Tesla Model S First Official Teaser Shots
February 12, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
These are the first teaser shots of the Tesla Model S, and if you want to see more you’ll just have to wait until March 26th to see the whole car.
Compared to the arch-rival Fisker Karma, the Model S appears to be significantly shorter. They can obviously save a lot of room by not having a petrol engine in the front end. The passenger compartment also appears to be slightly larger than the Karma.
With what appears to be a five door hatch body style, the Model S should also provide more utility than the Fisker.
Tesla Calls Town Hall Meetings to Calm Angry Buyers
January 23, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
It seems that even an email from CEO Elon Musk has had little calming effect on the anger felt by locked-in Tesla Roadster buyers at being told they will have to pay more for their cars. The company is turning to a previously-successful approach and has announced a set of town hall meetings to quell buyer fury.
Scheduled for the 26th and 27th at the Los Angeles and Menlo, CA stores respectively and hosted by Elon and other staff, the events can be attended in person or by phone. Read more
Is Tesla Slashing Roadster Price to $60,000?
January 4, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
According to the UK’s Times online Tesla is slashing the Roadster price to only $60,000! Here is that point from the original article:
The company is ramping up production of its 125mph Lotus Elise-inspired Roadster while slashing the price to $60,000 (£41,000).
If true, this is a pretty spectacular drop in price and is sure to send shockwaves around the electric car industry.
I think it’s more likely that Elon Musk was referring to the Model S and was mis-quoted.
Darryl Siry Tesla SVP Resigns
December 5, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
The turmoil at Tesla Motors is continuing, as SVP for Marketing and Sales Darryl Siry has resigned. According to the post on Siry’s blog, he is leaving “due to some disagreements in strategy.”
Recently, Chairman Elon Musk took over direct control of the company when he replaced previous CEO Ze’ev Drori at the silicon valley startup.
Tesla has already found a replacement and Siry has been working to manage the transition in recent weeks. Siry has no immediate plans for where to go next, but promises to do more blogging on the alternative fuel vehicle industry.
Tesla vs. Tango Drag Race: VIDEO
December 5, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
This is a great video of a Tango belonging to a guy named Nat Simons in Berkeley racing against a Tesla Roadster Signature 100 series #9, owned by Jorg, met on the drag strip portion of Infineon Raceway.
Now, this particular track has seen a Roadster fly down the measured quarter mile before in 12.757 seconds hitting 104.74 mph (an electric car world record) but that car had the newer 1.5 drivetrain and, freshly charged batteries.
Spoiler alert! Read more
Jason Calacanis Fisks NY Times’ Stross Over Tesla Editorial
December 1, 2008 by admin · 2 Comments
Randall Stross wrote an article in the New York Times that rips into Tesla as “not much more than a functioning concept car” and suggests it would be foolish of the government to grant it a loan under a 2007 Federal loan program designed specifically to encourage development of vehicles that conserve fuel. Jason Calacanis writes an excellent rebuttal on his blog.
The main argument Stross uses is that Tesla only makes cars for the rich (their first model is $109,000), and the technology is unproven. However as most readers of this site know Tesla has announced two new vehicles, both at much lower prices (and one targeted at $30,000). Stross’ facts are wrong, and his opinions are misguided. If Tesla succeeds, it will be because it was able to sell cars to the mass market. Read more
Porsche Order a Tesla Roadster
November 25, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Word on the street is that Porsche is developing its own electric car. According to Tesla Motors, officials from Porsche have been to look at their Roadster. It seems that they were interested enough to place an order for one of the electric sportscars. We can guess that they will use the car as a yardstick to compare with their own models, and of course dismantle it carefully just to see how Tesla make it work.
Hopefully the German carmaker will be able to produce something with the same longevity and versatility as their iconic 911.
Tesla Receives Another $40M to Keep Going
November 4, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
It’s not been smooth sailing for Tesla Motors lately, starting with a staff layoff and an ouster of its CEO a little over two weeks ago and followed by reports that the company had only $9 million left in the bank. However lead investor and new CEO, Elon Musk has made good on his promise to find more funding for the company, raising $40 million from existing investors.
A simple press release came out last night highlighting the fact that the funding is for convertible debt, not equity. That means the investors will have the option to convert their money to shares in the company later, depending on valuation — but for now, it seems that one side or the other is uncomfortable quantifying precisely what Tesla is worth. Read more
Franz von Holzhausen to Tesla Motors as Design Director!
August 4, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Darryl Siry and Mike Bumbeck at Tesla Motors have confirmed that Franz von Holzhausen, the designer who since February of 2005 oversaw the design and development of all concept and production vehicles for Mazda North America, has moved on to the EV startup, where he will be the Design Director. He was reportedly ‘hand-picked’ by Elon Musk for the job. Considering just how dramatic the Furai concept from the last Detroit Auto Show was with its E100 fueled three rotor Wankel engine, it looks like Tesla’s got a good one on their hands here.
Von Holzhausen will need to hit the ground running and assemble a team of designers who will then likely get right to work on Tesla Motor’s next batch of electric cars. This hiring also means that Tesla’s future designs will all be created in-house, ending the need to bring in outsiders like the company had to do with Henrik Fisker.
