View Full Version : Oh those cute Teslas
WB2WIK
05-23-2008, 08:19 PM
Tesla Motors opened their first retail store, in Los Angeles, right on busy Santa Monica Blvd.
It's very cute. The service shop is like a clean room; you could eat off the floor, no problem, and it's behind huge windows facing the street.
Neat car, all electric, 0-60 in less than 4 seconds, 220 mile range, charges overnight, cost to operate about 3 cents per mile at the ridiculous electric power rates we pay here.
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog3/?p=78
People having solar panels already can potentially pay "zero" to fuel this car forever; thats "infinity" miles per gallon.
WB2WIK/6
N4AUD
05-23-2008, 08:33 PM
It's a huge step in the right direction and I hope that other auto makers will follow suit. With solar, wind and hydroelectric power we could travel with free fuel AND stop polluting our air. Win-win.
That's a great looking car as well. I saw it the other night on the History Channel's show about Tesla (the man).
KC9ECI
05-23-2008, 09:01 PM
I'd love to have one. Jason Calacanis has been raving about them on TWiT recently. I guess he got to drive around in one for a week and has had one on pre-order for a while.
ve2nsm
05-23-2008, 09:37 PM
How much for this little baby?
K0RGR
05-23-2008, 09:39 PM
What's the big flaw that prevents Detroit from spitting these things out by the bushel-basketfull? There's always a serious flaw when something competes with the Oil God.
I remember the hype about Gallium-Arsenide solar cells years ago. These super solar cells would revolutionize the world, by providing cheap electricity everywhere. A panel of them on the roof of your car could provide enough energy to power the car. This was in the 1970's and sounded like science fiction.
Well, unfortunately, it was. While the GaAs solar cells were, indeed, much more efficient, the serious flaw was that Gallium is practically 'unobtainium'.
I don't believe we've gotten much better at extracting Gallium from sea water in the last 35 years. And, they never had the efficiency to power a car, in any case. I've heard that there are much more efficient devices out there that for some strange reason haven't been mass-produced yet. I think it's the fact that the Oil God is a very jealous god, and will have no competition.
WB2WIK
05-23-2008, 09:39 PM
How much for this little baby?
::It's $109,000 ($U.S.)
The European version sold only in EU is E99,000 Euros.
ve2nsm
05-23-2008, 09:55 PM
Not for everybody... but if the car delivers really what they claim, then it's worth it.
ab3fl
05-23-2008, 10:08 PM
I would love to get a tesla. With the price of gas approaching $4 a gallon, the tesla is a great idea. Of course here under peco we pay about $0.16/kWh which is very high.....
Tom - AB3FL
G0GQK
05-23-2008, 10:22 PM
That sounds like £58,000, expensive car in Britain, but some people will buy it because its different. This is the way forward in personal transport, there are already electric cars but the problem is recharging the batteries, not many places with 32 volts, same as the old electric milk delivery trucks. We need a light vehicle reasonably priced, and solar powered is no use, its always dull in Britain !
It seems to me the need is greater in Britain because we pay more of our money to buy juice to power our cars, and most of it goes to the government.
Even is someone invented a car which was powered by banana juice our greedy Chancellor would still want 76% taxation on it !
The world desperately needs inventors to move us into new innovations so keep encouraging them
kf6rdn
05-23-2008, 11:37 PM
Nice lookin cars.
Err.. they coming out with a motorcycle version?
:eek:
W3MIV
05-23-2008, 11:51 PM
I wonder about the vulnerability of the lithium cells in a serious accident. Remember the CVPI fuel tank issues on rear impacts? Remember the Pinto? They could look mild in comparison to a significant breach of the lithium cells and a chain reaction. Possible?
W5HTW
05-24-2008, 01:53 AM
The Tesla plant is supposed to be in Albuquerque. One of these days, I guess.
The title of the thread lured me right in! I thought it was about an all girl band called The Teslas. I wanted to see their spark gaps, and their very high tension. I especially wanted to see, and probably tickle, their coils.
WA5KRP
05-24-2008, 04:09 AM
This is a little TOO good to be true. I ain't buyin' into it.
WA5KRP
Texas
n6hcm
05-24-2008, 08:11 AM
Tesla Motors opened their first retail store, in Los Angeles, right on busy Santa Monica Blvd.
It's very cute. The service shop is like a clean room; you could eat off the floor, no problem, and it's behind huge windows facing the street.
of course you can--they probably haven't sold or serviced any cars yet!
it's good to hear this came to fruition--the firm itself has had a bit of a rocky road. by the time i get around to learning how to drive this car may come down to a reasonable price.
Yep, and at only $109,000.00, I'll think I'll get two of them!
Besides the reduction in fuel consumption, I see a huge reduction in maintenance costs. I've never seen anything published regarding that on EVs. An electric motor requires ZERO maintenance. No oil changes, no filters, no spark plugs, no timing belts, no ignition wires, no fuel injector cleaning, no rusted out exhaust systems, no oxygen sensors, no fuel pumps, no water pumps, and on and on. The auto maintenance and repair industry would take a huge hit if everyone drove EVs. They still need brakes, tires, shocks, etc, but all that other stuff is big business.
W4HAY
05-24-2008, 08:58 PM
An electric motor requires ZERO maintenance.
Never worked in maintenance, have you?
Several of the hybrid manufacturers are (supposedly) integrating this feature into their products. But the energy still has to be generated SOMEWHERE, and given the present state of our electric grid, I don't have my hopes up.
K8MHZ
05-25-2008, 02:59 AM
Never worked in maintenance, have you?
Several of the hybrid manufacturers are (supposedly) integrating this feature into their products. But the energy still has to be generated SOMEWHERE, and given the present state of our electric grid, I don't have my hopes up.
Pessimist.
The Telsa is cool, fast and cheap to drive. If Jay Leno likes it, it has to be good.
My thoughts are that a Saudi hit man will ice the owners of the company in short notice, making it look like an accident.
N4VGB
05-25-2008, 03:20 AM
I wonder about the vulnerability of the lithium cells in a serious accident. Remember the CVPI fuel tank issues on rear impacts? Remember the Pinto? They could look mild in comparison to a significant breach of the lithium cells and a chain reaction. Possible?
At a starting price of $109K, I'm not worrying about the possibility, because I won't be considering buying one! :eek:
kg4kww
05-25-2008, 03:26 AM
Remember WB2WIK your UT will be the last person to look at your Teslas. :D
I want a Tesla automobile, they are cool.
N4AUD
05-25-2008, 03:27 AM
I think whoever starts manufacturing an affordable, practical and durable electric car will have the next VW Beetle or Ford Model A on their hands, considering the ever rising cost of fuel. If the car is easily recharged, has a viable range, is safe and easy on the pocketbook, they will sell millions of them.
N4VGB
05-25-2008, 03:33 AM
I think whoever starts manufacturing an affordable, practical and durable electric car will have the next VW Beetle or Ford Model A on their hands, considering the ever rising cost of fuel. If the car is easily recharged, has a viable range, is safe and easy on the pocketbook, they will sell millions of them.
I'll have to wait for the pickup truck version. I'd probably go $60-70k on that, if it were actually capable of hauling/towing a decent payload and had a reliable range of 200 miles. :)
KA8DKT
05-25-2008, 03:48 AM
Besides the reduction in fuel consumption, I see a huge reduction in maintenance costs. I've never seen anything published regarding that on EVs. An electric motor requires ZERO maintenance. No oil changes, no filters, no spark plugs, no timing belts, no ignition wires, no fuel injector cleaning, no rusted out exhaust systems, no oxygen sensors, no fuel pumps, no water pumps, and on and on. The auto maintenance and repair industry would take a huge hit if everyone drove EVs. They still need brakes, tires, shocks, etc, but all that other stuff is big business.
Well, the steering components will still need to be lubed and the differential oil will need to be changed once in a while. And I imagine the motor bearings will need occasional lubrication.
The big maintenance cost will be to replace the batteries when they finally won't hold sufficient charge. One point is that the batteries are in modules, "blades", if you will. The circuitry is such that if cells start to go bad, the performance will not be affected, but the range will be decreased. This is because each cell has essentialy a fuse that will take it out of the circuit if it fails.
The battery system consists of some 6800 cells, each slightly larger than AA cells. These cells, known as "18650" cells, are typically used in computer battery packs.
The Tesla really appears to be a very well engineered car. By all reports it handles like a sports car (albeit a somewhat heavy one) and has acceleration to rival most anything on the road. The cost of the car will start to come down as more are manufactured and sold and as rivals come to the marketplace. Unfortunately, most of us, me included, cannot afford a $50K car, much less one that costs well over $100K. My first Tesla will certainly be a twenty year old used, er, preowned one.
www.teslamotors.com/display_data/TeslaRoadsterBatterySystem.pdf (http://www.teslamotors.com/display_data/TeslaRoadsterBatterySystem.pdf)
-gary
kg4kww
05-25-2008, 05:11 AM
I like the looks of the Tesla and it has a range of 200 miles on a charge.
I think if they catch on the price will drop
WB2WIK
05-25-2008, 03:16 PM
Tesla's already begun delivering and when I passed the shop last week there were several there. Problem is they're still built one by one at the Lotus plant in the U.K., which is not set up for any sort of mass production and I suspect a lot of the high price is due to that: High cost.
Considering their production lots for 2008 have sold out and they're taking orders for '09 models, one would think they'd move manufacturing to a site more equipped for serious production. Maybe they will.
I sat in one at the L.A. Auto Show but it wasn't going anywhere. It's comfortable for a small car, kind of a scaled down Corvette (smaller in all dimensions).
I don't worry about the power grid, we can make our own here. I could literally run this car for "nothing a week" other than whatever maintenance costs. As solar becomes more and more popular, millions of families can start living off-grid -- which is great.
The complaints about the wind turbines killing birds and such has not had an impact on windmill farms in the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area) which is powered almost entirely by wind and their electric rates are very, very low. Good thing, since it's so hot they need A/C about 300 days a year!
WB2WIK/6
kg4kww
05-26-2008, 03:33 PM
Remember WB2WIK your UT will be the last person to look at your little Teslas. :D
I suspect the major contribution the Tesla makes in the long run will be to make Electric cars cool. They will never go anywhere if they start from the bottom and try to work their way up.
The tried and true method of introducing new technology is to start at the top, letting early adopters support the activity with high prices, and work your way down the cost curve over time as volume builds.
If the company can last long enough, this could be quite interesting and ultimately lead to things of importance. Unfortunately, I suspect they may have priced the car too low and will fail. It's common to underestimate costs on a new product.
W8NSI
05-27-2008, 12:19 AM
Tesla Motors opened their first retail store, in Los Angeles, right on busy Santa Monica Blvd.
It's very cute. The service shop is like a clean room; you could eat off the floor, no problem, and it's behind huge windows facing the street.
Neat car, all electric, 0-60 in less than 4 seconds, 220 mile range, charges overnight, cost to operate about 3 cents per mile at the ridiculous electric power rates we pay here.
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog3/?p=78
People having solar panels already can potentially pay "zero" to fuel this car forever; thats "infinity" miles per gallon.
WB2WIK/6
Also see:
http://www.autobloggreen.com/photos/riding-in-the-tesla-roadster/494810/
and
http://qik.com/video/71134
...one sweet FAST car!