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As I fly back from Brussels and think about the last 9 days in Europe I am very encouraged by what we learned. One of the advantages of a startup operation is the ability to change direction and make decisions very quickly to adjust to the opportunities and risks that present themselves. The flip side of that is that you often need to lead with your chin and accept the fact that you aren’t always entering the battle with your plans all in place. You become a master of rapid prototyping.
I start with a general observation about Tesla customers. Our new customers in the EU are every bit as dynamic and engaging as those who we have come to know in the US. It is not an exaggeration to say that one of the most extraordinary aspects of this company is the people who have signed up to reserve a Roadster. Those people, with wide ranging backgrounds, interests and motivations, share a vision and passion with Tesla’s employees to be part of something extraordinary and meaningful.
Many of the people who I have been interacting with, in person, on this blog or by email, have been following Tesla with a passion for several years, and this is something which I should have anticipated better when we communicated our entry into the European market.
European Pricing
When I announced the special, limited edition 2009 Euro-spec Roadster, I had not yet announced US pricing for the 2009 Tesla Roadster, which had increased to a $109,000 base price. I also communicated the price of the “signature edition” euro Roadster as a fully loaded offering, which compares to the fully loaded price of the 2009 Tesla Roadster of $120,200. This caused many people to compare the 99,000 Euro price of the limited edition car to the commonly quoted $98,000 price for the US version, with predictable results.
Where sometimes people talk about apples and oranges comparisons, this situation is a bit of an apples to oranges to pears to watermelons comparison. For starters, the car we are currently offering is a special, limited edition series of only 250 across the entire EU (Plus Switzerland and Norway) and it is priced at a premium to reflect that. That being said, a proper comparison should be made to the fully loaded 2009 price of $120,200 in the US (excluding taxes), not the $98,000 base price of the 2008 Roadster.
An important thing for our customers, both US and European, to keep in mind is that much of the cost of the Roadster is paid in Euros and Pounds. For that reason, as the dollar has weakened against the Euro (and other European currencies), we adjusted pricing accordingly. Not surprisingly, European carmakers are doing the same: in the April 30 edition of the Wall Street Journal Europe it is reported that BMW has made the decision to divert volume from the United States to other markets because their gross margins are under pressure due to the weak dollar and a Euro based cost structure. A final note on European pricing strategy relates to service centers and infrastructure. In the early going, we will be relatively “sub-scale” in Europe, with a higher cost of service and marketing infrastructure relative to sales. This is also reflected in our pricing.
While I thought it was important to address pricing, it really comes down to this:
The first 250 EU customers will receive a specially badged car that will no doubt be a collector’s item in the future. They will also be able to be the first Europeans to drive this amazing, rule-breaking, extraordinary car. Beyond that, we plan to offer other customizations for the car that will make it unique, but that will be a topic for future discussion.
The Top Marques Monaco Show
I’ll start by thanking Kory Tarpenning, the cousin of Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning, for turning us on to this show. Thanks also to Marc for putting us in touch. The show was a fantastic opportunity for us. Kory, who lives in Monaco, was an excellent host (especially to Diarmuid and Zak, who went out for a night on the town with Kory, and looked the worse for the wear from it the next day.) We had extraordinary interest at the Tesla booth from people from all over Europe, some of whom had flown in just to see the Tesla in person. After the first day, we pulled VP12 from the floor and kept it outside so that we could offer test drives to potential customers. I’m very glad we did that, because the experience of driving a high performance electric car up the mountains of Monaco or around the Monaco Grand Prix course is extraordinary. VIN F004, a car that is reserved by someone close to Tesla, stayed on the show floor for people to look at. Some notable visitors to our booth were former F1 champion Damon Hill, Prince Albert of Monaco and Bono. All of them knew a fair bit about Tesla and showed a great interest in the car.
We ended the show with a much better understanding of how we should approach Europe and what we need to do differently. For starters, we will be revamping our website and offering country and/or language specific content. We will be updating portions of the website that are outdated along the way.
We also ended the show with a good number of new European customers and hopefully an even larger number of future customers or brand ambassadors (some of whom comment on this blog).
An Update on Production
Since I inevitably get these questions, I should offer the update that VIN F003 has been delivered to its owner. VIN F002, which is reserved by co-founder Martin Eberhard, is soon to be shipped to the states. It had to stick around for a while because our quality team replaced the roof panel to improve the fit and seal and since the custom paint job involves the roof we couldn’t send it over and then send the roof later.
I don’t plan to offer car by car updates to the public but rather plan to communicate periodic milestones. The early stage of production is slow paced by design so that we can ensure quality and deal with any process problems before we ramp up to a higher rate. This has been and continues to be the plan. The production rate will slowly increase over the summer but then accelerate in the fall.
Furthermore, we are performing a higher than usual amount of post-production testing on these first cars. If we find anything we don’t like, we re-work it until it is right. The process is designed to have most of the kinks worked out by the time we ramp up to higher rates of production but comprehensive quality checks of every car will always be part of the plan.
Some Final Random Musings
I don’t envy Europeans who work for California based companies – just as the work day is winding down everybody is just getting going in California and the emails start flying.
The cost of food in Monaco is sky high, although I don’t believe it has anything to do with bio-fuels. As a result, we ate a lot of pizza.
I think the Cote D’Azur is a fabulous place for Tesla Roadsters.
Aside from standing at the booth, the most exercise I have had in months is transferring flights at the Frankfurt Airport.
For the first time in my life, crying babies in airports didn’t irritate me, they just made me miss my baby girl more.
Posted in the categories: Company, On the road
Darryl,
Great post !!! Thanks for the update on your little vacation
LOL So glad to hear about all the good news including but not limited to P2-4. Speculation on P2 was extremely disturbing for some and I for one am glad that you just aired it all out with the truth. Glad to see production up and walking. Heres to hope that we see it running soon but at least baby steps are finally over. Can you tell us the approximate rate that cars are flowing through the assembly line ? Are there periodic ramps up between now and the fall or will there likely be just one big ramp up after the kinks are worked out ? How many cars are you anticpating will be delivered this year ? all 800? 1 more big announcement to go LOL 
Seriously HUGE congrats are in order !!!! Thanks and keep up the good work.
A car by car update is really over kill anyway at this point now that they are rolling off the line but how about a counter on the web page showing cars completed at the factor. That might be updated once a week or so and that would definately look great on the web site - CARS COMPLETED XXXX
And then Delivered is not a problem as some are custom etc and will take longer to complete as did 2 & 3 after 4.
Thanks for the commentary on the European experience and thanks especially for the production updates. It’s really great to know that cars are coming off the production line and making it to owners.
Darryl,
Thanks for the progress report. Each update renews my enthusiasm, calms fears, and boosts confidence that this car is well worth the wait (since Oct. ‘06). As the build times get closer I am reassured that my vehicle will be a hassle free, eco-thrill-ride I can drive for a long time. I enjoyed the travelogue with pics and video, since I don’t get to Monaco all that much. Glad to be in the loop! Mark
Great news on the P3 being delivered to its owner!!!!!!!!! Finally things are starting to roll here
))
On that note anyone have any idea who this car was delivered to?? I am really hoping with the current state of the gas prices, this car will get some serious media-hype!!! Thanx for the update.
GO TESLA GO!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have commented in the past about how five dollars per gallon for gasoline might get people here in the USA seriously considering alternatives to the ICE. However even I am surprised at how close that threshold seems to be. As gas prices continue to spiral Tesla owners are going to be the objects of much envy and jealousy as they cruise by gas stations. ( All the while justifying the wisdom of their investment ). It is a real shame that there have been unavoidable delays in the Whitestar program because the demand for those vehicles is most certainly going to exceed the supply for quite sometime. Tesla’s progress only underscores the lack of any real commitment by the mainsteam automobile industry to develop their alternative fuel vehicles in a timely manner. How much are you being offered for your SUV’s in trade now? ( It isn’t going to get better ).
Glad to see that you delivered a car to a customer (003) and an excellent read on your European experience.
Thanks for the update, glad to hear that you are going to take care of Martin’s car soon. Good luck with the very busy months ahead.
HOORAY! The second vehicle, VIN #3, has been delivered. Does it have the water cooled motor and enhanced power circuitry? Does it still have the previous 2-speed? When do you think you will move over to the one speed?
Congratulations again!
Great post, Darryl. Seriously. The blog was starting to feel more and more like press releases, so it’s good to see you getting back in the groove. You are clearly continuing that dialog that sets Tesla apart from other automakers - or most other companies in general.
It’s nice to see Marc and Martin’s names mentioned. You (we) all share a common passion, despite our differences in opinion on how it will be realized.
By the way, how old is your baby girl?
Thanks - my girl Gemma is just about 1 year old - Darryl
I have searched your site for answers to my question about ergonomics, but I don’t find anything… Can anyone tell me if this vehicle will be comfortable to drive for a man that stands 6′6″ tall and weighs 260#?
Zak Edson, our member services leader, is 6″ 5″ and he has no problems ergonomically - ed.
Great! When are we getting our car? As soon as all of the other founders?
www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145479/battery_shortage_should_evaporate_by_q3.html
Why show an article about laptop batteries, Max? how is this related? Besides Tesla makes their batteries in Thailand I think…
Congratulations on a stunning European debut.
## We will be updating portions of the website that are outdated along the way. ##
Well, I hope you leave the blogs untouched. We’re all passionate about those as well!
If neccessary, archive the whole thing as theteslaroadster.com. The significant impact that Tesla has had in Europe is down to the synergy of a unique product plus a unique web-presence.
Looking forward to reading tesla(insert production name for whitestar here).com
Hey theteslaroadster.com is a real site!
Yet another enthusiast in the geek-sphere
I would like to ask you if it is possible to make right –hand cars. I also want to know if you have all the necessary European standards.
The price differences between a base model versus a fully loaded model is not the issue.
The market value of the Dollar versus the Euro/Pound is not the issue.
The issue is that you are barely in production with a long way to go to fill current U.S. orders, not to mention new U.S. orders you will be getting now that it is more apparent that the Tesla is not “vapor-ware”, yet you decide to redirect production to sell 250 cars in Europe instead of filling the U.S. needs first. The car (shell) may be being built in Europe (for now), but I thought Tesla was supposed to be an AMERICAN company. Where is your national pride and loyalty?
Very nice! I’m very glad to hear that VP N° 3 is deleavered and other cars VP 2 and 4 are on the way! Also I’am pleased to hear of your success here in Europe, Monaco, that cars also will be sold in switzerland, although the price is out of my reach, at least this year.
I’m just wondering for whom was VP 3: Is it for Arnie? Is it for George Clooney?
Anyway, great news! Keep on your great job!
Dale, that’s a real knee-slapper. National pride and loyalty? Jeez, you’d think they were selling nuclear secrets or something.
The current plan (which doesn’t seem at all unattainable) is to have production “ramped up” by the end of the year to a level that should make the 2009 US orders easy to fill. So by the time they start delivering European cars this shouldn’t be an issue. But more than that, since when does American “national pride” require domestic companies not to sell products overseas? It’s a capitalist country last I checked, and to expect a company not to sell in a market whose massive currency imbalance provides much higher gross margins is to deny a lot of what America is about in the first place.
You want to be a patriot? Make America an exporter again…maybe now with the dollar falling off a cliff we can do something about that trade deficit.
Carolyn,
Since you are on here I wanted to express that we ALL hope tha you get your car soon - though not as much as you I assume
But more importantly I want to express my gratitude for all of the efforts and talents that your husband put into the creation of this ground breaking company. He will always be remembered fondly by many of us here in the blog that feel like we know him - even if only through his writings. I would like you to know that we, or at least I, wish him great sucess in the future and are proud of him for the work that he did at TM. THANK YOU !
It’s been a long time coming, but thank God (and Tesla) that it’s here. Given that electric cars outnumbered gas cars at the turn of the 19th century it is indeed shocking that it took us so long to get here, but that fact should not deter us from celebrating the arrival of the Tesla. Godspeed! Steve
Dale wrote
## I thought Tesla was supposed to be an AMERICAN company. Where is your national pride and loyalty? ##
Hell Yeah! The only American vehicle that belongs in Europe in large numbers is the Sherman Tank! Goddammit, you’re even selling to the French!
Actually, old chap we’re a bit embarrassed about this too, don’t you know. You fellows have done such a top notch job, so we promise we’ll queue up quietly and try not to snicker.
Oh and please could someone ask GM to STOP selling in Europe? Thanks awfully.
Please tell us how you will handle the registration tax and the homologation : in particular, in France and Denmark. Here there are exemptions for electrical cars - but they were meant for bicycles ! Do you know for sure that they will apply to Tesla ?
Great News Darryl on getting the second car out!
Dale
The dollar value IS the issue. Tesla is a business, not the Oprah show.
Mike
–
Darryl,
is it true that P3 was manufactured before P2? If so, what were the reasons for this?
I’m SO glad to hear we’ll be getting Tesla Roadsters here in Europe. I’m by no means a rich man, and the price is about twice what I would normally consider for a car purchase, but when offset against the ridiculous price of petrol here, lower maintenance costs and so on, I can really see myself getting one. Definitely not one of the first signature edition models, because I’m going to have to save for a year or two first, but sometime in the early part of next decade I’m glad to say that I’ll be a loyal Tesla customer from that day on. (also, by waiting a couple of years, I expect dramatic improvements in quality due to the “blossoming” of the Electric Car industry).
Ben;
Yes, by the time you consider all the reg taxes, etc., the Roadster starts to look a lot more mid-priced in the EU, doesn’t it?
Darryl:
–owner: hey, c’mon, is the P3 owner a secret? Is he trying to go incognito? Tell!
–manufacturing: Is the same pipeline/factory supplying EU and US? Or will there be a dedicated fab for the EU? Are EU sales at the expense of US supply and delivery? Those are the questions implicit in the qvetching about selling into the EU so soon.
And PLEASE do the counter-on-website thingy! It’s easy, honest! And it will galvanize interest like you wouldn’t believe. People LOVE watching these things!!!
Dear Darryl,
Thought it was about time i put in my 2 cents (euros!) . I’m french, live in France (born in england,- half english half french - go easy on the insults fellow englishmen!) and if you think your ‘gas’ (petrol) is expensive come fill your tank up here!
Although i could never afford the roadster i’ve been following it passionately for about a year and a half, and I go on about it to pratically everyone i meet (even mentioned it in a job interview today!). I would have loved to come see you in Monaco but couldn’t make it, maybe if you’re at the Paris show i’ll be able to come and see your revolutionary car.
Thanks for taking the time to write these blogs, i come here almost every day to check for news, i really hope you succeed!!!
One question bothers me - Do you feel any ‘pressure’ coming from oil lobbyists and such? I mean, if this was the seventies, you’d probably all be sleeping with the fish for what your trying to accomplish! Thank goodness for the internet and high oil prices - public awareness (and your proving that the roadster is actually feasible!) is making it harder to discredit your efforts or close you down.
And thanks to all the rich, eco friendly people (just shows that you can have money and a heart at the same time!) who are investing in the future by buying the roadster (i’ll cheer you guys/girls if i see you drive past me!) One day thanks to these early adopters maybe the average person will be able to drive around without destroying the atmosphere and inducing conflict over oil.
Last of all thanks to all those at Tesla and to you Darryl, hope you had a nice time here in France.
A bientôt peut être?
Anthony from BORDEAUX
Darryl, you are one fine PR bullhalibuter…
Anthony;
what are the up-front purchase taxes for ICE sportscars like in France? What is the equivalent all-in price comparison like there?
Brian H: It seems it is Jeff Skoll and that p3 is actually p2 vin3. Clear as mud?
Other questions, you asked and he likely will ignore: yes same pipeline and I could not see any way they could deliver the EU cars without bumping US orders. Remember there were 2 levels or orders, one was confirmed with larger deposit (priority order) and the other was smaller deposit with no assurances on timeline.
Thanks for all the info. You have no idea how us fanatics savor the little details you spit out for us/
By the way, the counter for how many EVs you’ve made is a really good idea. It’ll be like Mc Donald’s:
XXXX Cars Served
Chris,
No, as Darryl mentioned, the custom work on P2 is what made it go slower than P3 and P2 had some quality assurance problems whish held it back as well. P4 also was completed before P2.
Brian,
Come on - give P3 a little privacy if he/she wants. I am sure that Darryl is not at the liberty to divulge the ID unless he has permission from the owner. Besides if it was a HUGE celebrity it would be on the news. Probably one of the co-founders.
And all the worries about ssales in EU are rediculous. They are selling 2009s there and only 250 of them. They will not be delivered before the 2008 US customers and 2009 US customers are not sold out yet so what is the big deal. come on ….
Hi
Great to read this new blog. Great news for European TM Fans, no need to say many people are anxious to have news about Tesla Motors.
Great to know VIN 002, 003, 004, … are coming out from production, the Tesla store in LA is open… congratulations for all.
I believe the effort and the patience of the owners of these first roadsters will be worthed.
And come on, give TM a break. I have no idea about Chevy Volt production dates (and I don’t really care), Toyota Volta remains as a concept car. The Tesla Roadster is well ahead the big boys regarding EVs production and performance (with a much smaller budget but with a lot of creativity and hard work)
Best regards
Enrique
# Brian H wrote: what are the up-front purchase taxes for ICE sportscars like in France? What is the equivalent all-in price comparison like there?
I don’t know about France, but I know about Denmark: For comparison I found the prize of an Porsche Boxster, standard options (cheapest possible) in the US:
45.800$ not included MSRP (whatever that means). Then I found the same model in Denmark and used a webbased currency-calculator to do the math:
191.868$ incl. taxes. Now, for the final drumroll: Since electric vehicles don’t pay the same special taxes as all the ICE-vehicles the final prizetag for a Tesla sums to:
192.157$ incl. taxes. This way, with substantially better mileage (costs 1/5 pr mile), much less maintenance, no annual green taxes of 1040$ (that’s what you pay for keeping your Porsche in your garage all year only wearing licenseplates) faster 0-60, I’d say the Tesla looks a lot better in the long run (and the short for that matter).
P.S. gasoline in Denmark is just below 8$/gallon
Kevin,
I appreciate your response to my question, however I think that you are missing the big picture here. I know what Darryl said in his post. I also know what he skillfully and intentionally omitted. I would just like Mr. Siry to go on record in a public forum, in front of his customers and potential future customers, as to if Tesla Motors built P2 and P3 (and possibly others) out of VIN # sequence, and what the REAL reason was for doing this.
If you are getting all, or most, of your information from the Tesla Motors site, then you are missing a lot. Try looking at the Tesla Founders Blog, or the Tesla Motors Club site and you will see what I mean.
BTW, I understand that Darryl Siry is in a difficult position. He has his dream job, and he doesn’t want to lose it. However, he is fully aware of what happens to Tesla employees that oppose the will of Chairman Musk. He is doing what he believes he has to in order to keep his dream job, and unfortunately that includes willfully misleading loyal Tesla supporters. I do not envy him his task, but I also do not condone his actions.
All the best,
Chris H.
Chris - you are a piece of work! Yes, I have been cringing in the dark dungeons of Tesla Motors fearing for my job as I am forced to be dishonest to the teeming hordes demanding the truth be told about the sinister plots we have been hatching.
Just kidding of course - I am not at all afraid for my job - I just typically don’t feel like I should be at the beck and call of people demanding information from me and accusing me of deception. If I want that I’ll just go to “the truth about cars”. I was the one who called Martin personally months ago and told him that VINF003 had already been started when we put VINF002 on the line. I don’t see how I could have been any more forthcoming since I volunteered the information without his asking. I also don’t think it is inconsistent with what I have said before and what is written in the sales agreement, that we reserve the right to produce cars in whatever order we deem necessary. There will be other circumstances where we go out of sequence, but I don’t feel the need to tell you why or under what circumstances.
Things are fine at Tesla Motors and we are making progress on a lot of fronts. We had a great company meeting today celebrating a lot of positive things such as our store opening, European launch, new battery manufacturing facility, and future plans. We are in a great position for the future and people here are intensely focused on the job at hand and not on rehashing past drama ad nauseum. I’m sure I’ve given you plenty of good material here for the next cycle of sinister plots and personal attacks, but you will have to have that discussion elsewhere because I’m not going to clutter this blog with such nonsense.
Darryl
Re: Next generation of Tesla Vehicles
Like most other Tesla fans I’m delighted with the progress the Roadster is making . However . . .
With gas prices destined to hit $8/US gallon within a couple of years (and who knows how much in the rest of the world) I really hope that behind the scenes the next generation EV is getting closer to production. Tesla has made its point. EV’s can be “awsome, sexy, cool, green” etc. But for most of us the two-seater sporscar is either too expensive or impractical for every day use.
Of course I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes in California and it could be that production of an “EV family car” (Whitestar or whatever name you want to give it) is much closer that it appears . . . But it would be nice to have more information forthcoming, because frankly I believe the world is more than ready for such a vehicle.
Peter J Hedge’
Victoria, BC
I am not so sure about the counters for Cars produced and delivered. It will be very heavily scrutinized and people will wonder why it isn’t going up faster or why it hasn’t changed in a while. I also don’t like the idea that such a counter might be associated with a certain fast food chain (that I avoid at all costs after a few bad experiences). I would personally rather see a blog that says “We have produced the first X cars. This is what production is like, here are some non-proprietary things we learned, and here is some non-proprietary data on where we expect to go”. Perhaps a blog or press release for specific
Now that the Roadster is in production purchasing one myself becomes very tempting. For me this is my dream car and I would love to have a Roadster, but lately there have been a couple of practical things nagging me:
-I can borrow and repay the money, but where would my insurance rate end up? Would it be a tipping point in affordability?
-how much would it cost for annual maintenance if you aren’t near one of the service centres? I know that without the ICE there isn’t much maintenance from year to year, but there is bound to be something that needs attention.
-would I be able to take the car back to Canada when my work visa ends in a few years?
It would be a nice little upgrade from my current TDI. The only other problem I would have is the 1500km trip back to my parents’ place near North Bay for holidays - I’d probably have to keep my TDI for those trips, find a string or Tesla friendly hotels/motels or take the train…
Chris, regarding insurance costs a quick call to your provider will answer that question. Also, you could _not_ take your roadster back to Canada so that may be a deal breaker for you. I don’t think anyone is in a position to comment on annual maintenance until the car has been out for a number of years but in theory there would be no costs aside from unexpected failures. It will be interesting to see what tesla includes in terms of service / support / waranty.
I too would like to see a counter, but it should be of DELIVERED vehicles, not starting production. Yes there are always those who will complain that it doesn’t go up fast enough, but it will save us from asking every two days. Also I would like to see a blog on production, describing the process and some of the problems and fixes.
# Brian H wrote: what are the up-front purchase taxes for ICE sportscars like in France? What is the equivalent all-in price comparison like there?
I just tried to calculate the prices in Finland: The cheapest new Porsche Boxter costs $108.085 (or 69.900€ incl. all taxes), while the Tesla Roadster would be something around $205.000 (incl. taxes, assuming the car is imported from within EU. If it is imported from USA, the price would be around $230.000 incl. taxes).
In Finland the new car tax is based only on CO2 emissions, with the tax being between 10% and 40% of the car price depending on the emissions (g/km value / 10 + 4). So I guess Tesla Roadster would get a 10% car tax, and then 22% VAT added on top of the sum of original price + car tax + VAT of the car tax.
Car tax for the Porsche Boxter is 26.2% (222g/km / 10 + 4).
Roy,
I too would like to see DELIVERED but I was thinking that it would be easier for them to track units completed at the factory rather than actually DELIVERED to the customers. I am sure that there are a dew cars that have been completed but have not gotten to the US and in the hands of customers. What I was asking for was cars COMPLETED at the factory not started at the factory. In other words done and waiting to be shipped to customers.
Even with an electric motor, you would still need routine maintenance on the transmission, the AC and coolant systems, check and replace faulty battery cells (with 6k, a few are bound to go bad sooner then expected - which itself should be expected), and tires. The regenerative braking is supposed to save a lot of wear on the pads and rotors, but I would assume you’d want to have them checked every 20k miles or so, and probably replace the pads and machine the rotors.
Are the brakes and power steering hydraulic? If so, are those pumps run off of a separate electric motor or somehow off the drive train? If so, that’s more systems to have to be maintained.
I’d also be interested to know what kind of suspension it features - I think most people they of this as being a completely “dry” car, no fluids at all, but I don’t know how you could get away without CV joints and the appropriate amounts of goop grease.
I’ve heard a lot about the 4 second 0-60 time, but never heard anything about the roadster’s 1/8 and 1/4 times. And how much tuning is the roadster capable of? Any at all? Any plans to race them (even at just a non-competitive show)?
Gabe, I think it’s been discussed here that a few cells going bad in the pack is anticipated, but relatively benign. That is to say they are ignored until the pack as a whole gets down to the level where the big 100,000+ mile servicing is due. I don’t think there will be any need for “bad cell checks” as long as the battery still has enough range to suit you, after which it’ll be overhauled completely. Similarly, I wouldn’t anticipate much routine maintenance on a single-speed transmission. Maybe have it looked at every 100k miles? Everything else you mentioned (brakes, AC, CV joints) are standard items that ought to be serviceable at any ordinary mechanic outfit.
That’s not to say the service question has been completely handled. In particular I’m interested in how you get body work when you wreck the thing. I understand carbon fiber isn’t exactly easily repairable…can Tesla ship out new panels to the local body shop? Or does the car have to take a trailer to CA? I’d like to see some of these service details filled in, perhaps along with a firm warranty policy etc.
Patrick and Hansen, those numbers are very interesting. It surprises me that the differences are so vast between EU countries. It amazes me that the Boxster can really cost more than four times as much in Denmark as it does here. And of course I think it’s fantastic that even the higher European price of the Roadster is so competitive there…no one in the US would claim that the Roadster was price-competitive with the Boxster. In fact, it’s worth noting that even the Finnish pricing is closer than it is here…the Roadster in Finland costs 89% more than the Boxster, whereas here it’s a 113% percent difference.
As a side note, Patrick, where did you get the CO2 numbers on the Roadster? Do those numbers assume a particular grid power mix? Also, I didn’t include any taxes when I figured the US price differences…EV incentives vary by state, and some states actually tax EVs more than ICE cars to make up for not paying gas taxes that go to roads and other infrastructure. In most cases it seems like the difference is small enough that it doesn’t change the relative price that much.
Greets from Poland
Today there was an article in our countrywide newspaper about Tesla Motors. Darryl…. Does Your finger reach so far?
For comparison I might add the Norwegian price of the roadster as sold by a Norwegian supplier is: 799 000 NOk or $156 000 with todays exchange rate. Source: www.finn.no/finn/car/object?finnkode=13280158 Looking at the boxter the price including taxes in Norway is $142 500, while the Cayenne Turbo is $419 700 in Norway including Norwegian taxes (pigouvian cartaxes and standard sales tax). Our cartax system doesn’t like big heavy cars with lots of horsepower. The Corvette Z06 on the other hand is a steal at $342 400.
Chris,
Thanks for the post back. I read your post in TMC as well. I am having issues with that blog so I could not respond there. Hopefully you can at least read here !!! I can not seem to register with TMC so I can’t post. I did register and when I go to log in it says name does not exist but when I try to register again it says name already taken.
I understand all sides better now but reserve judgement. Guess I was just too nieve.
Kevin Harney, It’s sounds like you mistyped your password. Also the TMC site was flaky all day yesterday. You might try resetting your password.
Anyhow, enough drama. I’m excited with the progress the company is making.
I’m curious about the Menlo Park service center since it’s in my neighborhood. When do you think it will open? Is there anything going on at the location now? How extensive will the renovations be? Are you guys gonna keep that octagonal roof section?
Those interested can see some recent pics of the place here:
www.teslamotorsclub.com/tesla-motors/644-menlo-park-sales-service-center.html#post7735
We are targeting July for the opening of the Menlo Park Store
Darryl,
WHAT ABOUT ASIA……i am from India and the Tesla is going to absolutely rock over here…it is just what is required in this time when everyone is buying cars out here…imagine lots of vehicles but no pollution…nirvana
“We are targeting July for the opening of the Menlo Park Store”
Great. Thanks for the info. Sounds like the structure won’t be changing much, then. The place used to be a Chevy dealership so it shouldn’t need as much work as the LA center. Then again the place really needs a face lift. Hopefully Tesla along with the recently rebuilt Safeway will help revitalize that stretch of El Camino Real.
Doug,
Now I can finally log in but TMC will never send me a validation e mail. I have requested it 2-3 times now and it never comes. I am sure that is why I can not post. I will keep working on it
sigh ….. But thanks for the help. Any other advise would be appreciated.
Darryl,
Is there any reason why these store openeing are not BIG press events? Glad to hear that MP is openeing soon and there seems to be better press on store 2 that there was on store 1. Perhaps it was the guest list for store 1 that caused it to be more hush hush ?!?!?!?! When you are revamping the web site for the EU customers do you think you will be able to place a car counter on the site too ? I hate to keep asking questions about what is done and keep getting no answers. It just doesn’t seem like this is information that needs to be withheld for any reason to me but perhaps I am missing something …
Looking forward to you response. Thanks.
glad you presented it to europeans
Glad some Europeans got to drive it too !! Hi Darryl. Great to have met you and the Tesla team in Monaco.
Thanks especially to Diarmuid for the drive.
I clipped together a few moments from my lap round the Monaco Grand prix circuit….Be warned it is by no means a pro edit job!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF8nAv6AFm4
As for the Tesla, Clarkson will no doubt also join me and say…. its absolutely astonishing…
Can someone please post something on whitestar? There is a real dearth of information and the blog seems like an appropriate place to rectify this. Originally I thought tesla would be first out of the gate with a sedan but now it looks like gm and even fisker will beat them to the punch. That is pretty sad.
Not trying to be controversial, but I’m curious about the rationale behind assigning of VIN’s out of sequence. Doesn’t that lower the value/legitimacy of the VIN as an indication of production order for car collectors?
Kevin,
Only other advice I could give you is that I think there’s a “contact us” button on the page and maybe the administrator or one of the moderators can help you.
Tim Sutton,
We’ve been watching that awesome video for over a week. Thanks for posting!!
Could you tell us a bit more about your experience? Thanks.
Doug I have tried that too.
No response there either.
Pete,
We are all waiting anxiously - to no avail it seems - for news on the Whitestar. It seems to be like talking to the air with no responses. As far as the Volt is concerned I am pretty sure that TM doesn’t have to worry about GM beating them to the market. Big wheels turn extremely slow !!! But things are still in the air on Karma. Everything they release seems really far fetched and hard to believe but in the back of my mind there is always a possibility. All the law suits there mean that TM probably can’t talk about it but I sure can
I really don’t care who comes out with it first I will be buying one of them … I hope it is a Tesla but who knows.
Haha Sure Doug, I wondered if everyone here may have already seen it. Cheers !!!
After I got the offer to go for a drive, I was then walked through to the show to the outside supercar pit lane by Diarmuid and he handed me the keys….After I scraped my jaw off the sidewalk I mumbled something about not being worthy and quickly jumped in before he changed his mind!!! If I had had been in any of the other cars there, I would have worried about stalling, burning the clutch, looking a muppet, etc etc infront of hundreds of supercar fans, but with the Tesla, I just took my foot of the break and we smoothed up the exit ramp, as easily and as silently as you like…. I have driven an elise a few times and the steering is similarly weighty, being not powered, which heightens the direct feedback you get from the road. But apart from that, the sensations you get are all totally new. You hear the tyres, the wind, the freakin mopeds, and not a lot else….Just pulling off, you have absolutely no idea this is such a quick car, it is all so uneventful and easy…. untill you squeeze the right pedal…. it then just hyperspaces off like someone just cut a bungy cord…it really is phenomenal and I really only used a tiny fraction of the power….I cant wait to properly abuse one in the alps…haha
With regard to Whitestar, it is out in 2010. What more do you need to know except to start saving your $60,000 ??!
I’d like to add my support for a “car counter” on the website; perhaps something cute like “__ Oil-free Customers Served.” If there are any sensitivities towards starting something like this now, that’s fine–but keep it in mind for the future when it might serve a concerted purpose. For example, an organization like the CARB could use it as a benchmark for their “real-options” calculations on when to up the regulatory ante.
Here’s another idea for a custom Tesla owners could start: honk at the gas stations and wave as you drive by (just a little “toot-toot”–nothing disrespectful). This would make a good television commercial in 3-5 years when most people in the country have been “toot-toot-ed” at.
Kevin, I was having the same problem at TMC when I first got involved. I created my account and later never received a validation email to confirm that account. I sent a response to the administer. In the end, I just had to create another account. The second account worked fine. As for Tesla, its been awhile since I’ve posted. I’m glad to see things are moving along. I’ve been following the company for years now. As for Darryl, I think hes doing an alright job. At first he gave me the impression he’d be a stab someone in the back type for personal gain. Who knows! I just want Tesla Motors to succeed. Failure is not an option of course. Just get the job done. We are running out of time and fast. Peak oil may end up taking center stage over global warming soon. Get the job done. Thank you.
Kevin;
Yes, the 250 isn’t the issue, it’s the long-term (next 4 years?) production pipeline, I guess. That’s when demand will simultaneously explode in both EU and US.
Chris;
I guess you’ll just have to wait for the Silicon Nanowire batteries, that will give 2,000-mile+ range for your electric trip home!
Any chance of letting the Top Gear team loose on the new European Tesla. Let’s see what time the Stig can achieve against the other supercars tested. If you win over these guys with the associated massive publicity then you have got yourself a winner globally. The problem is then how to satisfy demand. You will have ten million people wanted Teslas. Why not raise a couple of billion in an early IPO and buy Chrysler or Ford to turn the handle for you. I am sure there a lot of car workers in Detroit with families to feed that would welcome the opportunity. Strike while the iron is hot.
“Since I inevitably get these questions”…. Well, of course! You make it sound like a burden. Schmoozing with celebrities is fun and important in its own way, but really it’s mostly about PRODUCTION from here on out.
Arthur;
Yep, reverse takeovers! If you look at the balance sheets of many of those outfits, net equity (assets - liabilities) is often trivial, or even negative. So you use the firm’s own money to buy up the stock. Lotsa fun!
Hey just want so say this car looks amazing!! Not only the perfomance but the look is NEATO! I can’t believe it took so halibut long to have a good car rolling, humans want to send rockets to mars but they can’t make an electric car???
I’m about to start university and was trying to figure out a path to end up working in the electric car industry. I was wondering if somebody could give me some advice with that.
Thanks and keep it up tesla!
Autoblog Green story on the P2-vs-P3 saga:
www.autobloggreen.com/2008/05/12/tesla-saga-continues-when-is-production-car-2-not/
I think Sam wrote a fair article, presenting both sides of the issue.
As the indy 500 approaches it occured to me that you guys should try to become the pace car next year!
>>Tim Sutton, Switzerland wrote on May 9th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
>>With regard to Whitestar, it is out in 2010. What more do you need to know except to start saving your $60,000 ?
You’ll have more time than that as I don’t expect 2010 to be a viable target anymore because of the dearth of information here on WhiteStar. 2010 is two years away and prototypes haven’t even been mentioned anywhere yet, possibly because of the delayed tranny and production on the Roadster. Keep in mind Tesla is very under-capitalized vs. the mega-manufacturers, so what they say (2010) vs. when it actually arrives remains to be seen. There’s an awful lot of work to be done yet. Of course, if they actually do show up with a sedan I’ll be pleasantly surprised, but notice Tesla is not taking WhiteStar orders yet as they did two years ago with Roadster, nor are there any photos of WhiteStar or anything but sketches (and even those are hard to find.)
Elon may, after all, just sell Tesla once Roadster production stabilizes (those that start businesses can’t stand to run ‘em or do not have the skills to do so. Hey, he has the right.) so WhiteStar remains vaporware in my mind until proven otherwise.
Gee you have been lsitening to me Tesla! Appointing Larry Sansoni to the board shows you are serious about IPO. It just comes down to how many billions do you want and what are you going to do with it. My suggestion is buy GM, sack their senior management but keep the Volt program and build around that. Look to get the Tesla Volt in production in 2009 as you will not be hamstrung to Big Oil that shafted you anyway on the EV1.
Looking forward to the IPO and buying a piece of Tesla for myself.
David,
You are probably one of the people that said the Roadster is vaporware for the last 2 years. Now that you can’t do that you are on to the Whitestar. If the Whitestar is anything like the Roadster they will have a working EP when they announce anything. The announcement is supposed to be out in the next 45 days or so ….
GM enterprise value: 32B
David,
Also it was less than 2 years from EP to P on the Roadster so why would that be any different on the Whitestar? 2010 is 2 years from now so why is that schedule any different ?
a good read.
Hello, sorry i have only a little comment, maybe offtopic in this side but…i love your car and the concept of the “electric car” but in my mind one think turns..it’s like a big WHY?
Why your company have made a fantastic roadster that only some few rich men in the world will be able to buy??!!
Maybe i’m very stupid to don’t understand that your company is an “american company” and i’m only a little man from a little town in Italy…far away from the “american dreams”..money money money…anyway sorry..
maybe to solve the pollution problem, the biggest problem in the world (not only in some big house with swimming pool)…maybe…we have to find ways that ALL people can get, not only million dollars boys, isn’t true guys?
Ok..i’m boring your time i see pleasedon’t worry i’m just going to finish now…in any case…if you are in project to build some litte automobile like Fiat 500 sales for only 9900 euro(ops i forgot one zero), i will yours!
Have nice day…and a “gold” future!
The combination of Telsa Motors’ decision to shutter the ESS plant in Thailand, their inability to deliver P2 to Mr. Eberhard and the push for a $100M IPO all imply that the company is running out of money. Tesla Motors has a fantastic idea which turned into a great product and originally they seemed to be executing quite well; alas, now they seem to be stumbling. Did Big Oil send their black helicopters to San Carlos?
Augusto Giovanelli: Tesla Motors starts as a small company compared to the other automakers, with a limited production of a few hundred cars a year. Development of this new electric car was expensive, so in order to keep the company going, the first model had to be expensive. However, with a lot of the development paid for by the first model, and with what they have learned, the 2nd Tesla model will be less expensive. By the time the 3rd model is ready, Tesla should have production lines to turn out thousands or millions of cars, bringing the cost down even more. So be patient, electric cars for the average person will arrive someday.
Remember that the first computers, the first televisions, and the first cars were all very expensive, only for the very rich or big businesses or governments. But in every case, improvements in production brought down the price so they are affordable to almost everyone. The same will happen with electric cars.
Hello freinds, I am engineer in Spain, and I interested in work for Tesla Motors , also I want to buy Tesla car model S and I want to check this model in Spain Weather.
Thanks you.