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The Principality of Monaco is a perfect home for Tesla Motors, and on Tuesday November 24th we opened our doors in a regal way in the heart of Monte Carlo and the Carre D’Or. H.S.H. Prince Albert II, a devoted car enthusiast and environmentalist joined CEO Elon Musk to cut the symbolic ribbon officially opening our store. Musk thanked his Highness for his commitment to sustainability and for his unwavering support of Tesla Motors. Other guests adding glamour to the event included Prince Bernhard of Holland, former Formula 1 driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and noted television host, Margaux Lafitte.
A customer car and 2 EU marketing Roadsters
Boulevard des Moulins
A Home Connector at the Store
Monaco is the perfect base for Tesla sales and service in Southern Europe. Neighboring France and Italy, our mobile service teams are a quick trip away from many European cities, and many nearby states offer generous incentives for people looking to make the switch to electric vehicles.
H.S.H Prince Albert II and Elon Musk
Prince Albert II & Elon Musk
Elon Musk with TV Reporters
Dozens of journalists were on hand to report the occasion as the excitement built throughout the evening. We presented a brand new Roadster to François Xavier Moutel who runs a French renewable energy development company and a French staffing agency. Frederic Pucheu, who recently launched a electric vehicle rental company in Toulouse, signed an order for his very own Tesla Roadster.
Next time you find yourself in Monaco, please pay us a visit!
Check out more photos of the event on our Facebook Page.
Posted in the categories: Uncategorized
Very short comment: Who cares?
Longer explanation: Tesla Roadster, while being pretty revolutionary car, is a expensive toy that majority of people wouldn’t buy even if they could. WE WANT INFORMATION ABOUT TYPE S. And possible news about planned next generation of Tesla cars (you know, the one that pretty much everybody should be able to buy).
Otherwise you start to lose one of your major marketing channel which is this blog. People read this, and those of us that have read this tell other people what is happening in Tesla Motors. By looking at this site I have to say: not much. No development, no news, no new information, nothing. Opening a store somewhere doesn’t really count as information. Anybody can open a store. Even I could do that, I just need something to sell. Customer experiences are getting old news, Engineering blog haven’t been updated for a year, leadership tells us that things are pretty much Status Quo.
So I ask again: Who cares if you open a store in Monaco?
I like to see that Tesla is progressing and expanding. This store shows that they are still growing their reach at a time when others are struggling to simply tread water. I continue to debate whether I want to afford the Roadster. One roadblock in that choice is where the Model S stands. If they announced the location of the factory and started construction/renovation I missed it. I love the Model S prototype, but I want some more concrete assurance of forward progress on the Model S before I make any leaps. While an update to the engineering blog would be awesome (there must be many cool things (perhaps some of them sharable) the engineers have learned over the last year) the blog I really want to see will have pictures of the Model S factory with a clear statement regarding whether the release is on track or has slipped (it is an ambitious project with a lot of moving parts - a slip would not surprise or substantially disappoint me unless I felt it was hidden).
Timo– you seem quite angry. Take a breath, relax….feel better?
You asked why is it news that they opened a store in Monaco? It’s news because it’s never been done before. Regardless of the price of the product, it’s groundbreaking and is a great first step towards reaching a mass market. I have a feeling once they release the Model S you will be saying “it’s a $50,000 car, why is this news? Most people can’t afford it.”. True, most can’t afford a $50,000 car but maybe they’ll release a $30,000 car down the road. Who knows?
Bottom line: Relax and let Tesla roll cars out as they see fit. If their model requires them to start with a $100,000+ model then so be it. Sales from that will finance the ability to build the $50,000 model.
Chris R. I’m pretty sure there has been some other stores opened in Monaco. That’s not something that has not been done before. Nothing groundbreaking and not “great first step”. There was store opened in München before that and that is just as “groundbreaking” as this IOW not at all groundbreaking.
I’m not sure they will ever release Type S. Apparently there has been no development in a year or so in Type S. That “unveiled” Type S was just Roadster in new chassis, and as such it has too low battery capacity and life expectancy to be acceptable.
IF they ever make Type S it isn’t expensive toy. I might buy one. But I’m not holding my breath. I’m guessing all big car companies are ahead Tesla by the time they might have something put together, which, judging by this website, is never.
I agree, in general, with all the above comments.
I know that a $30k compact is expected to come on the heels of the Model S, where they were looking at Canada as a possible location for manufacture, due to the scale of demand they expect when it should roll off the assembly line in 2014. I stumbled across that info in an online article somewhere recently.
I also agree that the lack of updates regarding factory progress and Model S specs is very frustrating.
However, I also agree that, if one of the updates is to announce a delay, I’m fine with that, too. That does not shake my confidence. I’d rather Tesla take the time they need to get the job done right, rather than rush for the sake of publicity. Recalls and/or total failures are what will get the greatest headlines and what people will remember, not whether the product debut was on time.
Plus, with the DOE loan, I have 100% confidence that the Model S will become a reality. This is the company that delivered the fantastic, revolutionary Roadster without that kind of help. The DOE loan is a guaranteed, stable source of capital, with an expected return that is known up front (fixed interest rate). Plus, that should help Tesla avoid an IPO. I fear that if/when it happens, the company dynamics will change for the worse. Who knows. Additionally, I found out that they set the timeline for the Model S debut at 2 years from the beginnings of the DOE loan disbursements, which should have happened by now, so we can expect the Model S to start delivering on or after Thanksgiving, 2011.
Once I have sufficient funds lying around, I’ll part with $5k and put down my reservation for one (sometime this Spring, at the latest). I’m going for the 230 mile pack in order to make the 6 or so annual trips to see family out-of-state. Plus, it could run down to less than 80% of it’s capacity, and still be enough for my needs - I wouldn’t need to replace the battery for a good 10 years (hopefully).
GO TESLA!!
Tom A.
I agree that it is very frustrating that they do not give any info whatsoever about Type S. Type S minisite is just hype, not facts. Only real fact we know about Type S is that it will have 17 inch infoscreen (which BTW is something that can be very bad if not thoroughly tested in dark environment). That’s about it. That and what it will look alike.
About that battery sustainability I wouldn’t be so sure that it would be enough for you. Roadster battery is said to lose 70% of its capacity after 50000 miles. That’s something that somebody like me drives in about three years. Or used to drive. Type S 230 mile battery would be about same size, maybe slightly bigger.
I don’t know how much daily commuting you would be doing so I’m guessing something like 25 miles on average / day. Those 6 out-of-state annual trips (how much distance? 200 miles?) + 25 * 359 =~ 11000 miles, so you would have 70% left in your battery in five years, not ten.
Of course it is possible that Type S has better battery, but there is no info about that. There is no info about anything that concerns Type S. Just speculations and not-too-reliable promises.
It’s nice to see that Tesla motors have expanded and opened their new store at Monaco. That’s something to be happy about and not something to rant on as I’ve notice in some of the comments posted up here. A company that is expanding is something you should be happy about because it will give them more room for improvement.
I was not aware of how fast the Roadster batteries were wearing out. It’s only been a little over a year since the first delivery, so I don’t know how many miles any single Roadster has accummulated, and under what conditions (driving conditions, ambient temp, recharge rate, etc.). It would be interesting to see such data on this website. If it shows poor results, then it may be hard to find. Is there any publicly-available owner forums from which that info could be gleaned?
As far as my needs go, I take public transportation most of the week. My time spent in a car is mostly weekend errands (barely 6 mile round-trip, lots of traffic lights) so that’s very shallow discharging, thus allowing a longer battery life. When I do have to drive to work, or to reach non-work activities, then it’s anywhere from 30 to 50 mile round-trips about once per week (moderate discharge depths). The out-of-state trips are 160 miles one way, which is too close to the 160-mile pack theoretical limits, obviously, particularly over the lifespan of the pack.
I would charge it slow, overnight, so that should help reduce stress on the battery. It’s my understanding that fast recharge rates are harder on the battery than slower rates.
Anyway, that’s it for now…I check the various threads every few days.
P.S. - the infamous 17″ infotainment touchscreen:
The lack of tactile feedback on something that large is asking for trouble while driving. Besides, I don’t want “info-tained” when I’m driving. I want critical status information, which the dashboard already provides - lights, power, speed, temp, etc. Other than for navigation purposes, that huge screen is asking for problems in terms of driver distraction.
It’s size alone is borderline crazy. I have a 13″ Macbook, and it’s big enough for everything I do online. I’ve never had a visibility problem while navigating with my 4″ Garmin unit that sits suction-cupped to my dashboard.
I like the size of the screens on the Roadster 2. Much more manageable, and the Roadster also has normal knobs for A/C, heat, fan, lights, etc. I don’t have a Roadster, nor have I had the opportunity to sit in one (waiting for the DC store to open), but what I’ve seen in the pic library on this site, the instrumentation and feedback look very practical.
Laptop computers, even my after-market stereo in my car, have adjustable backlight settings, so I can readily imagine that the brightness of the Model S touchscreen wouldn’t be an issue. I’d be shocked if they didn’t have a continuous, or at least highly adjustable, range of backlight intensities - maybe even one that automatically dims when you turn on the headlights - heck, my stereo does that much!
It ought to have an LED backlight, in order to be much more energy efficient, as well.
I’ll get off my soapbox now. Many others have already worn this topic out in other threads.
Timo, I’m afraid you’ve been badly mis-informed as to battery lifespan. The Roadster battery is expected to still have 80% of its original capacity after 120,000 miles have been driven (500 charge cycles x 240 miles), that is a loss of only 20%. That is quite a bit less than the “70% loss in 50,000 miles” you were told. Could that falsehood come from someone opposed to EVs or Tesla Motors? Or was it simply some mis-understanding or an error in memory?
Thanks CM for the correction. I also confused with Timo’s post now it is cleared.Thanks!
John