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Nearly 150 lucky customers took ownership of their Tesla Roadsters in 2008, but 2009 could be the best year yet for new owners, thanks to a wide range of tax incentives in the United States that in some cases shave 10 percent or more off the cost of the car.
Many states are rolling out additional perks – from free parking at Los Angeles International Airport to carpool-lane privileges even when you’re driving solo. Some states offer grants of up to $5,000 toward the purchase price and even 100 percent sales tax exemptions.
Now consider maintenance costs of the Roadster: no oil changes, no new mufflers or other exhaust system repairs, no timing belts, fly wheels or transmission fluid. Coupled with tax incentives, the result is far lower lifetime ownership than on another car with a similar sticker price.
And that doesn’t even begin to factor in the price of gasoline! I’ll hold off on a comprehensive comparison of lifetime ownership costs; for now, let’s just discuss tax incentives.
The federal government gives tax credits of $2,500 to $7,500 for consumers who take delivery of an alternative-fuel vehicle after Jan. 1, 2009. The provision was primarily aimed at incentivizing plug-in hybrids from Detroit automakers.
Specifically, it provides that plug-in electric drive vehicles with batteries of at least 4 kWh qualify for a $2500 credit. An additional $417 is provided for each additional kWh, up to $7500 for vehicles up to 10, 000 lbs. The credit expires at the end of 2014.
It’s no wonder Washington and Detroit insiders call it the “Volt credit”; Chevrolet’s hybrid, expected in late 2010, is likely to have a 16kWh battery, barely squeaking past the maximum $7,500 credit. The Roadster, with its 53kWh battery pack, is a slam-dunk for the $7,500 maximum.
On top of the federal tax credit, Arizona, New Jersey, and Washington waive the sales tax on the purchase of a Roadster. (Connecticut used to waive its 6 percent sales tax, but the program expired in October. Fortunately at least one customer took advantage.)
Let’s examine Washington, which gives a 100 percent sales tax exemption that’s expected to save state residents at least $18 million in the next two years. It applies to people taking ownership, registration and title of their vehicles from Jan. 1, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2010. The tax break applies to new cars and trucks that get at least 40 highway mpg.
Unlike in New Jersey, where only zero-emission vehicles get the exemption, in Washington mainstream cars such as the Toyota Prius and hybrid Honda Civic are eligible for the exemption, as are EV “city cars” that have reduced maximum speeds and are used mainly for urban outings or in residential communities. But for now the Roadster is the only production sports car that will get its sales tax waived.
Washington sales tax rates vary from county to county. In Seattle, where customers usually pay 9.3 percent sales tax, Roadster buyers can pocket more than $10,100 instead of forking it over to the state.
Think about it this way: after a $7,500 federal tax credit and the Seattle sales tax exemption, the $109,000 base Roadster effectively costs $101,500. The Porsche 911 Turbo starts at $126,200 and would cost a Seattle buyer $137,937 including sales tax. A difference of over $35,000, although the sticker prices are only $17,000 apart.
On top of the federal incentive, Rhode Island provides a tax credit of $1,250 on the Roadster; Oregon and South Carolina $1,500; Kansas $2,400; Utah $2,500; and Georgia $5,000. Louisiana and Colorado residents who purchase a new Roadster should also qualify for a tax credit – and in Colorado it could exceed $5,000.
California offers rebates of $5,000 for Roadster owners, though the popular program recently reached its cap and expired before the March 31 deadline.
Roadster owners in California also get free metered parking in many places, including San Jose, Hermosa Beach, Santa Monica and Los Angeles – no worries about expired meters if you display your “Clean Air” decal. Sacramento EV owners get free metered parking and even free charging in downtown lots equipped with charging infrastructure.
Roadster owners also get a 10 percent “alternative fuel vehicle discount” at Farmers Insurance. In most states with high-occupancy vehicle lanes, even single-occupancy EVs can use carpool lanes to zip by rush-hour jams. This could mean hours of time saved in places such as California, Virginia and Florida.
In Washington, DC, Roadster owners get an exemption of vehicle excise taxes, and registration fees are reduced to $36 per year.
We realize that a double-digit discount on registration fees doesn’t significantly change the cost of a six-figure sports car, which will remain out of reach for many Americans. That’s why Tesla is developing more affordable vehicles, as the cost of batteries is effectively decreasing by about 8 percent per year. We expect to sell the Model S four-door sedan starting at $57,400 before tax incentives – half as much as a Roadster. And we announced Jan. 13 at the Detroit auto show that we were partnering with Daimler AG to produce the battery packs and chargers for 1,000 smart subcompact electric vehicles in 2009 and 2010. All of these are precursors to more affordable EVs worldwide.
But even without new models, the real cost of the Roadster is already dropping – and savvy customers from Florida to Washington aren’t the only beneficiaries. As more people buy all-electric, zero-emission vehicles, the carbon footprint of personal transportation shrinks, and the entire planet benefits.
Umm, point taken on the total cost of ownership……but I’ve never actually replaced a flywheel….
The charge is building….
Go Tesla go!
Make sure to read all the fine print on the incentives.
For instance, the San Jose free parking requires a special permit and to get the permit you need to show that you either bought the vehicle from a dealership in San Jose, or have it registered in the city of San Jose.
Also the carpool exemptions tend to require that you apply for, receive, and affix proper stickers to show that you are eligible.
California stopped issuing carpool stickers for hybrids, but they still offer them for alternative fuel vehicles (like BEVs, CNG, etc.)
I wonder if California will consider the GM Volt as a Hybrid or BEV when it comes to carpool sticker rules?!
Apparently the new $7,500 fed tax credit works against AMT, unlike the old hybrid tax credit that ended up not working for a lot of hybrid vehicle customers who ended up paying AMT based tax.
While it was good for you to document all these various savings and perks, I would be surprised if your market is really all that concerned about costs. Perhaps you just needed a page like this to save you from repeating yourself.
I approve of tax breaks for electric cars, including anything made by Tesla. That said, I was highly amused, not to say feeling vindicated, when I saw Jeremy Clarkson’s devastating demolition of the Tesla Roadster and its false claims. Jeremy might be eccentric and all that, but he’s an authority. And he says that your Roadster crapped out after 55 miles, handled poorly, and just isn’t made very well.
Not a single word of what Clarkson wrote surprised me.
@ Charles,
Jeremy an authority? Hmm. Top Gear is great amusement, however, it is a Britisch television SHOW about Mr. Clarkson talking about cars. That is not the same as a car authority, it is not even objective car testing. Still, good fun to watch! By the way, he wasn’t so negative at all, but then, that is quite irrelevant for an amusement program.
To Charles: So you absorbed all that crap from Clarkson hook line and sinker, because he’s an “”authority”? If what he said about hydrogen powered cars being the future didn’t convince you he’s actually clueless (or perhaps worse, a shill for the oil companies who are trying to foist the hydrogen hoax on the world), then it’s the rest of us who are amused, but not with Clarkson.
To Charles: So you absorbed all that crap from Clarkson hook, line and sinker, because he’s an “”authority”? If what he said about hydrogen powered cars being the future didn’t convince you he’s actually clueless (or perhaps worse, a shill for the oil companies who are trying to foist the hydrogen hoax on the world), then it’s the rest of us who are amused, but not with Clarkson.
Charles Pluckhahn:
Jeremy Clarkson was positively exuberant at the beginning of the show, as he was very impressed by the acceleration. Clearly Tesla does not have years of racing experience behind them to fine tune their car, and one item was that a fuse blew. For racing, the circuit associated with that fuse needs to be beefed up and a larger fuse installed. I would say that it is very good engineering since that is all that failed. If you were serious about performance you would put the fattest, stickiest tires you could fit on the back and matching smaller ones on the front, the Tesla comes equipped with low rolling resistance tires for better mileage, about as far as you can get from a racing tire. Even with the poor tires, the Roadster tied with a Porsche911 for track time, would you say a Porsche handles poorly? He never said the car wasn’t made very well, never pointed out any poor quality except the fuse. He did make a legitimate complaint about only going 55 miles, but any gas powered car driven like that doesn’t go much further on a tank of gas. There is no reason to use insulting terms like “crapped out”, just for running out of gas or battery power as if the car had broken down. In a few years there will be much better batteries, and that complaint will go away.
Jeremy has quite a following among the kind of people who pay $110,000 for a car. Anyway, I’ve decided that my favorite part of this was Tesla’s explanation that it wasn’t a brake failure, but just a bad fuse. I feel so much better now, but I still think I’d rather buy my car from a car company and my computer from a computer company. Each to their own.
Jason and Charles, to give a real-world data point: I’ve owned my Roadster for over a month now, and am not so rich that I don’t care about the tax rebates. In 1200 miles of driving my Roadster has performed flawlessly, and I’ve done my share of aggressive driving. With typical driving I’ve been getting 200+ miles on a full charge (or 160+ miles from the standard 90%-to-10% charging range). I’m extremely happy with the car, and among people who’ve had actual experience with it, I think you’ll find Jeremy Clarkson’s take is very much the exception.
Its beutiful that someone puts they life in a new project… impact direct on the fuel!!! Telsa would be proud of this!
I´m biologist,
tesla writes:
“California offers rebates of $5,000 for Roadster owners, though the current program is set to expire March 31. California also waives the vehicle license fee of 2 percent on EVs.”
Although, Tesla knows full well that the existing fund is depleted. [they wrote about this in october, when at the time, they note that the program only had enough funds for 13-14 more cars. So, even though the program officially expires on march 31, its done now. A little disingenuous to mention a 5k rebate program that won’t pay a dime today.
Ben,
Please, don’t lump me in with Charles. Top Gear’s review of the Tesla Roadster was astonishingly misleading and unfair. No rational individual, familiar with Tesla’s products, could possibly believe what Jeremy said about the Roadster. I hope Tesla is able to bring a lawsuit against Top Gear for that smear job.
another note on the same california sentence for incentives:
again, tesla writes:
“California offers rebates of $5,000 for Roadster owners, though the current program is set to expire March 31. California also waives the vehicle license fee of 2 percent on EVs.”
Well, when you click through on the 2% VLF fee link to check the waiver, it currently says that the program ends, “january 1rsth, 2009″.
Does anybody know if this program has been extended? If not, then the entire mention of Calfornia rebates and VLF waivers is seriously in error.
There was nothing misleading or unfair about Top Gear’s show. They calculated a 55-mile range for the car based on the gauge that showed it 80% out of juice as (presumably) 44 miles. And the brakes didn’t work. Tesla said a blown fuse was the culprit, to which Clarkson later replied, “No one cares why the brakes didn’t work.” I agree, and I think Tesla and its fan club should quit their pathetic whining. People are tougher customers when it comes to cars than Silicon Valley is used to. If it doesn’t work the way you said it would work, eventually someone will notice and say so. Kudos to Jeremy Clarkson for telling the truth, a concept that some people obviously aren’t accustomed to.
Charles,
Again you give kudos to Clarkson for “telling the truth”. Nothing “unfair” about that Top Gear show? Do you really believe he told the truth about the promise of fuel cell cars? He said when it’s empty you just pull into your local hydrogen station and fill up. That is so misleading as to be ludicrous, as I’m guessing you could count the number of hydrogen filling stations in all of the UK (probably also the US) on the fingers of one hand. Have you ever come across even one in all your travels? I haven’t.
He also said that hydrogen is the most abundant element on the planet. Problem is, it’s mostly attached to oxygen as water, and it’s extremely inefficient to get it removed in order to use it in your car. Then there’s all the issues with pressurizing hydrogen for transport and for your car’s fuel tank, getting it transported in sufficient quantities to be available at the fuel pump, storing it without losses over time, the longevity of the fuel cells themselves, the cost of the fuel cell car, etc., etc.
My point is this - he was so NOT telling the truth about the promise of hydrogen fuel cell cars, that despite whatever he says about Tesla’s faults (real or imagined), he simply cannot be believed. I’ll repeat my earlier sentiments - he is either clueless about what the future holds for the automobile, or he is a shill for the oil companies. Whichever of these options is true, it means his opinions in this area are worthless, despite his supposed reputation as an automotive “authority”.
Tesla owners and fans can accept the truth - but that is not what Clarkson was spouting.
Charles–
There’s “the truth,” and then there’s “sensationalism,” which is why statistics exists.
Is the sole reason you posted here was to be argumentative?
Anyway, I’m surprised Tesla hasn’t released other performance specs on the new Tesla Sport. I know the 0-60 time is faster, but how does that impact range? Does it stay the same? Increase? Decrease? What about charging time and battery wear?
The brakes shouldn’t have failed for whatever reason. Fair point. But then, are all other (super)cars, with price tags above Tesla’s, tested flawless? Definitly not, as is apparent from that very same show (over and over again). Are other cars put down for not getting the mileage on the track? Quite not, pretty irrelevant actually. So why putting this Tesla car down so hard? What’s the point? Just wanting better brakes so these electric cars will not crash into the back of your car?
Is there any way Tesla Motors can make two tiers of cars, with one tier at much lower purchase price so that people like me - who need a car with highway performance and range (I commute 150 miles each day at 70+mph on I95 in New England and compete with tractor trailers) can afford to switch? There are so many of us who are fed up with the oil companies and the traditional US auto industry and their refusal to change. Their hybrid and other alternatives just don’t stand up to hard daily use or are too expensive. Even othe alternatives, such as the Smart Car, while great for around town, doesn’t have the range and “go” that a serious commuter needs.
So they managed to blow the brakes by track racing the car - why is that impressive, or even unexpected?
Why do yoy think that the colour of the car in the studio and on the track often varies when they are doing their show? Or didn’t you know that they are typically thrashing 3+ examples of each car they test - complete with a team putting the ones they breakback together?
The 55 mile claim was conflating track usage with road usage - they tried to claim that 55 miles was the truth about how far you can drive the car.
I don’t like the term “supercar,” because I think the category is defined as much by its hype as anything else. My guess: really fast, really expensive, (most importantly) lusted after by the beautiful people. This rules out one of the fastest cars in the world, the Corvette ZR-1, a mere Chevy. It also rules out my VW Phaeton W-12, which in spite of being the best car in its class anywhere in the world when introduced, miserably failed the badge snob bling test, causing it to be yanked out of North America after only three years.
All of this said, even by “supercar” standards, I don’t think the Tesla Roadster qualifies. I think that, in the end, it’ll wind up being the Segway of supercars, the butt of jokes, a symbol of the gap between Silicon Valley’s reach and its grasp. The range is no trivial matter: It appears that its track range is less than one-quarter of its claimed range, which itself is wholly artificial given that it requires a constant speed of about 60 mph and not using the air conditioning or heating.
The non-working brakes are a vivid symbol of a lot more than a busted fuse. Sports car aficionados know that brakes are no trivial matter on fast cars, super and otherwise. That Tesla delivered a non-braking car to a race track speaks volumes about Tesla Motors and its fundamental lack of passion for cars. The Roadster, even on its best day, is a battery pack with wheels, not a “supercar” or even a “sports car.”
As for Clarkson and hydrogen fuel cells, a couple of points. First, a fuel cell car is an electric car. The question is how the electrons get charged. I’m not a fuel cell enthusiast at all, because making hydrogen is so inefficient. Secondly, when I wrote that Clarkson is to be congratulated for telling the truth, I meant that with respect to the Tesla Roadster’s crippling faults. On the fuel cell issue, he has his opinion and I have mine.
I just don’t understand…
After all this time… and especially during times like these… with all we know…
Why aren’t a thousand of these cars being built every month…
Why isn’t the more affordable ‘family’ model not available…
Why cant a million vehicles of this technology be built in the next three years?
More than any other company in the world, Tesla has a proven vehicle and technology READY and available for a world and economy that NEEDS exactly what is already available today. Why are the established automakers bragging about hybrid vehicles that run 40 miles on a battery charge, then must be switched over to a gasoline engine? Why isn’t the government not embracing this existing and available technology and supporting, subsidizing and mandating it’s use?
Isn’t the importance of the bigger issue of reducing carbon emissions caused by trucks and automobiles enough to make the building of these automobiles enough of a PRIORITY to warrant IMMEDIATE action towards making this happen as soon as possible? I’m tired of hearing of how important this issue is, knowing the answer is already available.
I’m tired of hearing of how important it is to eliminate our dependance upon foreign oil, when the technology is available NOW to begin that process. To make it possible for the average American family to not use a single drop of gasoline. Why isn’t a single one of our leaders biting at the bit to be the person who becomes the champion behind the support for beginning this transition in America TODAY!!?!?
Would not having Billions and Billions of American dollars leaving the country every year, in order to buy overseas oil, ultimately have a positive effect upon the American economy?? Is the only reason we are not already building millions of electric vehicles is because of the money, profits and power of the oil companies? So what if the oil companies went out of business, they are destined to end at some finite point in the future anyway once all the oil is gone. The money that is no longer being spent on gasoline would still stay in the economy, the only difference is that it would be spent on something else… hopefully something else that supported American made products and not ending up overseas. Seems to me that a fair portion of any job losses in the oil industry would be offset by the increases needed in retail market workers due to the increased spending by an American public no longer WASTING a substantial portion of thier paychecks on gasoline.
Any one of these three arguments, reduced carbon emissions, reduced or eliminated dependancy upon foreign oil, increased cashflow into a rebalanced economic system, would justify any and all immediate steps necessairy to make this happen as soon as possible. Add all three reasons together and it becomes insane for it to not be happening NOW. This is important, this is a turning point for civilization. As a species, we have done more damage to this planet in a few thousand years than all the other species that have ever existed since the beginning of time. The Earth will be capable of supporting life for another billion years, we have to stop thinking of only the immediate future. We have to start thinking in terms of what do we need to be doing as a species to insure our species survives for the next thousand years, the next ten thousand years, the next ten million years and beyond.
This is our chance to do the right thing and for the ‘right thing’ to not be all about how to generate the largest amount of profit, but to create the largest amount of ‘good’ for all of mankind. Imagine if all of the resources of our most brillian minds were supported and encouraged by all of our leaders to produce and share their advancements in this endeavour. Of course the current $100,000 + price tag for these vehicles is ridiculous. But if we were building millions of these vehicles, the price would be less than the cost of the average automobile today. If we were sharing the technology and innovations to make the processes and products necessary for affordable electric vehicles and solar panels. Where we are now is an excellent starting point, imagine how far this could go if everyone worked together to create carbon fiber, fiberglass, or plastic body panels, and to continue the development and sharing of better and more cost effective battery and solar technology.
Im a dreamer, a Utopian in my beliefs, but intelligent enough to know that the only reason we do not live in a Utopia is because SOMEONE(S) has decided that the world is not going to be a Utopia. And why not?… It doesn’t have to mean that the people who have so much now would have to give up all that, it just means that the rest of the world would be treated fairly and their needs provided for. It may seem like I’ve diverted from the original subject, but not really. The immediate switch to electric vehicles and affordable solar panel technology to charge them IS an example of what we CAN be doing NOW towards making people’s lives better AND improving the planet we live on. Is it just a few of the people on this planet who have money and power that is preventing this from happening and are they really so greedy, selfish and uncaring that they do not want or care what kind of life the rest of the human population has? Does everything have to be about money? I know the money exists in the world to make this all happen, so why isn’t it happening?
I just don’t understand….
## G Robinson wrote on January 21st, 2009 at 1:50 pm
## I just don’t understand…
## After all this time… and especially during times like these… with all we know…
## Why aren’t a thousand of these cars being built every month…
## Why isn’t the more affordable ‘family’ model not available…
## Why cant a million vehicles of this technology be built in the next three years?
Short answer: Because Teslamotors haven’t got time to make those yet
G Robinson,
The simple reason that there are not millions of these vehicles on the road is that they are dealing with the realm of the finite, not the theoretical.
This company has only so many dollars in the bank to build equipment to build cars, has only so much income from selling the cars they are trying to build, and there are only so many people in the world that want to buy a early version of an electric sports car.
With government’s violent forcing of the “Invisible Hand” of the economy, these things will always take longer than they should. And if you look at the track history of government intervention in the auto industry it’s not good… take ethanol for instance (an inefficient well-to-wheel technology) which increased the production of ethanol and subsequently increased corn prices and increased food prices. Not to mention the very recent auto bailouts which are propping up inefficiently run companies. In true free markets, companies that build superior products will prevail, and the products will come out quicker. Given the fact that we don’t have free markets, companies like Tesla have even bigger hurdles to overcome than the big auto companies which simply hold out their hands for the government dole.
If you’re so impatient why don’t you do something about it? Start or join a company that makes products like these.
G Robinson, in “1984,” George Orwell (or, more precisely, his character of Goldstein) had some insightful things to say in answer to the questions you didn’t ask until decades later. Read the relevant excerpt at: akamat.wordpress.com/2007/07/31/the-purpose-of-war-according-to-george-orwell-1984/
Also consider that modern-day advertising manufactures artificial want, and that modern-day management is in large part the skillful recognition, encouragement, and exploitation of individual want (or more precisely, the dissatisfaction caused by the perception of want).
Finally, consider that most of the most pernicious true want in the world appears not to be due to any lack of capacity to satisfy those wants, but rather because one or more someones (usually “leaders” in the political/social/business hierarchy) have managed to acquire control of some “choke-points,” and exploit their advantageous positions to satisfy their own personal wants, well in excess of the value that they bring to the world. They are, for lack of a better term, modern-day bridge trolls. Except that any trolls of old, who built and maintained useful bridges, actually performed a public service and rightly collected tolls in payment. Their modern-day counterparts, in contrast, probably never created a useful product or performed a valuable service in their lives. They’re just ogres.
You can be in a hurry or living on a cloud, it will take some time to produce an affordable four seater for family Jones. The problems: batteries don’t last long enough and are heavy and expensive AND the electra you are putting in is produced with an efficiency of 30% with the CO2 blown in the air somewhere else…Last but not least: a four seater is much heavier.
So please, tesla, supply your beauful cars with a little windmill or some solar collectors .
Here in The Netherlands with a windmill…
Leen
Clarkson was right to criticize the brake failure; I wouldn’t expect otherwise. But it was not made clear what the failure mode was. If, like other cars, a break fault still left the driver with a reliable means to stop, that is very different from saying the car had no brakes. If it indeed had no brakes, then that is a glaring engineering problem. They didn’t say. Other than that point, every other complaint was contrived. The second roadster pulled power in response to thermal limits. Certainly Tesla explained the car’s operating limitations to Top Gear. It’s simply not designed for full-time, full output. That doesn’t mean “it doesn’t work”. It means Clarkson pushed past the design limits and the controller pulled power to allow cooling — as designed. As appropriate. The complaint about charge time is also contrived. “Three days to the tip of Scotland” — That’s not the purpose of the car and neither are you limited to 16 hour charges. The range complaint is contrived. What is the range of a Veyron run flat-out? The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long; what’s so hard to understand, why does this result imply to anyone that a 200 mile range is unrealistic? Of course they had to point out that the power still comes from somewhere — yes thanks Jeremy. How about an intelligent discussion of the ultimate energy and pollution efficiency compared to gasoline engines? No, he’s too busy standing next to a tiny windmill and bemoaning that it would take a month to charge a Tesla. I love the show, but unfortunately they deliberately missed an opportunity to truly explore this new technology. Not what I’d expect from someone who loves cars.
I really think Michael should’ve been more upfront and mentioned the Roadster’s price increases also. Tesla doesn’t have anything to hide. If the company isn’t confident in the price for their product, how can you expect the consumer to be confident?
Marketing it all over the world through different channels specially europe would be profitable specially for people who got the money for it and look good and would like to save as well. Id buy it instead of a ferrari just because it does not pollute the environment. I know its high end and could be easily sold for people looking for high end cars.
So, Top Gear reached bottom gear. Who cares? Let’s hear from Tesla onwers. Reliablity, average range, satisfaction,
topping off battery assembly during a lunch stop, nature of break-downs, repair service availability, ignoring gasoline stations,
etc. –the fun, challenges, experience and pleasures of owning a Tesla Roadster.
Tesla Motors?
Brilliance. If only the Future Capital Reserve Margin associated with the future electric generating capacity, at “Fixed & Firm [Energy] Capacity Commitments,” could match Tesla Motors’ future thermal btu offset efficiency, genius?
Thank you, Tesla Motors.
Edward C Gordon, II
Principal / Registered Agent / Officer
Ferrara Highlands Energy International Corp.
I see on the news that you are looking for a place to build cars,especially since the San Jose deal dos’nt look economicly fesible, Look no further than Napa County’s old Napa Pipe site, on the Napa River, where the place still exists
RE: “Fastest Electric car unveiled”
This sounds too good to be true.
www.upi.com/Business_News/2009/01/30/Fastest_electric_car_hits_the_road/UPI-47151233352013/
Peter J Hedge
Victoria, BC
The L.A. Times made mincemeat out of the claim that the car is rechargeable in 10 minutes. I see that Edmunds.com has reported that Tesla’s Roadster costs about $140,000 to build. Nice work, guys. But don’t worry. You’ll make it up on the volume.
If you are looking for a used facility for a plant, you might check with Davenport, IA. We, especially myself, would love to have a company here that is going to help save the environment.
So now I am reading in the San Jose Mercury-News that the much ballyhooed (WhiteStar?) factory in the Zanker Road area is likely toast due to restrictions on the federal money that Tesla sought in order to establish it on the site provided by SJ.
www.mercurynews.com/ci_11583367
Will we be seeing official comment on that story in these blogs or in press releases published on this site?
Let’s get some attention…Install a 1,000 watt power booster amplifier with a digital input of an Indy 500 engine sound so when you pull up at the stop sign no one will question how much you paid for it, it sounds expensive instead of optionally quiet! It’s the roar that gets them to pay more. In marketing, the analogy is use what they expect to sell the new concept. If you adopt my idea, send me a car so I can experiment with my “on demand” hydrogen injector (battery recharger).
Not critizism, but an observation.
I have been a crew chief on Air Force jets specifically the C17, the pinnacle of today’s big aircraft technology, do not under estimate this aircraft, it is just as advanced as a F22, my change in career has turned me into an armament and electronics technician in Apache Longbow helicopters in the US Army. so I am understood as some one “in the know” iv looked at the technology from many angles, the theorems, the proof and its applications, and Tesla’s commitment to quality and dedication in their R&D. If i where to add anything to this vehicle is a set of LifePo4 batteries from A123 CO. or make my own lithium iron phosphate battery pack of custom design with a water or air cooled system to replace the Lion batts in it today, they have a higher capacitance and also less prone to fire.
I have been experimenting with making a magnet motor(like a perendev) the size small enough to couple to an alternator or small generator the way a Briggs&Stratton work but im stuck in trial / theory, parts all over my shop, I am in the process of turning a 1984 Honda interceptor into a 72V volt, direct drive, Regen braking motorcycle.
Though my project has run a few hundred dollars so far and more to come, my forseable budget does not surpass the $2K dollar bracket. I understand the technology for a car is the same just in bigger numbers, yet i have seen people transform an almost weightless Geo metro into electric with not much more than $4 thousand dollas US at highest cost.
I understand this is the body of a Lotus Elise and the carbon fibers and light weight aircraft materials are expensive, None the less, $100,000.00 plus taxes and fees does not adequately balance, against the cost of living, even tho the free parking and tax brakes, this is a car for the PRIVILEGED few in the world who make that money or better a year in salary.
The sad truth is that even tho this is wonderfull car, finally a way out of petrol and really the wave of the future, the price tag will kill this car like the bad management of AMC killed the Delorean.
In my technical, professional and personal opinion (i have a degree in business management) this concept would have been better served in the body of a Nissan sentra / Toyota corolla size of 4 door PRACTICAL / AFFORDABLE sedan with a price range of no higher than $30K per unit with a max speed of 90 MPH and a range of around 70 miles per charge or better when a small gas run single piston 4 stroke generator to charge batteries and run the vehicle, for hundreds of miles per LITRE of fuel think Biodiesel.
If you make the car techy looking enough, would sell like fresh bakery bread, have a few alternate models, to be the sport and super sport versions, or even a wagon.
The aviation industry too can benefit from this technology, with the hundreds of aircraft flying using THOUSANDS of LBS of JP8/JP4 fuel EACH! every day, the generator in an Apache helicopter can provide power at heavy abuse for 3 houses at the same time, Fact!.
but this are just ideas, they are free, and the world depends on people with ideas that can reach and benefit every citizen of the world, not just the wealthy and not just the powerful, the petrol companies can still sell petrol, but their effect on the world would be almost minimized by huge a huge percent almost diminished in a few decades rather than hundreds of years.
I am sure that with the passing of time and the higher availability of materials and technology this car may become one day affordable to the average John Doe. it is my hope that this company keeps as usual at the forefront of electric innovation technologies as it has always, but that it also softens itself to the reality of cost at the consumer level.
Vallejo’s Mare Island still could use a tenant like Tesla. Plenty of large buildings and heavy equipment to “retrofit”. Proximity to shipping. Since the city is in bakruptcy you might actually work out a decent deal if the ninnies on the City Council manage to step out of their own way. And if you can get past the notion that the only intelligent people in CA live near Silicon Valley.
Having trouble building in California? Take a look at Peoria IL, home to Caterpillar Inc. There may well be some large factory space available for vehicle manufacturing. Cut a deal with Cat for it. There is a very large engine factory in Mossville whose work is being relocated to Sequin TX. Cat is interested in battery tech and electric drivetrains. Peoria also has a start up battery tech company, Firefly. Peoria has an sizable high quality work force. We are 2.5 hours from Chicago. The cost of living here is peanuts to California, which will do wonders for your recruiting and labor costs. Peoria is the heartland. We need alternative vehicles in the heartland too.
Robert, this one has V8 sound www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=138474
John Moore, reason why Tesla uses their current lithium-ion batteries and not LiFePO4 batteries is that currently available iron phosphate batteries have much lower energy density than other top lithium ion batteries.
LiFePO4 will get better though: I have seen LiFePO4 - Silicon full battery with over 450Wh/kg energy density in Sciencedirect Journal of Power Sources. That is more than twice the best batteries currently available, and in addition that battery had also very high power density and fast recharging capability as well as very good charge cycle durability. Pretty perfect battery for EV, that is.
And it will get better. I have also seen some research made for lithium-air secondary batteries (that is rechargeable batteries). Those have theoretical max capacity of 11kWh/kg, which is in par with gasoline energy density. With EV much better efficiency that means that battery that weights only about full gasoline tank would give it much much bigger range than any gasoline guzzler. Imagine 500kWh battery that weights only about 50kg. Over 2000 mile range. With 60mph average speed that is 33 hour drive, and nearly coast to coast in US.
Mare Island in Vallejo would be a perfect site for Tesla. The weather is great all year long. There are affordable homes for Tesla employees. Vallejo-Mare Island has the “brownfield” site buildings that Tesla needs, other “Green” companys are building on Mare Island, including Touro University that is breaking ground on a 2 billion dollar cancer center that will bee LEEDs cerified. Mare Island is close to Infinieon race way, just in case you need to test run a Tesla automobile. Mare Island is close to San Francisco via Ferry or hwy 80, 37, or 680. Vallejo is also the neighbor of the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, great food and wine… If Mare Island produced war ships and nuclear subs, I am sure Mare Island could produce Tesla autos. Viva Vallejo!
Unfortunately, Virginia won’t allow the Roadster to travel on HOV3 lanes at all. That privelege is reserved for Prius and a few other “established” brands - by brand name only. The Commonwealth also is only allowing those registered with special license plates (which are no longer available) to use HOV3. I HOPE this will change as all-electrics become more readily available.
Ich ersuche Sie um ein unverbindliches Anbot.ich lebe in Europa,Österreich,bis wann kann man mit einer Liefeung rechnen.
may i know when tesla motors are gonna cum to india
I have been following this vehicle for a while and I am doing everything possible to get my wife to trade in her Lexus for one of these… I am no fan of dirty burning electric plants but I don’t like paying California fuel costs when all she does is sit in a mile long parking lot burning fuel for over an hour just to get to an 8 hour job. Say all the bad things that you want about these guys but to me I am very impressed. And I know this will be the year for that Model S they just announced…
We’ll be ordering our S type next year, but look into true Tesla form, magnetic rotors yields less battery power… either way very exciting.
Is it possible to get the model S in Canada?
Tax credits are all well and good, but for retired people with a fair amount of capital and a low income, they are useless. I’ve been in Oregon for five years and done a number of things that qualify for credits, but with the low interest rates and dividends being in the tank, I’ve never had enough income to use the credits.
I have read all of the previous comments about the 55 mile range estimate.
As with any car, the range depends on how the car is driven. Next time you take a road trip, fill up and drive one tank at with the cruise control set at 55. The next fill up constanly change speeds from 75 to 110 mph. Then let me know if you get the same amount of miles per tank.
Bottom line, If you took any car and ran the doors off of it, the milage will go down. A gas car with an epa estimated 30 mpg if ran at at variable high speeds would not come close to that estmated mpg. In addition with any electrical device, if you run it on high it will use more juice. I am sure under normal driving conditions the Tesla estimated range is more accurate.
-Looking forward to driving the Tesla S
Nick
About the “55 mile range”…. Track driving is extremely intense. In my Toyota MR2’s, I routinely achieved 28-32 MPG in rather spirited daily street driving, “nailing it” each time the light turns green, but otherwise driving “near” the speed limit. When driving on the track, I achieved about 8-12 MPG. Track driving is 90% full throttle, 10% full braking. This is nothing like driving on the street. Given the differences between a gasoline engine and an electric one, I wouldn’t try to apply the same ratio of “track MPG to street MPG”. However, given a track range of 55 miles, I would definitely expect to see 200 miles of street range, even in spirited driving mode.
I generate all of my own home/business power with solar panels and last year I purchased a battery powered lawn mower. that was the best move I could have made. In all the years I have used gas powered mowers, not one can compare! My wife and I are planing on making a purchase of the model S. We will be expanding our system to accommodate the model S and it’s a go. So with the incentives as well as no charging costs and normal driving plans, this car purchase is very attractive. We are not worried about track driving . Our driving is just normal day to day driving as is most people.
My husband and I saw the Tesla today in the Menlo Park showroom, here in California…Wow! The S is so fly! The place was jammed with people drooling to drive, touch, sit… It was really quite wonderful to see the future embodied–value for money. Can’t wait to own one, despite the comments of myopic crytics and closet gearheads–especially those paid to quash competition.
First off I would like to say that Tesla is the leader in clean transportation for people who cant fully use mass transit. Your recent signature S model is absolutely stunning (from what I saw in the photos) and I would easily drop the 50K for it. I was looking at a BMW M3 but this just took the top spot.
Unfortunately there are no dealerships in New York, Long Island to be specific. Everyone here needs to drive to get anywhere. Even if you take mass transit, you’d still need a cab.
300 miles is kinda short but it should be enough. I would be totally buying this if it had solar panels on the roof. I would leave it parked in my driveway not only to show it off but to charge it. GO SOLAR!! Especially useful when parked at work or driving to help supplement AC/heating/electrical systems or stuck in traffic. Doing this, you could also be super green and use less grid power and even sell excess power from the car back into the grid.
I love your designs and breakthrough technologies. I would fly to Cali to buy this had a solar roof been available. Maybe in the next model.
I just finished reading all of the comments and like one of the entries I, too, have been eagerly waiting and watching Tesla for 2yrs now being in very high hopes to one day own one. What a WONDERFUL and BEAUTIFUL car!!
However, my heart sank when I saw how expensive it is. $50k (including tax breaks/incentives) is just too expensive for the average family. (seeing an increase in job hirings in this country will probably take at least 2 more yrs).
Please note the bellcurve of income: few are wealthy enough to NOT care about the cost; but, more than 10 times are the average persons who WOULD be able to purchase this vehicle at a lower price; and few are not even able to buy food.
My husband and I are pretty savvy people and understand you (Tesla Co.) probably want to keep the costs comparable to the higher-end-priced make and model vehicles, and not be comparable to the ‘cheaper’ make and model vehicles.
If you were to lower the price as in this example: 10 Model S sold @ $50K= $500K ; 100 Model S sold @ $35K= $3,500,000 ; then, it would bring in more revenue more quickly so you would have the funds to make more; in turn, open more car dealerships/production plants; which will hire more people—- in other words, get the cash flow business going again…..AND Tesla Co will be credited for being the ‘engine’ (no pun intended
) for getting it started!!!! COOL!!! And this doesn’t even mention the GREEN impact on all of us!!! ….LOWER fuel dependency!!!!!….etc, etc.
We have 2 children in college, one almost in high school, one income (we homeschool).
Thank you for your letter. Every day i’m fighting for building more newelectric cars. I know about the mistakes at california in the nineteens,
I know about EV1 A Kasse EV, about the farce from oilmultis and the goverment. I show every day videos from your roadster to other people.
I’ve heard about your S model. Do it! I’m talking to other people about EV’s. First tey were laughing, at last they never laugh. Only together we’ll be strong. It’s time for an revolution.
The result we must see on the gasstation in a better price and onthe road. It’imposible to make war about oil. Maybe we can join together!
Greetings from germany
Willi
P.S.One of my letters in german to Daimler AG. (Maybe the first giant who build an EV)
Erst einmal sollte mit so manchen Vorurteilen mit Elektroautos aufgeräumt und einmal darüber geredet werden, warum das Elektroauto noch nicht in Grosserie angeboten wird. Der Grund ist doch eigentlich, dass die Ölmultis uns immer noch sekundär den Verbrennungsmotor diktieren. Dazu etwas Autogeschichte.
Es gab bei General Motors vor Jahren das Modell EV1 mit Elektroantrieb .Dieses Fahrzeug wurde in den USA nur etwa 1000 mal per Leasingvertrag angeboten, obwohl weit über 5000 Interessenten das Automobil zu Wucherbedingungen lesaen wollten. Die Werbung entsprach eher der einer “Antiwerbung”. General Motors hat inzwischen zugegeben, sie haben mit dem EV1 einen grossen Fehler gemacht. Man stelle sich vor, man sägt sich den Ast, auf dem man sitzt, selbst ab. Die Fahrzeuge wurden nach Vertragsende alle verschrottet, keiner der “Kunden” konnte sich das Auto kaufen, obwohl Interesse bestand. Eine freiwillige Spende der “Kunden” über 1,9 Mio Dollar für den Fortbestand der Fahrzeuge hatte keinen Erfolg. Scheinbar war dieses Auto zu perfekt für diese Welt. Nicht schuld an dem ganzen Desaster war übrigens die Batterie. Sie verrichtete in allen Fahrzeugen klaglos und zufrieden stellend ihren Dienst.(Sehen sie dazu den Film “Who killed the elektric car?T1-9″ aufYoutube). Ich selbst fahre Werktags 140 km (gesamt) zur Arbeit und sehne mich nach günstigen Reisekosten. Eine Steckdose zum Aufladen in der Garage ist bereits vorhanden. Nur das passende Automobil ist noch nicht erwerbbar. Die Kraftstoffpreise werden in absehbarer Zeit ins unermessliche steigen. Meine Kollegen denken alle so. Ein Golfcaddy (nicht VW)eignet sich sicherlich nicht für eine Autobahnfahrt und im Krankenfahrstuhl brauche ich gar nicht erst losfahren. Leider ist damit die Auswahl an deutschen Elektrofahrzeugen bis auf einige unbrauchbare Exoten am Ende. Traurig : Eine A Klasse mit Elektroantrieb wurde bereits 1996 entwickelt, aber wegen Protesten der Ölmultis und gelockerter Umweltgesetze nie in Serie produziert. Das Auto sollte ursprünglich im Sandwichboden “Zebrabatterien” unterbringen. Genau diese A Klasse mit 5 Sitzplätzen und einem noch anschaulichen Design war das Ei des Kolumbus. Was will ich mit einem “superökozweisitzdiesel” der Spritpreise wegen, wenn ich zeitweise auf 5 Sitzplätze angewiesen bin? (Fahrgemeinschaft) Selbst 1996 hatte die A Klasse eine für mich ausreichende Reichweite. Der Weg mit “Elektrominis” ist noch der falsche Weg.. Vollwertige Automobile mit Elektroantrieb sind gefragt. Scharfer Wind weht euch mit dem Tesla Roadster und dem Lightning GT entgegen! Durch entsprechende staatliche Subventionen und weitere Anreize wäre eine Grosserienproduktion denkbar. Auch preisgünstige Akkus sind so möglich. Anstatt sich um das wesentliche zu kümmern, den deutschen Vorsprung durch Technik zu sichern, werden wir zunehmend amerikanisiert(Zertifizierungen usw.) Nach dem 2. Weltkrieg wurde Deutschland von anderen Ländern bewundert. Genau das selbe wäre heute wieder möglich. Fachkräfte, Marketingexperten und das “gewusst wie” ist ebenfalls vorhanden. Den Marketingexperten, der einem Kunden ein fünfsitziges Elektroauto mit ausreichend Kofferraum nicht “schmackhaft” machen kann, den müssen Sie mir zeigen. Dass die Technik reif für die Serie ist, wissen wir ohnehin. Und dass voll Recyclingfähige Fahrzeuge auch kein Thema sind wissen wir auch. Die Zukunft ist reif für ein (neues) Antriebskonzept. Baut endlich den Volkswagen schlechthin: Fünfsitzig, mit ausreichend Kofferraum, Batterieelektrisch, wartungsarm, Ölwechselfrei, zuverlässig, mit geringen Betriebskosten. —— DAS AUTO
what is ‘lower lifetime ownership’?
You may want to edit this paragraph
if you mean lower cost of ownership.
I believe it would be better to provide LESS bail-out to GM and Chrysler and give it to Tesla! What a company. I don’t understand why I keep hearing that electric cars can not be done practically now. It’s being done!
Back in 1992 I bought a brand new Honda Civic VX.
this car was rated at 55 miles per gallon thanks to its v-tec engine and low drag coefficient.
this car sold for 11 thousand dollars. Today no one ever mentions this car and how quick it was.
I believe that if they came back out with this car today, there would be many less hybrids being sold.
Tesla does need to move out of California to preferably the South East where BMW and Mercedes has found a home.
When Tesla comes to the South East; its manufacturing costs will go down considerably,and likewise the cost of their products.
What Americans need is not a fancy roadster but the s model that is being promised.
But the price needs to be cut in half so that more blue collar Americans can afford to pull the oil needle out of their arms.
EEStor has a Ultra Capacitor which would replace the battery without all the sacifices of batteries. Richard Weir of EEStor promises his EESU should see the market sometime soon, but when that will be is not known. I for one, would like to know what this unit will cost , and when it will reach the market? Does anyone one know when Richard Weir’s EESU will be availiable? Wikipedia states all the beneifits of Ultra Capacitors, and show EEStor’s unit that we are all waiting for.
I can’t wait. OK, so I have to wait. but I don’t have to like it!
Still, for all the folks out there negatively positing on range issues, there are some basic engineering/physics issues at play that simply can not be absolved. First is a physics issue. As a body moves through a fluid (air), the amount of energy required is not linearly proportional to speed. In point of fact, the relationship tends to be a square. That is to say that if you double the speed, the power requirement increases by a factor of 4 (2 squared = 4); three times the speed means roughly NINE times the power (3 squared = 9). Ok. so that being the case, a HIGH speed, uninterrupted, long run on a track or on the highway will inevitably use substantially more power than lower speed runs. As pointed out earlier, the same is true for ANY fuel. I’ve personally seen this with my current gas-powered car, as well as with other fuels, including nuclear (I operated nuclear power plants on warships for some 20 years). The basic physics remain the same regardless. Where Tesla shines, is that they have demonstrated that with proper management of energy wasters such as heat generation and propulsion plant efficiency, the amount of energy consumed can be brought significantly closer to what is actually needed to provide transport.
Other energy ‘wasters’ that need to be considered, especially in places with climates other than mild and moderate year round are environmental controls. For folks up north… The electric heaters will have a DRASTIC impact on range in the winter. Of course, you could drive around without the heat on, but that is probably not realistic in places like Alaska, northern Michigan, North Dakota, etc. Expect much much lower ‘efficiency’ in the winter. And for those in the deep south, or desert southwest where summer temps can easily and routinely exceed 100F (often with high humidity), the AC can really ‘kill’ the range in the summer. These aren’t good things, or bad… they just are.
With all that said, there are continuous improvements in storage technologies (batteries), and I would hope to see some dramatic changes over the next several years as battery technologies currently under development (some secretly) reach maturity and declassification. A larger store of energy in the form of better battery technology will make much of the issues above essentially moot (but can not eliminate them).
Additional advances in aerodynamic design and friction reducing coatings (paint) will also play. Further, as electric vehicles begin to gain traction in the market, charging /Rapid charging stations WILL become more prevalent as entrepreneurs step in to capitalize on a growing consumer need.
We’ve come a long way, but still have a long way to go. Keep charging!
When is the thing coming to Atlanta? We want to see what it actually looks like. Then we will put in our order for two of them!!! Somebody please help me!!! I am dieing with these gas prices…
The Type S is impressive, and I look forward to the prices on these cars dropping as production ramps up and batteries get cheaper (yay free market!).
(What is up with this guy Charles? Did an electric car run over his puppy when he was a kid?)
I am looking forward to the day I can afford to buy a totally electric vehicle and not have to drive into the gas station and leave half of my paycheck at the pump every week. It is sad that this country can not get it through their heads that Tesla Motors has made it happen the EV we should all be driving is here. Why doesn’t our government give Tesla Motors money to mass produce this vehicle, instead of bailing failing GM and Chrysler. Sorry to see that we are so blind to what is better for the environment and ultimately our freedom from the dependance of oil. THANK YOU TESLA MOTORS.
I have been following car news and trends (I work with oil companies
) ) and the major car OEMs are indeed trying to push “brake-by-wire” technology, without much success (just like steer-by-wire is not yet adopted). One difference between what Tesla did not have (?) but the OEMs are trying to push is a redundant brake system: two completely independent electrical brake circuits. I think that regardless of the car or price, a safe brake system is a must. Everything else fails in the car is much less worrisome than loosing the brakes (been there in a ‘85 Firebird…). So either Tesla builds a backup hydraulic brake system or a pressurized gas safe boost for when the electricity fails on their Model S, which is a family car - up to seven peoples’ lives could depend on that !
Except that, I love the new car, the design and the specs - I’ll hold for the AWD version though (hopefully it is also a performance version, because I like to track cars or at least autox). And yes - my current car gets 20mpg driven on highway in normal manner, and about 14mpg if I (really) push it on the same highways. Track is 8-10mpg… So I have no problem with what the mileage was on the track in UK but I am a bit concerned about how much less range one could get in really cold weather (at least my car battery has very hard times starting when temps are 20F… but it’s an Optima Yellow, not a Li-ion, so maybe I’d worried for nothing).
Back to the topic at hand - there may be additional municipal incentives which need to be added to a running list somehwere. In Miami Beach, in addition to the State HOV sticker availability upon registering the car, I also have access to an annual fixed price sticker which enables free parking in any public parking lot. This offers the convenience of no more hassling for change and going to get a ticket, but also unlmited parking (not a 2hr limit in many places). There are costs savings for me in the hundreds of doallar range in addition to the (more important) tremendous convenience.
FINALLY, IT LOOKS LIKE YOUR AUTOS ARE GOING TO BE A GREAT HIT. I SEE THE FED. IS GIVING A TAX CREDIT OF $7500.00 TO BUYERS. NOW ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TO CONVINCE “ALL” STATES TO FOR GO THEIR SALES TAX OR GIVE A CREDIT.
MOST STATES (POLITICIANS ) GIVE LIP SERVICE TO A GREENER ENVIROMENT, AS LONG AS SOMEONE ELSE IS PAYING FOR IT !
I DO HAVE A QUESTION, WILL LEASING BE AVAILABLE ? I HAVE ONLY LEASED MY VEHICLES FOR OVER 15 ++ YEARS.
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK AND GOOD LUCK !
I LIVE IN UPSTATE NY. SOME YEARS WINTER SEEMS TO LAST FOREVER! WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW YOUR CARS WILL HANDLE WINTER DRIVING?
ALSO, I’M FORWARDING A COPY OF YOUR LIST OF FEDERAL AND WHICH STATES CURRENTLY OFFER INCENTIVES FOR YOUR VEHICLES TO ONE OF OUR SENATORS. ALONG WITH A NOTATION ASKING WHY NY ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE LAST WHEN IT COMES TO ANY TYPE OF CONSUMER INCENTIVES FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION.
I congratulate all of the wonderful folks at Tesla and the leadership for creating a marvel in engineering, a paradigm shift of gigantic proportions and making history. It took enormous effort and persistence and sheer courage to do what no one has ever done before. I just received my roadster less than 2 weeks ago, the day before Father’s Day, the day before the summer solstice on Saturday 20 JUN 09 in Mount Vernon, Virginia and have driven 500 miles evangelizing to all I know and even don’t know the excitement I feel driving a car that truly represents the future direction of our great country. The torque, the smooth gear-change-free acceleration, the quietness and the knowing that you’re clean and gas free says it all. My Lamborghini just sits there while I take my Tesla (number 468) out. I drove out to Baltimore the other day and plugged it into an outlet at the local pool for a little charge: 9 miles. I didn’t need it, but it was fun. I stopped by my favorite gas stations and told my “friends” that I’ll stop by on occasion to get some air or at least an inspection once a year. Without me buying gas, we’ll see if they are truly friends! My passion is electrical engineering and building science and it is good to see that nothing, nothing can stop American ingenuity. Good work Tesla!
I pledge to Tesla Motors that when I graduate from college and have worked one year in my field, that I will buy a model S.
Tesla needs a dealership in Atlanta. There is a growing population of environmentally-conscious consumers here in the south. We even have three Autonation dealerships that have gone carbon neutral: Team Honda, Toyota and Nissan in Lithia Springs. Our company has done a quick CO2 analysis of hybrids versus the Tesla and even in a dirty-grid state like Georgia, the Tesla has a lower footprint.
I get almost 30mpg in my 2006 Corvette, I can see 400 miles on a Tank. As an instructor for NASA when I go to the track I see about 7 tops, might get 100-120 miles at the track, big difference. A battery powered car will have the same effect, maybe not that ratio but you get my point. Compare apples to apples. 55 miles on the track, I believe 200+ on the road easily. I would love one of these for my 180 mile daily commute to work.
Where is the free parking at Los Angeles International Airport ?
“Washington sales tax rates vary from county to county. In Seattle, where customers usually pay 9.3 percent sales tax, Roadster buyers can pocket more than $10,100 instead of forking it over to the state.”
Actually it is 9.5% now, lol
Has Tesla considered an electric 2WD light truck (w/bed covers or shell) or SUV (one with racks for kayaks, etc.)…
Also, has a solar charger for open roof space on the vehicle been considered (would allow charging in parking lots w/no plugs).
Another thought…20′ electric boat (would make trolling al low speed a dream to be sure).
Love this company :0)
WILL A LEASING PROGRAM FOR EITHER THE ROADSTER OR THE MODEL S BE AVAILABLE IN THE FUTURE?
I HAVE LEASED ALMOST ALL OF MY LAST SEVERAL VEHICLES.
I LIKE THE IDEA O BEING ABLE TO DRIVE A HIGHER END VEHICLE THAN I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO PURCHASE.
IN STATES THAT CURRENTLY DO NOT HAVE A SALES TAX INCENTIVE FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES (LIKE NY )
THIS WOULD AID IN KEEPING MONTHLY PAYMENTS DOWN.
WHAT OPTIONS ARE GOING TO BE AVAILABLE ON SEDAN?
I NOTICE YOU STATE ALL WHEEL DRIVE WILL BE AVAILABLE, NO PRICE LISTED FOR THIS OPTION.
KEEP UP THE “GREAT” JOB YOU ARE DOING.
I currently reside in Virginia i see the Wahington D.C. is the neartest Dealer to me. is there any plans for dealerships in the Hampton Roads Area?
I have read all of the comments here. I applaud Tesla for stepping up to the plate and delivering. I understand money is holding them back. They are doing their best. If they were in Wakefield, Ma I would enjoy working for them. The model S is especially attractive. I believe it will do well in sales. I would pay to test drive one for a month. I currently work for a marketing company in contract with Verizon. While I was walking the sales floor here at BJ’s wholesale, I thought, “a Tesla display would look nice on this floor. My store has quite a few affluent customers. This would be a nice shock to Nissan next door as they are releasing an EV soon! If there is anything I can do to help with marketing the vehicle in Massachusetts, I’m your guy.
For those who want a race car, plenty are out there. Pick one. The roadster 2 door is a beautiful car and has all advantage of a electric sports car. It would be a great choice. But, for the other half of the population (soccer mom’s, urbran dirving) a four door vechile with plenty of room for hauling that is ELECTRIC… is a dream come true. Clean engine. NOT HAVING TO STOP FOR GAS. Great distance between charging. It just makes it even BETTER.
WAY TO GO TESLA.. Your on the right track…I can’t wait to order mine!
Comment about Nick Mclean’s post
Money will always hold them back when people expect to make $80 per hour to work on an assembly line. In fact I bet if they opened a plant in, lets say Arkansas, Mississippi, or Louisiana I bet people would gladly work for minimum wage or even 1 or 2 dollars over minimum wage.
When I introduced the Tesla Model S to my family yesterday, my sons went to their wallets and each gave me $10 dollars to start saving for this vehicle. My boys are 11 and 15 years of age. Their actions speak volumes about Tesla’s design and commitment to the environment. Thank you for giving us a true environmental option. Great Looking Vehicle!
Only $49,880 dollars to go.
Does anyone know how many years the will the battery last, and how much will it cost to replace.
I love the fact that Tesla, which is a company that I have always admired for the roadster, is now coming out with the Model S. They deserve to be applauded for bulilding a fully electric 4-door vehicle that still has a 300 mile range with the high-end battery pack…awesome!! I live in New Mexico so I do a lot of commuting and the amount of money that I spend on gas in a month is ridiculous. The idea of the Model S appeals to me and I am glad that a car like this is finally going to be produced and available for a price that is not completely ridiculous.
I am very interested in the Tesla S sedan. Would love to see interior, colors, interior colors and options.
I would like to know how the charge would be affected in cold climates like Michigan. How the car would handle in the snow. I would test the car for your company this winter. You can E-mail me. Thanks Mike
Minor gripe … “Sacramento EV owners get free metered parking ” is somewhat misleading. Yes, there is a free parking program, but it applies to downtown City owned parking garages and some off-street lots that are specifically labelled with a “P”. State and federal lots (for public or city/state employees) are not open to the program. You must apply for the program and are sent a credit-card sized RFID access card for these garages. Those locations are indeed convenient and appreciated, and several of them offer Avcons, SPI and 120V charging. But I wish it were true that this applies to parking meters found in so many other Sacramento city locations … may be the wish will come true some day.
I first saw the Roadster on the internet about 2 years ago, Unfortunately, it is too small for my needs: minimum 3 seats rather than 2, but you folks FOR SURE AND FOR CERTAIN killed the ideas of short range, low speed, electric cars with a terminal case of the “uglies”! The “S” car looks FANTASTIC! Like the snail in the joke, “Look at that “S” car GO!”
If you folks need a new vehicle factory, PARTICULARLY for the Tesla “S”, have you considered Utah? We have a well educated, well motivated, hard working, but under utilized work force, and ACRES of empty land upon which to build factories! The “S” car will work well out here, because the predominant LDS Community has a larger average family size than most.
Also, have you looked into alternatives to battery power? There is a quantum vacuum energy source known as a Motionless Electromagnetic Generator (M.E.G.) which was patented (Patent # US 6,362,718 B1) on Mar 26, 2002. The 5 co-patent holders are trying to arrange funding to finish research on “scaling” the power units to ANY required size and power levels. See:
www.cheniere.org
The M.E.G. prototypes (there have been at least 3, as I understand it, 1 of which was purposely destroyed in “safety” testing required for the patent) produced UNLIMITED quantities of pure, clean electrical energy, and would continue to do so, as far as the builders could tell, until the electrical parts wore out! The patent application was filed Sep 6, 2000. The first prototypes were run for several years before the filing, and have continued to run, as I understand it, ever since, a period of over 9 years! This, of course, translates to effectively UNLIMITED RANGE! This would certainly beat the tar out of a mere 300 mile range…
Sorry about the “snail” joke: it was too good to pass up!
I just watched a show titled “Who killed the electric car?” What an eye opener…! GM may have had a reason to destroy all of the EV1 vehicles for being “older technology”, but I don’t think that that was the real reason (and no reason was actually given by GM, according to the program). These vehicles were leased and the “owners” had no recourse to relinquishing their vehicles when their lease was up and GM decided to go with the Hummer instead of the EV1.
The only viable options to the Big Car companies coming up with mainstream fully electric vehicles will come from the smaller companies, such as Tesla, that are not “in business with the oil companies”. With these cars being sold, instead of being leased, I don’t think Tesla owners will ever be put in the same predicament as the EV1 owners were in 2005.
I hope to see Tesla, and other small companies, make a big mark on the world before the Big Car companies realize that electric vehicles won’t reverse the fortunes of the world’s richest people in the oil markets…
In October 2008, while on vacation in Los Angeles, I acquired a Roadster for transportation. In the three weeks of driving the vehicle, I experience no problems and I was so impressed that I would like to purchase a Model S to use as my daily driver/company car. How much longer before you start selling the Roadster and Model S in Australia? If it will be several years after 2012, can I purchase a left hand drive Model S and have it shipped to Melbourne Australia at my own expense? I will happily fly the service technician to Australia annually (and pay all expenses associated) to maintain the vehicle.
electric car is the car of the next days because gasolin and gas car is so funny thing how i run with fire and tank of gasolin is it so dangures in city…..so the normal car not healthy at all it give us a lot of gas in air i am happy to see tesla electric car so i love to be dealer in egypt for this car….i can open market for this nice car……..thanks dear engineers fred
I live in GA and as I understand it you plan on having a location down in Miami…
If you would consider Atlanta, GA or the Georgia area as a market, I’d welcome the opportunity to franchise/manage it.
It is my belief that Atlanta would be a VERY STRONG MARKET for your technology!
Not to mention the fact that GT is located hear and I know of several incubator firms that are part of the technology sector who might be interested in working on better solutions for the environment and Tesla is definitely one of those companies that would prosper.
I love it! The money we can save on fuel already makes this a sweet deal. And the Model S is pure sex. A great family sports sedan. I’m very optimistic about living on a much cleaner planet. Tesla is clearly leading the way in the automotive industry in this type of market. And all the recent concerns of global warming. You can not deny it when you see one of these cars and if your lucky to drive one, say to one self, This car meets 99.9% of what drivers TRULY want when driving any automobile. Does it look good, is it dependable, is it safe, is it fun to drive, is it low maintenance, can it surpass my gas burning car. The answer is yes, yes, yes, yes. You know most people in there daily routine does not take a long trip that often. 300+ miles is more than enough to cover what driving needs to be done in a day. I drive 45min to work back and forth every day. All highway. I would love to own one of these beauties right now. Let’s not forget the EV1. This technology has been around for a while…and look where it is now.
There’s one question no one is asking. Why is Chevy trying to torpedo the electric concept - again! Think about it. If Tesla can build a car that can go 150-200 miles during normal driving (forget about the “on the racetrack” 55 mile stuff - that’s quite different than normal driving), then why would Chevy be touting a POS (piece of s**t) car that can only go 40 miles? What are they using six AAA batteries?
Think about it - they have torpedoed this market before and they’re out to do it again.
The real question is: What is the minimum range that would make EVs palatable to the majority of drivers?
Personally, I want an ALL Electric - why work so hard to get rid of the gas, oil, etc only to have a smaller version stuck back in there. I want an ALL Electric that I don’t mind plugging in, but, if I forget to plug it in, I want to be able to use it for a 2nd day - to drive to work and back that is. So, how many days should I be able to do this? I already said I wanted to be able to forget once, ideally, twice would be nice. My work is only 12.5 miles away, so three days commute is only 75 miles total - let’s round it up to 100 miles for small side trips. That’s what *I* can live with.
Let’s assume that most people make trips of 30miles to work (or less) - that’s 60 miles round trip. three days - that’s 180 miles - round it up to 200 miles. Hmmm - it looks like the roadster is right about there. It sounds like the Model S is going to be close. The small pack they advertise (160 miles) might be problematic for some, however we all know that battery technology isn’t going backward. Now, if that (60 mile round trip) commuter could do the entire week (300 miles + 10% - say 330 miles) on one charge I think you’d have an absolute home run there. Will there be those you can’t satisfy - sure, that will always happen.
So, from my perspective, it’s starting to look like Tesla is in the right ballpark. I like the Karma by Fisker, but I really want to be rid of that darn gas engine. I have already decided to bite the bullet and plunk down some cash to get in line for the Tesla Model S in Jan 2010.
What do I see as avenues for improvements?
About the 55 mile range… I have a twin turbo 3.0l all wheel drive/steering sports car. It can make a little over 500 hp. If I turn the boost down and drive it at 55mph; I can get close to 30mpg. Average boost and driving with some spirit, I get about 18-19. If I turn the boost up and drive it hard around a track, I’d guess I’m getting closer to 4-5mpg. So, ten gallons of fuel can last me 300 miles or 50 miles…
Tesla has done a great job. I am looking forward to future models.
Regarding HOV access in Virginia (in response to entry “Willie wrote on February 23rd, 2009 at 11:48 am”):
The Tesla Roadster does qualify for the same single person HOV use as the Prius does (with any new HOV access plates, some HOV lanes can’t be used, but it is the same for the Prius as the Roadster). The confusion was probably that the VA DMV web site doesn’t explicitly indicate the Roadster as qualifying, but it does qualify (I assume that the web site still doesn’t indicate the Roadster).
ok love what tesla is doing especially the S 4 door 7 passanger but living in PA. where electricity is coal fired and the rates have increased this year per KW and will increase 30% at least by the end of 2010 and if CAP & TAX passes you can add another 80% increase on top of that and the fact it gets to 20 degrees below in the winter how will this car run?
How fast will the batteris draw down with the heat on, headlights on windshield wipers going. etc.
Why can’t the front tires be hooked into some type of generator or alternator to extend the range as they roll?
Just check out this video if you want a more balanced view of Tesla’s performance:
www.nbcchicago.com/station/as-seen-on/Is_Life_With_an_Electric_Car_Feasible__Chicago.html