Model S: More than 700 reservations in two weeks

[and-justice-for-all]

email I received from Tesla Motors. Check out the Model S: http://www.teslamotors.com/models/index.php
The base price is disgusting, but the car is hot.
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In the two weeks following the launch, we received 711 reservations for the Model S, the all-electric family sedan that carries up to seven people and travels up to 300 miles per charge.

Tesla unveiled the car March 26, and reservations immediately began streaming in online and at showrooms in California. This historic vehicle is likely to be the world's first mass-produced, highway-capable electric vehicle when production begins in late 2011. The surge of reservations already proves that there's pent-up demand for a car that doesn't compromise on performance, utility or efficiency.

The Model S does 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds and will have an electronically limited top speed of 130 mph. A 17-inch touchscreen with in-car 3G connectivity means you can listen to Pandora Radio or consult Google Maps, or check the car's state of charge remotely on your iPhone. The Model S can be recharged from any 120V, 208V or 240V outlet or quick-charged from an external direct current supply in only 45 minutes.

The anticipated base price of the Model S is $49,900 after a US federal tax credit of $7,500. The reservation fee of $5,000 is refundable. Three battery pack choices will offer a range of 160, 230 or 300 miles per charge. The company has not released for pricing for options and higher mileage battery packs.

If you account for the cost advantage over the life of the car vs. an equivalent internal combustion engine car at a cost of $4.25 per gallon (a likely future cost in the United States, and a bargain right now in many parts of Europe), the Model S is equivalent to a gas guzzler with a sticker price of about $35,000. Importantly, those savings are realized immediately if you lease a Model S, so there is no need to wait years to earn back the price difference.

Tesla also is taking reservations for the Model S Signature Edition with a $40,000 reservation fee, which is also refundable. Tesla will produce only 2,000 Signature Edition cars, which will be the first built and have unique interior and exterior features. Signature Edition cars will be evenly split between US and European customers.
See the Model S this weekend in Silicon Valley
If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area or are visiting for the holiday weekend, you're in luck: The Model S will be in Tesla's showroom in Menlo Park, Calif., on Saturday and Sunday – the first opportunity for the general public to see this car in person. Additional sales representatives will be at the store throughout the holiday weekend (Saturday 10am-6pm; Sunday noon-5pm) to answer questions and take reservations.

Eventually we will have a Model S in all of our showrooms and at major auto shows. We'll send updates in this newsletter on when and where else you can see the car in person. Customers and their invited guests will soon get more information about the late April viewing in New York City.
Proven technology, record Roadsters
The acclaimed Model S comes from the only production automaker selling highway-capable EVs in North America or Europe today. With 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds, the Tesla Roadster outperforms almost all sports cars in its class, yet is more than twice as energy efficient as a Toyota Prius and delivers 244 miles per charge.

Tesla delivered over 100 Roadsters to customers in March, marking the first triple-digit delivery month in the company's history. Tesla delivered over 170 cars in the first quarter – more than the total delivered in 2008.

Tesla has delivered about 330 Roadsters so far. The base price of the Roadster is $101,500 after a $7,500 federal tax credit.
Le Rallye Monte Carlo
Late last month, the Roadster set another impressive record – a feat that's attracting a lot of buzz in the blogosphere: A Tesla Roadster went the entire 241 miles on a single charge of the Le Rallye Monte Carlo d'Energies Alternatives. And the Roadster still had an estimated 38 miles left on the charge! This appears to be an absolute record for a production EV.

The challenging course, sponsored by l'Automobile Club de Monaco, went from Valence, France, to the Principality of Monaco. Terrain was mixed and included high-speed driving on highways, urban streets and up and single-carriageway roads that wind through the Alps.

The Roadster was the only car to finish the rally after a modified Porsche 911 dropped out. After the Roadster crossed the finish line, former F1 driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen took it for a spin around one of the Monte Carlo Rally's special stages.
Tesla's coming to London
We're opening a regional sales and service center in London's popular Knightsbridge district. This will be the first of three European stores that we hope to launch this year and an important base in Europe's largest city.

The London facility will open this spring at 49-51 Cheval Place, formerly the Segrave Supercar Club. We'll be walking distance from Harrods department store and convenient to Heathrow Airport.

We signed the London lease at a historic and exciting time for clean-tech companies in the U.K. London Mayor Boris Johnson, a sportscar buff and fan of the Tesla Roadster, announced this week a plan to introduce 100,000 EVs and to build 25,000 charging stations in the capital. Prime Minister Gordon Brown – also familiar with Tesla – said EVs would be one cornerstone of his economic recovery plan.

We'll soon be sending an invitation to customers and guests with details about our launch party later this spring. We look forward to meeting Tesla's many European fans at this event.

Cheers!

Elon Musk

Tesla Motors
1050 Bing Street
San Carlos California 94070

[GoesTo11]

1. Wasn't there a 70s metal band named Tesla?

[Cirque du So-What]

3. Yes. They took their name from this fellow

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

He remained in the shadow of the more money-motivated Thomas Edison, but his inventions were no less brilliant.

[Jackpine Radical]

8. Actually, IMHO, his inventions were far more brilliant.

Edison was a relentless putterer. Tesla was a genius with some understandings of the universe that have never been replicated. It was Tesla who made Edison go to AC instead of trying to transmit DC current on power lines--a highly inefficient thing to do. They had quite a battle over this before Tesla won.

[dbt]

10. Tesla was a subversive "Woo!!!!"

Our government said so--about the time they seized his papers on account of they were too dangerous for Right Thinking Murkins to see. THANK GOD we've been saved from shit like free energy!!!1!

[and-justice-for-all]

13. Ah, mid to late 80s and they are actually still around and popular..nt

www.teslatheband.com

[Cirque du So-What]

2. An electronically limited top speed of 130 mph

means it can be electronically de-limited as well. Even though I could care less about testosterone-driven competition & performance-related thrill-seeking feats, the possibility of going really fast could help spur growth in the electric-car industry.

[merh]

4. How do you fit seven people in that vehicle?

Front seats are bucket seats - 3 in the back - 2 in the lift back area?

[Adelante]

5. Why do they cost so much?

Is there some reason that makes sense aside from profit?

[Tesha]

6. Expensive batteries. (NT)

[Adelante]

7. Does that mean it will never happen for the average consumer?

[BlooInBloo]

11. They cost so much because of the small scale on which they're produced....

It's always that way when a significantly new product is introduced to market.

[Tesha]

16. I'll hedge BlooInBloo's answer just a little.

For lithium batteries (the batteries that are currently
powering all the world's modern notebook computers and
cell phones and the best of the electric cars), it's a
question of economies of scale and just plain "breaking
in" of the mass-production technology. So as millions of
battery cells are manufactured, the prices of those
batteries will definitely drop dramatically.

Also, standardization will play its part. Right now, all
those cars, computers, and cell phones use pretty unique
battery packs and that holds down economies of scale as
well. It also creates unique engineering challenges with
every battery pack designed. Then the design may have to
go through "regulatory approval" (UL, CSA, CE marking,
etc.) to assure that it's reasonably safe in use and
disposal. But once more and more car designs center on
a few more-standardized battery cell and pack designs,
the engineering and approval process can be amortized
over far more units produced, so those non-recurring
costs will be cheaper "per unit".

But while that's true for lithium (a very common material),
it's not necessarily true for other materials. Fuel cells,
for example, still have some nasty dependencies on more-
expensive materials like platinum and nickel. So do some
other battery chemistries like the nickel/metal-hydride
batteries currently used in hybrid cars. That use of
expensive materials will mean that economies of scale
won't be sufficient to bring fuel cells and NiMH batteries
down as much in price.

Tesha

[merh]

9. the convertible is nice looking

but you can't fit 7 in that one. :)

[BlooInBloo]

12. Tesla innovates. GM begs for bailout and cuts union wages...

Yah - I'll buy a fucking Tesla in a heartbeat.

[SeattleGirl]

14. I like that car!

One of these days, when I need a new car, I want either a hybrid or an electric model.

Not sure when that will be, but that's what I have my sights set on.

[vadawg]

15. i dream of one day owning a Bugati Veyron Drooool

its got to be the most beautiful car ever made, next to a 50's long wheel base land rover

[Tesha]

18. One thing that might affect your choice is where your electricity comes from.

If your electricity comes from a coal-fired power plant,
then a hybrid car that burns diesel or even gasoline
is probably easier on the environment.

But if your electricity comes from renewable sources
(wind, solar, hydro, tides, OTEC, etc.), then a fully-
electric car is probably the way to go if you can.

And if your electricity comes from nuclear energy,
then the electric car is the way to go regarding
carbon emissions, but your thoughts about nuclear
waste disposal (or lack thereof) may also affect
your decision.

Here in New Hampshire, our default-source power
comes from all three classes (coal, hydro, and nuclear)
so the "which kind of car" decision is especially unclear ;) .

Tesha

[Ikonoklast]

17. Not a bad looking vehicle.

Tesla gets the ball rolling and really ramps up production, I wonder how fast they can drop the unit price as economies of scale come into force?

But, then again, not having to purchase gasoline, ever, over the life of the vehicle needs to be figured into the current price.

If you estimate 100K as the useful life of a vehicle at around, say, 30mpg, that's $8K in fuel you won't be buying, more or less, based on current gasoline prices. And fuel is sure to go up over the next ten years, I'd wager.

I wonder what the rated life cycle of the battery pack is, and the replacement cost?

I wish them every success in their venture.

[Tesha]

19. Please remember that electricity isn't "free", though.

'Last time I put pencil to envelope, the back of
my envelope suggested that it would cost me
between $10 and $15 to "fill up the battery"
of a typical real-world-capable electric car.

Not as expensive as my current $30-$40 gasoline
fill-ups, but not insignificant by any stretch of the
imagination!

Tesha