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[quote]Tesla Motors is shipping its latest car, the Model S, designed to compete with high-end sedans like the BMW.
It's also the first of Tesla's models entirely designed and built in-house, at a factory in Fremont, Calif. According to Bloomberg, this is the one that's supposed to make Tesla profitable.
The car is expensive: new owners picking up the vehicle will have to shell out $95,400 to $105,400. But the cars seem to be selling. [b]Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said earlier this month that 10,000 people had put down $5,000 deposits.[/b]
[b]The Model S is a battery-powered plug-in vehicle, entirely electric. Charging it up takes about four to five hours. It can go zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and has a range of 300 miles at that speed with the manufacturer's largest, 85-kilowatt-hour battery. The other two batteries available are 60 kWh and 40 kWh, with ranges of 230 and 160 miles, respectively.[/b]
Acceleration with the smaller battery is slower; [b]the smallest battery accelerates to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, while the 60 kWh version does so in 5.9. Top speeds also drop. The 40 kWh battery can, Tesla says, hit 110 mph while the 85 kWh reaches 125 mph to 130 mph.[/b]
Among the amenities are a touchscreen navigation system, streaming radio and Internet connection.
Some analysts have said Tesla, like other electric cars, might run into problems because its range is limited and the price is so high. There's also competition from other electric vehicles, such as the Nissan Leaf. Nissan has delivered some 9,674 Leafs so far, but that was short of the goal of 10,000 for the last fiscal year. Plug-in hybrids from Ford and GM haven't sold as well as their makers hoped, either.
On the bright side, Tesla does plan to deliver a cheaper version of the Model S. Via Tesla's website it's possible to reserve a Model S that is $49,900 after a $7,500 federal tax credit.
[b]If the Model S sells, though, Elon Musk will be the first entrepreneur since Henry Ford to successfully launch a car company[/b] -- the last attempt was the iconic gull-winged DeLorean in the 1970s. (That company declared bankruptcy in 1982).[/quote]
[url]http://news.discovery.com/autos/tesla-ships-model-s-120621.html[/url]
[quote]Tesla Motors just hit another milestone — it began shipping its second electric car on Friday.
[b]This is a big win for CEO Elon Musk. Just a few years ago the company was close to dying. He put millions of his own dollars into the company to keep it afloat, nearly going broke in the process.[/b]
One reason Tesla has been able to survive the brutal public markets is the promise of the Model S, a more affordable, more practical electric car than the Roadster, Tesla's previous car.
Now that car is here. If you haven't seen it, it's worth taking a look at. If you have seen it, it's worth another look.
[/quote] [url]http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-model-s-launches-2012-6[/url]
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I want one.
I love all the tech and the idea of driving an electric car.. but this car looks generic and boring. But I guess that's what they're going for.
[QUOTE=garry;36560747]I love all the tech and the idea of driving an electric car.. but this car looks generic and boring. But I guess that's what they're going for.[/QUOTE]I think this one looks rather nice compared to some of the other ones I have seen.
[QUOTE=garry;36560747]I love all the tech and the idea of driving an electric car.. but this car looks generic and boring. But I guess that's what they're going for.[/QUOTE]
At least it isn't the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt.
[QUOTE=garry;36560747]I love all the tech and the idea of driving an electric car.. but this car looks generic and boring. But I guess that's what they're going for.[/QUOTE]
I actually like the plain sedan look.
The Teslas look like Aston Martins crossed with your average high-end sedan. Some look alright like this one, some are beautiful and some not so much. I just hope mr. Elon Musk makes some good profit here, even though I personally don't believe electric cars are the future, but rather a temporary bridge between fossile fuels and the next source of energy, be it bio or hydrogen.
I love that all-glass roof.
300 miles seems like more than enough and iirc electric cars "pay for themselves" with the amount of money you save from using electricity instead of fossil fuel. It's pretty expensive but I'd get one if I had that kind of money.
[QUOTE=mac338;36560781]The Teslas[/QUOTE]
Incase people are wondering, you got the original Tesla Roadster:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/mvqCa.jpg[/img]
and the Model X concept (work in progress)
[img]http://i.imgur.com/w8RC9.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=OvB;36560818]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/w8RC9.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
Don't like those doors.
wing doors are total shit
completely pointless really
Also dangerous if you roll over. Some manufacturers have to install explosive bolts that cost a lot just to fix that problem.
[QUOTE=OvB;36560818]Incase people are wondering, you got the original Tesla Roadster:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/mvqCa.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
I never liked the tesla roadster, and it was a failure partly because that design appeals to people who like fast, loud cars, who wouldn't buy an electric even if it went from 0 to 100 in negative two seconds. Going for a "family" market with a four-seat car is a much smarter idea.
[editline]30th June 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=Dachande;36560837]wing doors are total shit
completely pointless really[/QUOTE]
Except on the DMC-12
Those doors are a bit different. They don't open like the DeLorean doors, rather they slide upwards then fold out. Making it really easy to get in and out in tight spaces.
There's a little interactive thing on here a bit down the page explaining them better.
[url]http://www.teslamotors.com/modelx[/url]
Too bad it's pointless to get an electric car. Most cars can only go 100 miles or so on an 8 hour charge, every 5-10 years gotta replace the battery, the electric motors are insanely expensive,etc. Only way i see electric cars ever taking off as something major would be when they replace the shitty batteries with Ultra-Capacitor packs that charge in a few minutes and last just as long if not longer.
[QUOTE]If the Model S sells, though, Elon Musk will be the first entrepreneur since Henry Ford to successfully launch a car company[/QUOTE]
Can someone clarify what they mean by this? Are they trying to suggest that no completely new car companies have been successful or that all of them weren't the result of one entrepreneur?
[QUOTE=Dachande;36560837]wing doors are total shit
completely pointless really[/QUOTE]
wow no way seriously a fucking luxury car has a pointless feature holy shit someone call the police
[QUOTE=latin_geek;36560815]I love that all-glass roof.[/QUOTE]
Probably gonna have to clean it a lot. Bird shit and all sorts of crap comes on there, and it's a bit hard to reach too. I'd personally have gone with the roof-roof.
[QUOTE=littlefoot;36560896]Can someone clarify what they mean by this? Are they trying to suggest that no completely new car companies have been successful or that all of them weren't the result of one entrepreneur?[/QUOTE]
Second thing
[QUOTE=mac338;36560903]Probably gonna have to clean it a lot. Bird shit and all sorts of crap comes on there, and it's a bit hard to reach too. I'd personally have gone with the roof-roof.[/QUOTE]
Water spots galore. Happens with sunroofs when you don't use them for months and months. Get's nasty.
[QUOTE=zombini;36560887]Too bad it's pointless to get an electric car. Most cars can only go 100 miles or so on an 8 hour charge, every 5-10 years gotta replace the battery, the electric motors are insanely expensive,etc. Only way i see electric cars ever taking off as something major would be when they replace the shitty batteries with Ultra-Capacitor packs that charge in a few minutes and last just as long if not longer.[/QUOTE]
Well they are early in their life and they just keep on improving. The first electric cars were pretty shit. This one's decent. Goes 300 miles etc.
Fossile fuel cars were also shit when they first came out, and look at 'em now.
However I see the "facebook" problem here. Everyone's used to one better service so they refuse to switch to another to help it grow big, become successful and improve.
And that's why I believe that electric cars are going to be a moderate market until a new system similar to fossile fuels is developed, and they are rendered mostly obsolete.
[QUOTE=latin_geek;36560855]
Except on the DMC-12[/QUOTE]
And the Mercedes 300 SL. It's pretty much the mother of gullwings (and it's quite sexy on it).
[editline]edit[/editline]
[t]http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-mno/Mercedes-Benz-300-SL-Coupe-RS-Studio-DO-1280x960.jpg[/t]
some cars really are hot with gullwings.
[QUOTE=mac338;36560931]Well they are early in their life and they just keep on improving. The first electric cars were pretty shit. This one's decent. Goes 300 miles etc.
Fossile fuel cars were also shit when they first came out, and look at 'em now.
However I see the "facebook" problem here. Everyone's used to one better service so they refuse to switch to another to help it grow big, become successful and improve.
And that's why I believe that electric cars are going to be a moderate market until a new system similar to fossile fuels is developed, and they are rendered mostly obsolete.[/QUOTE]
I'm all for electric cars, but the effect they will have on emissions will be minimal until they become more popular, and even then, there's still the powerplants that charge them. I say by 2050, they'll be as common as gasoline cars and the LFTR Reactor system can power the world on 5,000 tons of Thorium a year, and most mines dig up that much a year, individually.
[QUOTE=garry;36560747]I love all the tech and the idea of driving an electric car.. but this car looks generic and boring. But I guess that's what they're going for.[/QUOTE]
for gods sake its an electric car that actually looks like a car not a transformer baby with downs syndrome. its a fucking miracle car!
For a car that's going for an innovative step there's something missing, there's no [b]boom.[/b]
American made ffffffuck yeah. I think I know exactly what Musk is doing with all of this, his plan is actually quite ingenious. He has his company build high-end, expensive electric cars that only the rich can afford. By having an exclusive car, he can, in the long term, create a less-expensive and overall more efficient version by using the capital gained from the expensive sports cars and the technology that evolves with every version of them. Think about it. The original Roadster started at 90k and had a range of 300 miles, but took a day to charge. Now, the highest model of the S costs 90k, with its max charge time being roughly 8 hours. He's inching the company towards the most efficient and economical vehicle on the market. I'm calling it now, when Tesla comes out with a 30k model, it will beat the pants off any other car and sweep the market.
[QUOTE=garry;36560747]I love all the tech and the idea of driving an electric car.. but this car looks generic and boring. But I guess that's what they're going for.[/QUOTE]
Do you want to drive in this abomination then instead?
[img]http://img.automobile.de/modellbilder/Renault-Twizy-29580_ren_twz_11_test_1.jpg[/img]
I don't see the great thing about electric cars.
I mean, you're still using electricity from power stations, none of which are all that environmentally friendly
[QUOTE=Maloof?;36561147]I don't see the great thing about electric cars.
I mean, you're still using electricity from power stations, none of which are all that environmentally friendly[/QUOTE]
Actually, quite a few now are hydro, geothermal, nuclear, or wind. So as time goes on, a great thing will emerge from electric cars. Also, electric cars, if done right, should be easy as hell to repair.
[QUOTE=Maloof?;36561147]I don't see the great thing about electric cars.
I mean, you're still using electricity from power stations, none of which are all that environmentally friendly[/QUOTE]
It's still much better than fossil fuels, though it depends on where you get the electricity you use to charge your car from. A lot are much more environmentally friendly, such as windmills, water turbines, wave-based power plants and (hopefully soon) thorium reactors.
[QUOTE=scratch (nl);36561141]Do you want to drive in this abomination then instead?
[img]http://img.automobile.de/modellbilder/Renault-Twizy-29580_ren_twz_11_test_1.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
I do quite them them actually. If I'm driving an electric car I want people to know it's electric, to know it's different.
[editline]30th June 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=Maloof?;36561147]I don't see the great thing about electric cars.
I mean, you're still using electricity from power stations, none of which are all that environmentally friendly[/QUOTE]
That's a dumb argument.. but every argument against electric cars is dumb.
Even if you don't count the fumes coming out of the back of the car you're eliminating all the fumes extracting the oil, pumping it, tanking it, shipping it, and delivering it to the petrol station.
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