Looking foreward to your blog. So, you’ve already sold several Roadsters in Europe. Were these before the show or new customers at the show? Please tell us in the blog how many of each. Whose car is that? Was the show car running or without batteries? Congratulations on your European introduction!

Darryl,

Looking forward to your blog as well.

How was the European show? Is the white car a VP, or is it a production car?

We have sold a number of cars from all over Europe. I don’t really distinguish between at the show or before the show because some people are interested in the car and then come to the show to see the car before finalizing their decision. One observation is that the early EU customers remind me of the SIg100 customers in that they are passionate about the progress that the Roadster represents and are not just buying a beautiful, zero-emissions car - they are buying into the vision of the company.

The two cars at the show were VIN F004 (the silver car in the pictures) and VP12 (black on black) which we used for test drives. Incidentally, the test drive route was the Monaco Grand Prix route. Very cool.

Tesla Sales and Marketing Strategy: Screw all the Americans that want our cars… Let’s sell them in Europe!!!

Kasei, that video makes me nervous! Driving a nice sports car in a busy city does not look like fun. Just takes one knucklehead an your car is toast. Maybe everyone in Monaco is a great driver. But if you are Bono, maybe a Tesla is disposable. But that wouldn’t be very green of him.

Darryl,

did you mean to say you “are in production and delivering car_”? As far as I’m aware P2 has not yet been delivered, and let’s be honest, P1 was a one-off for Elon, and not part of the regular production run.

I would really like to see TM be a successful manufacturer and bring EVs to the masses, but you do a disservice to your company and your customers when you try to pull the wool over our eyes. Just be honest, people will have far more respect for you.

Chris H.

Chris - where have I been dishonest? We are in the process of delivering cars to customers. You will hear about it in the near future. To be honest I find your comments in the second paragraph really patronizing. - Darryl

Monaco Video => UK Plates! Woohoo!

I dont know what TM is up to these days, But I HAVE FAITH in you guys, and I know you will deliver and become a succesful company.

It is hard not to worry about TM these days, since we have not heard any news in quite a while, and I know some fans are starting to get mad about it, but I think we just need to be patient, We need to trust in TM, they are not dumb, and I know they know better than we do, and I know they know when to make the best moves.

Just do it right!

I think part of the problem is that people get used to instant gratification. The blogs satisfy people’s need for news and to feel involved. A lot of people think of this as their dream car which gives them an emotional stake in its success or failure. When the people at Tesla get overwhelmed with other tasks and the blogs so down the mob at the other end of the line can get restless.

For me I would like to see a blog on the kinds of challenges a production ramp up entails. How does one progress from hand building a couple at a time to an assembly line? What puzzles and quandries come out of such a challenge? What kind of delay does each of these introduce? At the very least it would give you something to point to and say “hey it isn’t easy”

Chris,

Excellent post - my thoughts exactly. I am sure that Darryl is doing this all day every day so most of it is old hat to him. To us we only hear what he tells us. I am sure it is not intentional - well most of the time anyway. And I totally understand that some of it NEEDS to be intentional and I am sure he walks a fine line which is hard to do well. And BTW Darryl you do indeed do it pretty well. I too would love to hear more about the ongoings at TM without disclosing anything they can’t. Even the little stuff would be great !!! It keeps the thoughts moving and changing. Which keeps interest going. I realize that blogs are actually a lot of work to write. But more of them to follow and more often would be GREAT. Even if they were just little things or thoughts about new ideas or possibilities. Maybe even an open ended question to the masses to envoke thought and response.

Hunter,

Others have posted a little more distrust than I have but I have to say it would be nice to hear from TM that say 20 cars are completed and waiting to be shipped or something to that effect. And we did not know that we were looking at P4 in the pictures until today when the new pictures were posted (with captions). I imagine that the owner of P4 might be a little upset that his or her car is sitting in Monaco instead of their driveway. Mine is not so much distrust as a feeling of I want to know what the progress is. Why is it so hard for TM to tell us that X # of cars have been built and/or an expected ship date ?

I love how little the Roadster is in the last shot, waiting for the pit area. Does anyone know what height range it can comfortably sit (for driving)?

# Hunter wrote on April 30th, 2008 at 11:10 am

# To everybody who is *still* complaining that “we haven’t seen any more cars”
# …YOU ARE LOOKING AT P4 RIGHT NOW!

While Bono appears to be sitting in P4, it seems like Martin is the one singing, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” I trust that you folks have approached Mr. Eberhard about making delivery arrangements for P2.

And thanks for the extra pix, Darryl. Between them and the Monaco test drive video on YouTube, I got my Roadster fix for the week.

I don’t think you can assume that the owner of P4 is unhappy to have the car shown in Monaco. Many of the first few cars are going to investors who naturally have a keen interest in promoting the company. Also, we don’t know what sort of deal Tesla made with the owner. For instance, it’s possible that P4 could be shown in Monaco, then flown directly to California, and arrive before P2 and P3 if they are traveling by boat. That would still be cheaper and easier for Tesla than to ship a car from CA to Monaco and back, so everyone comes out ahead, no?

Besides, how many people get to claim that Bono and Prince Albert II have fawned over their cars, and have photos to prove it?

Personally at this point in the life cycle, I would much rather see a blog about “a day in the life of the Tesla Roadster production facility”, than a picture of Bono in a roadster.

These delays demand immediate parachute-style delivery upgrades!

Will the european version have some details different to the american version? -> especially the rear body panel needs a modification to fit the longer european registraion plates (funny to see the plates behind the rear screen in Monaco *g*)!

Darryl,

You said, “the quantity of info is directly related to the intensity of work going on.” I think you meant inversely related. Directly related would mean that not much information means not much work going on, and I don’t think you meant that.

Keith

Thanks for taking the time to communicate information.

Man the Tesla Store opening did not even make the Events log. What does it take to make that log an act of God LOL.

Keith: Are you sure about that? Wouldn’t it be big/high quantity of info = big/high amount of work going on. Hence directly related.
May I ask if you’ve found any Norwegians for the sales and marketing team for Europe ? Considering you seem to have made some deal with Ferdinand Motor in Bergen? A blog from your European trip sounds very interesting, though if some Whitestar info happens to slip through the cracks I promise not to complain.

heeeeeeey. I wanted to go the tesla store opening!

:(…sad

@WarpedOne

Both the EU and US 2009 spec sheets are now available in the “Reserve” section. Interesting that the EU one really is 300+ bhp while the US stays 247 bhp.

We need to update the site - all cars will be 300hp+ and 400 newton meters torque. - ed. 

Darin Ladd, the Tango is competition for the Roadster? Don’t make me laugh.

The Tango is a motorcycle-sized, hard-topped, lead-acid powered “car” with an 80 mile range. Oh, and it’s a KIT. For $108,000.

There are also many worrisome statements on the website. For example, I’m mistrustful of anyone who casually says that their EV “can be built with a fuel cell or internal combustion engine.” They also cite specs that are either speculative or future-based: the 0-60 they list is “estimated” and based on using racing slicks at a drag strip, and their charging times are based on a 200-amp off-board charging rig that they admit on the spec sheet has not been developed. The 0-60 in particular is hard to swallow, considering that the car is powered by two 28hp brushed DC motors (incidentally, the same model I have in my truck) and yet weighs more than the Tesla. They also claim the benefit of lane-splitting, like motorcycles…I’m not 100% on this, but don’t the laws allowing lane-splitting apply specifically to two-wheeled vehicles? Then there’s the matter of the car being a kit; they claim this is because they lack manufacturing capability, but they also claim that the purchaser (who presumably also lacks manufacturing capability) can finish one in a day…sounds to me like it’s more likely that they can’t sell the vehicle as a complete car because they haven’t done the crash testing. The safety section claims that the car is *designed* to be safe, but makes no claims of any particular testing. As for the future models, they are listing prices and specs (including four 50kW hub motors in a $40k car or two in a $19k one…yeah right), but admit that the cars have not been designed. Seems backwards to me.

And let’s not forget the business side. They apparently delivered the first kit to George Clooney in fall of 2005, and as of April ‘06 they were planning on delivering the second one in “about six months.” So, about a year per kit…that six-week shipping schedule for Tesla is sounding better, no? Worse, they are taking deposits on all three vehicles, two of which as mentioned above haven’t even been designed. But by far the most ridiculous part is that they are taking these deposits in the hope of convincing investors that there’s a market…so far, it seems the 50 deposits they’ve received (all but 5 for the vapor models) aren’t convincing enough. They say they expect production to start 2 years from whenever they get funded, which is to say, never.

It is also worth noting that nothing on their website seems to have changed since 2004 except the addition of a couple of news/press release items, the last of which is the April ‘06 article I mention above. Always a bad sign.

In summary, even if Commuter Cars Corp. was the real deal, the Tango would be no kind of competition for the roadster. But they aren’t the real deal, so it’s kind of a moot point.

Hunter–

I couldn’t agree more. I was going to include some of the points you shared in my original post to show how absurdely superior Tesla’s product–and delivery schedule–was to some of the “competition,” but figured that a quick visit to the Commuter Car website would more than make the point. I see that it has!

Today is 5/2/2008. I just finished watching Iron Man and saw the Tesal roadster in the garage of the main character. Now that was cool! I hope that one day I could really afford the roadster. Forget the Sedan that is sure around the corner.

Tesla Motors Dealership‎
Added
11163 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Aramax,

The batteries (they use something on the order of 6000 LI cells) are sealed - both from each other (to prevent a fire cascade) and from the outside elements. I’m not sure about many of the other electrical components, but I assume that the motor is also protected - since water and salt both would introduce corrosive elements.

And salt is a problem in lots of places - but not the southwest (including CA). But honestly? Canada probably isn’t the best place for convertible/targa top, at least not most months of the year. And a sexy ‘vert should always be topless.

And to follow up on that “extended range” point, the number of people who want to go a vast distance without access to the electrical grid is pretty minimal. It’s really lack of “out-of-town recharging” which is the problem; if you can drive a few hours, stop and recharge during lunch, drive a few more hours, stop and recharge during dinner, etc., you solve most of the “range extension” problem.

Nathanael Nerode, the good news is that there’s already a meter, though not on the cord. It’s in the car…the state-of-charge indicator. The car keeps track of the kWhrs in the pack during driving and charging. Figuring the power draw should be easy if you know the charger efficiency (which I don’t have on hand). Unfortunately, there’s bad news as well: that dryer plug is going to take an awful long time to charge the Roadster. You aren’t going to “stop and recharge during lunch” as you put it…figuring a one-hour lunch break and a 50A240V hookup (and forgetting efficiency losses), you’ll only get about 12kWhrs, or 50 miles worth of charging done. If you really want people to be able to be on the road all day, you’re going to need a much bigger circuit than we’re used to seeing around here.

Hello there, I would like to congradulate u on the success and progress you have made… I have been following your progress with great interest. I would like very much to be able to purchase one of these fine vehicles, but…. I AM IN AUSTRALIA…. and i don’t have the funds yet…. … But i am entering the local lottery every week, to enable…one day… to purchase one of these magnificent vehicles. do you need another operation, to build Bodies/motors, chassis…??? Australia has a great industry, that could require a boost…. and … if we bring more opportunity for EV manufacture to Aus, we could be one of your biggest markets… for a family vehicle. Of course, I would benefit from the fact that u are now allowing … production/export to Australia… and i might finally get my hands on one…. Love your work.. TM… Don’t forget, mine needs “Right hand Drive”

Hunter, maybe the best solution would be the one Renault and DONG in Denmark is aiming for. Licensed modulebased batterypacks replaced in 2 or 3 minutes at “gas”stations across the contry, owned and serviced by DONG, while the “user” only pay the electrical bill + renting battery. In Denmark, it makes a Renault Laguna drop to approx. 30-40% of the prize of an gaspowered Laguna(due to taxes)

Hansen, battery replacement stations sound like a good idea, but there are two problems that make it very difficult for them to successfully allow widespread EV adoption. The first is that the station still needs to have a massive electrical hookup; it has to recharge the dead batteries after it pulls them from the cars, and assuming it intends to be open every day that means it needs enough power to handle its average charging load. For a current gas station with 8-10 pumps, where there’s almost always 2 or 3 in use, that’s a staggering amount of power. Add to that the storage and logistics involved with that number of large/heavy batteries, and things get really tricky for our would-be service station. But by far the bigger problem is that the market will evaporate out from under these operators because they now have to compete with home charging. Consider that right now every person who drives has to fill up at a gas station. Now consider that with EVs (even with a 40-mile range) only about 1 in 10 people will need to get their pack swapped. Suddenly there’s not nearly as much business available for the service-stations. That ends up leading to firms exiting the market in droves, which lowers the density of charge stations, which means there’s no longer a swap station on every corner.

These aren’t necessarily insurmountable problems. But they are very difficult ones. In my opinion if it’s to work it will be through drastically downsizing a “station” (probably all the way down to one car at a time) and automating everything. But at that point I’m not sure that swapping the packs is the way to go…it may make more sense to just use some of the newer fast charging chemistries and either a heck of a utility hookup or a battery/capacitor/flywheel on the charger.

tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/05/05/165246.shtml

Tesla Roadster Store opening made Slashdot’s home page.