; Friday, October 17, 2008 12:29 PM; www.newsmax.com/science/tec_buckypaper/2008/10/17/141478.html]?

Why not eliminate all that heavy steel your using and add more battery power for adding another electric motor to the rear-end on those electric cars your making. BluWav Systems LLC [www.wavecrestlabs.com/] has two in their unit and they have electric motors in the wheel hubs so anyone could make a four wheel drive vehicle or a Hybrid Electric Cra with either a Hydrogen or CNG Natural Gas Recharge unit Fuel-Cell. I would like to see a portable recharge Fuel-Cell unit so to service emergencies on quick charges and this is also adding to our capability to serve power following a tornado or hurricane disaster. Can the Tesla Motors Team get this additional features for everyone, not that I could afford a vehicle that your selling right now so maybe you tell me how much you will drop the price to me and I will tell you if I cannot afford that solution but you then have it ready for everyone else that could afford those prices. Theres no manufacturing facility to look for employment in Alabama named Tesla Motors so that idea is a bad idea sorry I brought it up. Make a very long distance electric motor scooter with 60mph capability for Tesla Motors to undersell the Chinese and Japanese imports into America, Some Chinese Motor Scooters here cost $1,995.00 or $1,795.00, please be cheaper than that and learn more about Buckypaper.