Tesla delays production of its electric sports car
Editors' note: This blog initially misstated the refund amount for people who pay $5,000 to get on the waiting list but then later cancel their order. The amount is $4,950.
Tesla Motors is pushing out production of its sports car again, but the car goes farther on a battery charge than previously expected.
The company said late Monday night that it will deliver 50 Tesla Roadsters, its $98,000 all-electric sports car, in the first quarter of 2008 and 650 in total in 2008.
Earlier this year, the company said it would try to come out with cars before the end of 2007. (In 2006 and earlier in 2007, the company was shooting for mid-2007.) Tesla also said it would try to come out with 800 cars during the first year of production.
See you next year.
(Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET Networks)"We may have a few production cars built late this year, but the vast majority will come out in 2008," a company spokesman said in an e-mail. The number of cars produced may go up depending on demand, but 650 is the current goal of new interim CEO Michael Marks.
The delays will allow the company to conduct further durability and reliability tests, which can cost millions of dollars and take several months. Testing is one of the reasons that you don't see a lot of successful car start-ups, according to some car executives and investors.
In one bright spot for the company, a Tesla Roadster went 245 miles on a single charge in a recent test. That works out to 235 miles for highway driving and 255 miles a charge for city driving. (These cars, like hybrids, get better city mileage because braking recharges the battery.) Earlier this year, the company lowered its estimates from 250 miles on a charge to 200 miles.
The company also changed its waiting policy. Until now, you could join a "club" to get in line to get a car. Premium club members, or buyers, plunked down $50,000 and got priority on cars coming off the line. Patient buyers only had to put down $35,000 but had to wait behind the premium buyers. However, the full amount was refundable until three months before the car was going to be manufactured, when potential buyers had to confirm which options they wanted. If you bought the car, the club fee was applied in full to the purchase price.
Now, Tesla wants people to pay $5,000 to get on the list. You get $4,950 back if you cancel your order.
Another electric car company, Phoenix Motorcars, also had to delay its electric SUV this year.
Tesla is also providing batteries to Norway's Think, which wants to come out with an electric city car in Europe this fall.
http://www.lightningcarcompany.com/home.php
Alas I assume it's another $100 000 car?
didn't undestand electric vehicles. The Feds tested and reduced the mileage figure to 200 miles. Now Tesla is back claiming 250 miles. That is pretty typical of the Tesla company, which has had credibility issues with practically every claim they've made. The battery pack costs somewhere between $21K and $30K. Tesla isn't saying. It will probably last around 5 years,
normally around 60,000 miles, although Tesla claims 150,000 mile lifespan, which would require
30,000 miles per year. And so the stories go ....
"Tesla originally claimed 250 mile range and also ridiculously
claiemd that it could always be acheived, regardless of A/C
usage, terrain, etc." Not true, Tesla never claimed anything even
remotely like that. Their original target was 250 miles on the
EPA highway driving cycle -- and when they later saw they
couldn't quite meet that goal, they came right out and said so.
"The Feds tested and reduced the mileage figure to 200 miles."
Not true, the "feds" have never tested the car, and nobody ever
reduced the mileage figure to 200 miles. Tesla's own tests
showed that the car was unlikely to reach 250 miles, so they
themselves decided to call it "over 200 miles" until they had
more accurate, official numbers for the production vehicles --
which they now do.
"It will probably last around 5 years, normally around 60,000
miles, although Tesla claims 150,000 mile lifespan. . ." Not
true. Tesla claims the battery should be good for 5 years or
100,000 miles, and that's what they will warranty it for. (Full
warranty for 1 year, pro-rated to 5 years after that.)
"And so the stories go ...." Indeed. Maybe you should stick
with more facts and fewer "stories".
- EV of such class is the technological milestone like Sputnik
- by Alexander Bell September 29, 2007 7:54 PM PDT
- The mass production of a pure Electric car, truly competitive with the best of high-end luxury gas guzzlers is an astonishing technological breakthrough, a milestone in a human history of the same importance and significance as Sputnik, which marked the beginning of space age 50 years ago. The biggest thing of current decade is Energy, in particular ? Electric energy (more on this topic in ?GEL Initiative?, available online at http://www.alexanderbell.us/Initiative/GEL.htm)
- Like this Reply to this comment
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- Sputnik
- by Reachstacker September 30, 2007 3:37 AM PDT
- Perhaps it is. And like the Sputnik hardly "mass produced"...
- Like this View reply
Processing -
(17 Comments)What new technology? All the pieces parts are readily available from any industrial supplier.
At least Tesla et al have their business model correct in the sense that to sell an over priced gadget you have to make it exotic.
Compare this for real progress to Tesla: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/03/hybrid_truck_un.php
Or this: http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/products.asp?p=NT
and no I am not affiliated with either of them.
They just make more sense to me than something 98% of the population can't afford and if they could, Tesla couldn't build them if he wanted to.