Tesla Motors
the roadster: 0 - 60 in 4 secs.
You beat me to the punch.
A friend of mine knows the CEO, Martin Eberhard, from working at NuvoMedia.
Other than the sticker price, the car sounds very cool. Long range, high performance, and the simplicity of a pure electric.
The car is based on the Lotus Elise (below), so it's tiny.
Some reasons why it's so zippy: Electric motors have peak torque at zero RPM, making them quick off the line. In fact, without traction control, it would be hard to make it off the line. Also, doubling the power of an electric motor involves a relatively small incremental increase in weight.
Another tidbit, they've found the miles per charge doesn't vary much with how fast you drive it. Mmmm.... green speed demon.
... more ...
We were just talking about this at lunch, and theorizing about how to launch the car in the market. At least in the US, the usual car shows might not be the best place, since they're dominated by the majors who don't really like the electrics. And the usual electric car types aren't into something this zippy. (There's some controvery in LA about hybrids in the carpool lanes because the hybrid drivers often won't go over 65.)
I suggested track events -- the kind of event where car nuts take their daily drivers or dedicated track toys out for a spin on a local race track. They'll get 150+ car nuts looking at the vehicle up close and personal for two days. And if they get passed by it on track ... well, that will just build the brand image. They'll tell their friends, and their friends will tell their friends ...
It's a variant on the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" theme.
im in. but need a 2 + 2
The sedan comes later. I would guess a few years later. And only if the roadster provides a good ROI.
If you had asked me how much investment would be required to launch a car company, I would have guessed much, much higher than the $60M raised. Starting with a high-margin niche model based on an existing chassis is what made that possible. Competing with Porsche takes a lot less capital than competing with Toyota.
new website launched
article in Wired
Bill ... "he's already preparing a sedan, codenamed White Star, which could hit streets as early as 2008."
blog covers launch event
another blog covers the launch -- some of the nay sayers on the comment thread really have their shorts bunched up.
First run of 100 cars is sold out at $100k a pop. Now they just have to make them.
Getting behind Tesla's $100,000 wheel
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- steve 7-19-2006 11:58 pm
the roadster: 0 - 60 in 4 secs.
- bill 7-20-2006 12:16 am [add a comment]
You beat me to the punch.
A friend of mine knows the CEO, Martin Eberhard, from working at NuvoMedia.
Other than the sticker price, the car sounds very cool. Long range, high performance, and the simplicity of a pure electric.
The car is based on the Lotus Elise (below), so it's tiny.
Some reasons why it's so zippy: Electric motors have peak torque at zero RPM, making them quick off the line. In fact, without traction control, it would be hard to make it off the line. Also, doubling the power of an electric motor involves a relatively small incremental increase in weight.
Another tidbit, they've found the miles per charge doesn't vary much with how fast you drive it. Mmmm.... green speed demon.
- mark 7-20-2006 1:20 am [add a comment]
... more ...
We were just talking about this at lunch, and theorizing about how to launch the car in the market. At least in the US, the usual car shows might not be the best place, since they're dominated by the majors who don't really like the electrics. And the usual electric car types aren't into something this zippy. (There's some controvery in LA about hybrids in the carpool lanes because the hybrid drivers often won't go over 65.)
I suggested track events -- the kind of event where car nuts take their daily drivers or dedicated track toys out for a spin on a local race track. They'll get 150+ car nuts looking at the vehicle up close and personal for two days. And if they get passed by it on track ... well, that will just build the brand image. They'll tell their friends, and their friends will tell their friends ...
It's a variant on the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" theme.
- mark 7-20-2006 1:31 am [add a comment]
im in. but need a 2 + 2
- bill 7-20-2006 1:49 am [add a comment]
The sedan comes later. I would guess a few years later. And only if the roadster provides a good ROI.
If you had asked me how much investment would be required to launch a car company, I would have guessed much, much higher than the $60M raised. Starting with a high-margin niche model based on an existing chassis is what made that possible. Competing with Porsche takes a lot less capital than competing with Toyota.
- mark 7-20-2006 2:19 am [add a comment]
new website launched
article in Wired
- mark 7-21-2006 3:04 am [add a comment]
Bill ... "he's already preparing a sedan, codenamed White Star, which could hit streets as early as 2008."
- mark 7-21-2006 3:09 am [add a comment]
blog covers launch event
- mark 7-21-2006 3:27 am [add a comment]
another blog covers the launch -- some of the nay sayers on the comment thread really have their shorts bunched up.
- mark 7-24-2006 11:04 am [add a comment]
First run of 100 cars is sold out at $100k a pop. Now they just have to make them.
- jim 8-16-2006 6:45 pm [add a comment]
Getting behind Tesla's $100,000 wheel
- mark 8-18-2006 9:42 pm [add a comment]