Tesla Motors - Cars That Will Change The World

[Californikan]

It should be noted that the two Motor Authority articles posted on this page have a pretty strong anti-Tesla slant.

Motor Authority calls the decision not to build the 40kWh battery a "bait and switch", when in fact those 40kWh car customers are being given the better and more powerful 60kWh car.

Next Motor Authority calls Tesla's new financing program "pulling the wool over our eyes", when in fact Tesla has provided an online payment calculator ( http://www.teslamotors.com/true-cost-of-ownership ) that clearly shows the monthly payment for a Model S, as well as a calculator for figuring in the monthly savings from driving Model S electric car versus a petrol car.

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[Californikan]

Really? I'm surprised as I was just reading: "...Since late September, the Tesla Motors Club forum's "mechanical issues" thread has grown to be more than 130 pages long with some 1,300 posts, and it includes owners complaining about nearly every aspect of the vehicle, including paint, satellite radio tuning, tail lamp housings and windshield wipers.

Musk insists that despite any mechanical issues that have arisen thus far, the car is safe. He said that it was not released to the public until it was capable of receiving a five-star crash test rating. No fires have been reported in any production cars, and no serious injuries have occurred in a Model S or a Roadster. (The latter is also a testament to how few of them are on the roads at the moment.)

Even so, if this were a car from any other manufacturer, the defects reported by these owners would be completely unacceptable..."

Link to the full article on Jalopnik

The breakthrough here is that many of these teething problems in these early cars are being fixed by Tesla without a person having to physically touch the cars.

Tesla is regularly sending fixes and updates wirelessly over 3G to individual cars, groups of cars and the entire Model S fleet to correct problems, without anyone having to touch the car.

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[Kavvz]

The breakthrough here is that many of these teething problems in these early cars are being fixed by Tesla without a person having to physically touch the cars.

Tesla is regularly sending fixes and updates wirelessly over 3G to individual cars, groups of cars and the entire Model S fleet to correct problems, without anyone having to touch the car.

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Perhaps. But to me, the Nissan Leaf is a better candidate to show how electric cars make sense for suburban commuter needs.

Its the "highest-volume battery electric car sold in the United States" and you can walk into most Nissan dealerships and buy one / get it attended to. Plus its relatively cheap, which makes it a decent alternative to the gasoline powered smaller car that some american families keep around for city driving. Thus, making it the better choice for a 'green car of the year award'.

Edited April 7, 2013 by Kavvz

[Californikan]

Perhaps. But to me, the Nissan Leaf is a better candidate to show how electric cars make sense for suburban commuter needs.

Its the "highest-volume battery electric car sold in the United States" and you can walk into most Nissan dealerships and buy one / get it attended to. Plus its relatively cheap, which makes it a decent alternative to the gasoline powered smaller car that some american families keep around for city driving. Thus, making it the better choice for a 'green car of the year award'.

The Nissan Leaf and Model S are aimed at different purposes. Leaf is a small city car limited to about 130km of range. Model S is a big car with about 440 km of range, and can be driven on long distance trips. Model S is the first electric car that has enough range to replace an ICE car.

The Leaf is also a groundbreaking car. It wasn't eligible for this years's Green Car of the Year or World Car of the Year because cars are eligible only in the model year that they are introduced. When the Leaf was eligible, it did win the 'World Car of the Year ' award in 2011.

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/04/21/2011-nissan-leaf-named-world-car-of-the-year-volt-wins-world-gr/

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[Kavvz]

The Nissan Leaf and Model S are aimed at different purposes. Leaf is a small city car limited to about 130km of range. Model S is a big car with about 440 km of range, and can be driven on long distance trips. Model S is the first electric car that has enough range to replace an ICE car.

The Leaf is also a groundbreaking car. It wasn't eligible for this years's Green Car of the Year or World Car of the Year because cars are eligible only in the model year that they are introduced. When the Leaf was eligible, it did win the 'World Car of the Year ' award in 2011.

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/04/21/2011-nissan-leaf-named-world-car-of-the-year-volt-wins-world-gr/

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Ah I see. So, essentially the Tesla S won by default?

[Californikan]

Ah I see. So, essentially the Tesla S won by default?

That's one way to phrase it.

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[Californikan]

Google employees as an April Fool's prank covered Google co-founder Sergey Brin's Tesla Model S in a bright pink vinyl wrap and added pink eyelashes above the headlights and bat wings to the back.

[Californikan]

Looks like we have 3 fellows (crosswind, jdnet and friend) with personal vendettas who once again are doing a disservice to AL forum by knowingly voting down 100% correct information.

Or maybe these three fellows simply can't comprehend that every Tesla Model S is wirelessly connected by 3G to the Tesla factory so Tesla customer service can perform diagnostics, fixes and updates of the Model S, without anyone having to physically touch the car.

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[Californikan]

Tesla's smartphone app for Android and iOS allows Model S owners to remotely monitor, access and control many functions of the Model S, from anywhere in the world.

- Interior temperature of the vehicle can be remotely monitored and the heating or cooling can be remotely controlled to pre-cool or pre-heat the interior.

- Tracking of vehicle location, movement and speed on Google maps.

- Monitoring of battery charge status including the ability to remotely stop and start charging.

- Remotely open or close the moonroof, turn on lights, honk the horn, lock or unlock doors etc.

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[jdnet]

Looks like we have 3 fellows (crosswind, jdnet and friend) with personal vendettas who once again are doing a disservice to AL forum by knowingly voting down 100% correct information.

Or maybe these three fellows simply can't comprehend that every Tesla Model S is wirelessly connected by 3G to the Tesla factory so Tesla customer service can perform diagnostics, fixes and updates of the Model S, without anyone having to physically touch the car.

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You're arse is wirelessly connected to your mouth. Seems that there is a problem in the connection since you keep talking for the arse instead of the mouth.

[Sylvi]

Members,

I got a Email under.

Creates Rear-Wheel Drive All-Electric Ford Fiesta

April 18, 2013 by Christopher DeMorro 6 Comments

X

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

These days a majority of vehicles utilizing front-wheel drive, including the ever-popular Ford Focus. A German company has converted a Ford Fiesta into an all-electric, rear-wheel drive vehicle using wheel hub motors, changing the driving dynamics of this popular commuter car. Maybe this is the way to get people to drive EVs en masse.

The project was designed in close cooperation with Ford, though it isn’t an official Blue Oval project, but rather the brainchild of Germany-based Schaeffler. The Fiesta is a popular sub-compact that, like most cars, uses a gas engine to drive the front wheels. Ford hasn’t made an electric version of the Fiesta, focusing instead on the Focus Electric, which hasn’t proven very popular with consumers.

But an electric Fiesta that is rear-wheel drive? That sounds like a fun and practical little car, and it uses wheel-mounted hub motors not unlike those developed by Protean. While less powerful than the Protean motors, the two liquid-cooled hub motors on the Fiesta produce about 90 horsepower and over 500 ft-lbs of torque. Who couldn’t have fun with that setup?

So far EVs have met a timid consumer market, and marketing electric carrs as equivalent to standard vehicles doesn’t seem to be drawing in as many customers as hoped. Maybe a new approach, with rear-wheel drive and an emphasis on fun, will have a better effect? Either way, this story leaves me pining for the days when even the most pedestrian automobile could spin the rear wheels and leave a cloud of smoke in its wake.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Pericles]

The Leaf has had a smartphone app for a long time too, I posted about it ages ago. Definitely an Android app. I can't remember all the functions, and I can't be arsed looking it up, but I do remember it had the ability to turn the AC on remotely so the car can cool down before you get to it. The smartphone connection isn't quite as magic as Cali seems to think it is coz Tesla did it.

[Californikan]

You're arse is wirelessly connected to your mouth. Seems that there is a problem in the connection since you keep talking for the arse instead of the mouth.

My bad. I forgot you're a backwards fellow and high tech electric cars that wirelessly communicate with the factory are just too much for you to comprehend.

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[Californikan]

The smartphone connection isn't quite as magic as Cali seems to think it is coz Tesla did it.

Again, this guy is imagining things that don't exist.

Nowhere in my post is there even the slightest suggestion that the Tesla app is "magic", or even anything special or out of the ordinary.

Tesla's smartphone app for Android and iOS allows Model S owners to remotely monitor, access and control many functions of the Model S, from anywhere in the world.

- Interior temperature of the vehicle can be remotely monitored and the heating or cooling can be remotely controlled to pre-cool or pre-heat the interior.

- Tracking of vehicle location, movement and speed on Google maps.

- Monitoring of battery charge status including the ability to remotely stop and start charging.

- Remotely open or close the moonroof, turn on lights, honk the horn, lock or unlock doors etc.

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[Californikan]

Testing and development of Elon Musk's latest 'invention' at Tesla's sister company is continuing and is set to revolutionize space travel.

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[Californikan]

Really good recent interview with Elon Musk......

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[Californikan]

. Edited May 18, 2013 by Californikan

[Californikan]

Today Tesla reported it's Q1 2013 (Jan, Feb, March) revenue was $562 million, putting it on track for over $2 billion for 2013.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100721003

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[Kavvz]

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Quite an interesting video. Makes me wonder what the Citroën DS was like to drive. I've seen them being used as camera cars back in the day and now I understand why...dead cool.

[Gummybr]

Hmm.. so they still love the Goddess more than the Tesla. Citroen was so very innovative in the past and the looks and the technology is still great.

[liya]

http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2013/05/video-the-tesla-model-s-is-our-top-scoring-car.html

ConsumerReports : The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car

There, we said it. The Tesla Model S outscores every other car in our test Ratings. It does so even though it's an electric car. In fact, it does so because it is electric.

Edited May 10, 2013 by liya

[Sylvi]

Members,

I received this by Email.

Model S Success Helps Tesla Turn a Profit

Consider. Your 10 year-old company's car, the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan, receives Consumer Reports highest accolades as not just the best electric car the consumer testing organization has ever tested, but the best car it has ever tested, period. On its rating scale of zero-to-100, CR gave the Model S a 99. See the video below.

On top of that, a decade after its founding by Martin Eberhard, Marc Tapenning, Elon Musk, of course, and Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel, the company declared its first profit ever, a nice GAPP profit of $11 million on sales of $562 million, resulting in a 80% gain over the previous quarter. That number and higher-than-expected vehicle deliveries, some 4,900 units, shot its stock price up to a record high at closing of $69.40, a jump of 24%.

That means, at least for the moment, Tesla has a higher market cap value ($8 billion) than Italy's Fiat ($7.8 billion) and is gaining on Mazda's $9 billion. This from a relatively tiny Silicon Valley start-up who has figured out not only how to build and sell an electric car, but to do it at an engineering and production quality level unexcelled in a century-old industry.

Of course, it doesn't come cheap, nor would you expect it to, which is why Barclay's Bank in England isn't convinced the company will "cross the chasm to the mass affluent market." And there are a lot of short sellers who are betting the company will eventually tumble from its current lofty perch. It's estimated that 45% of investors holding Tesla shares have taken short positions, meaning that they have borrowed shares with the aim of later buying them for a lower price when the stock price inevitably falls; or so they are gambling.

Tesla also reported that it earned $7 million doing contract development work for Daimler and for Toyota, the latter on its second generation RAV4 EV. It also pocketed some $68 million in California emission credits, which represents 12 percent of its quarterly revenue. The company said it expects to see revenue from that sector fall as it moves through the year, but even without the credits, the company would still have made a reasonable profit, analysts said. Additionally, 50 percent of all Model S cars sold were financed through Tesla, which helps earn the company additional cash.

If it maintains its current pace, the company will exceed its original full production year target of 20,000 vehicles by an additional 1,000 units. Four key factors have helped drive profitability:

• Production has been sped up. The company is now able to produce on the order of 50 cars a week.
• It has expanded its service area, which enables it to sell more cars in more places
• It has found ways to reduce costs, enabling it to improve its margins
• It has successfully beat back legal challenges by car dealers to its direct-to-buyers sales strategy.

The success of the Model S also has enabled the company to make an early payment of nearly $13 million on its federal insured loan. That should help dampen criticisms about government loans to failed companies.

Be sure to watch the Consumer Reports video below on its impressions of the Model S. Even with a networth of $4 billion, Elon Musk couldn't buy praise this high.

Bottom line lesson to both established and world-be car companies: build it smart, build it right, and you won't have to pay someone to sing your praises. They'll gladly do it for you.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[kushan]

Today Tesla reported it's Q1 2013 (Jan, Feb, March) revenue was $562 million, putting it on track for over $2 billion for 2013.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100721003

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Found this, when I was browsing here and there. Definitely this will be a big hit. But how long will it take to arrive here...

http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/09/tesla-model-s-outscores-every-other-car-in-consumer-reports-ratings/

[Californikan]

Found this, when I was browsing here and there. Definitely this will be a big hit. But how long will it take to arrive here...

http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/09/tesla-model-s-outscores-every-other-car-in-consumer-reports-ratings/

The right-hand drive Model S goes into production and on sale in the U.K. and Japan early next year so it's possible the Model S could arrive here next year.

But I think the govt will have to offer a much better tax incentive on electric cars for people to start considering them. Thousands of hybrids have been imported since the tax cuts, but as far as I'm aware, not a single pure electric car was brought over in 2011 and 2012.

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[Californikan]

The Model S getting the highest score ever from Consumer Reports is a major accomplishment.

CR is one of the most respected U.S. testing organizations. They not only own their own test track and testing facility, they anonymously buy every car they test and live with it and test it for several months before passing their verdict.