Newsmaker: Elon Musk on rockets, sports cars, and solar power

There is definitely something unusual about Elon Musk.

After dropping out of a graduate program in physics at Stanford University after two days, he formed Zip2, which Compaq later bought for over $300 million. He went on to help found PayPal and make a second fortune. Now, he's the founder and chief executive of Space Exploration Technologies, which puts satellites into orbit. He's also chairman of electric-car company Tesla Motors (Musk owns the first vehicle that came off the factory line) and Solar City, a rapidly growing solar-panel installer.

He also has five kids, all under the age of 5. Oh, and he's under 40. But rather than coming across as a frantic whirlwind of energy, he comes across as cerebral, precise, and calm. You'd think his only obligation for the day is grading final exams.

Musk sat down with Editor at Large Michael Kanellos recently to talk about the future for electric cars, biofuels, and how much it costs to launch a rocket.

Q: First off, I think everyone wants to know how does the Tesla Roadster drive?
Musk: I would say it's great. According to one of the car magazines, either Car & Driver or AutoWeek, it's apparently the best kind of mid-speed acceleration of any car they ever tested. So that's perfect for when you're driving on the highway and you want to make a lane change or something like that. It's incredibly responsive, so it's a very, very fun car to drive.

You haven't been hit or scraped it yet?
Musk: No, I just basically drive from Tesla (in San Carlos, Calif.) to Palo Alto. I drove a little bit around Stanford and I picked up an anniversary gift for my wife on University Avenue.

You've proven that electric cars are viable and you've brought the concept back from the past. It seems the most interesting intellectual aspects of the challenge have been accomplished. Why don't you sell the company?
Musk: Well, my motivation behind Tesla is really to do as much good as possible for the environment and the electric-vehicle revolution. I think there is still a lot of work to do and if we were to sell to a big company, I'm not sure it would progress at the same pace.

My motivation behind Tesla is really to do as much good as possible for the environment and the electric-vehicle revolution. I think there is still a lot of work to do and if we were to sell to a big company, I'm not sure it would progress at the same pace.

You see awfully big auto companies now putting a lot more emphasis on electric and hybrids. Do you think they are serious? In the past, people have accused them of doing these projects for window-dressing.
Musk: I think it depends on the company. Toyota is really very serious about hybrids and GM is, I think, pretty serious. The tide of history is really becoming difficult to avoid. It's really very much in the direction of hybrid and also for electric vehicles.

I should say our focus right now is very much on the Roadster and ramping up the production rate, making sure our supply chain is secure, ensuring that the variable cost of the car is kept low, so that we get quite good margins, and making sure we don't have our overhead grow out of control. What Tesla is focused on right now is producing a compelling car at a compelling price and making sure that the business fundamentals are good.

Can you give us an update on Whitestar, the sedan?
Musk: The only thing that's significant outside the Roadster is that we have a portion of the company and its resources allocated to the sedan, which is code-named Whitestar. We need to think about the actual name, but the sedan is coming along. We are about to finish the styling on the sedan and hope to unveil it in the second quarter of this year. The working prototype would be later this year.

What sort of factory footprint and capital are you going to need or will you need for building a sedan?
Musk: It's a good question. For the Roadster, our volume is only 1,000 to 2,000 (units) a year. The sedan--we're having to increase that by a factor of 10, which will go to 10,000 to 20,000 a year, but still not large by the major car company standards. The starting price hopefully will be somewhere in the $50,000 to $60,000 range. We're finalizing the factory location position in the next few months, maybe even this month.

Is the factory going to be in Albuquerque?
Musk: That is the default location, but we're just making sure before we fully commit that that is the correct location. It's the most likely location. We were awarded a pre-approval by the Department of Energy for a government-guaranteed loan, which will cover the majority of the Whitestar production costs, or the capital cost of the battery.

So you don't even intend to refund the company before you start production of Whitestar?
Musk: No. There probably will be some equity funding. The Department of Energy loan guarantee covers a substantial portion of the Whitestar, the majority of the Whitestar productions, but it's not all of it.

More Newsmakers

[masonx]

Auto Revolution

With the advent of all the custom car shops around the country, the popular interest in the "Pimp My Ride" type media programs and now the push toward more eco friendly power plants, it seems to me that we may have started a major paradigm shift in the US auto industry - a revolution if you will. When you couple the aforementioned custom auto shop production with new paradigms in computer inventory control of an entire universe of company's that produce auto parts and components both for the big three as well as after market distributors, isn't it possible that the out come is going to be a lot of small auto production custom company's catering to the exact needs of the driving public? Isn't that what the custom shops are doing already? If I'm not mistaken the prices of custom shop cars and mid-range luxury cars have crossed - so having a car design custom fitted to your needs is now economically attractive.

I ponder all this in the light that I can't find a vehicle that meets my family's needs and I have been itching to have one designed that did. We have past the sports car stage and now we need a vehicle that is a cross between an SUV and van. It has to be all-wheel drive an with a multi-purpose interior so that we can haul passengers in comfort or fold down the seating and haul a load of plywood for weekend projects - or stick our dive or windsurfing gear in the bed, turned easily into a weekend camper. All of this on top of a fuel efficient drive system that can compete effectively in turnpike traffic speeds, or manuever in tight parking areas. That's impossible you say - you would be right if you only consider what's currently being made.

[a3037]

It sounds like what you need is a hatchback or a wagon.

[wildchild_plasma_gyro]

A few things i'd like to say

Looking at the Californian Power grid data the other day as you do. To be honest i cant remeber why i was but anyway i notice it can capacitate a little bit more use from these cars and your role out plans do look quite nicley in Synch with very plausable Molten Carbon Power station role outs that could later hold up the grid demand.

Another thing and i'm not sure how revolutionary what i'm about to say is, is this.
When you recharge a battery you are inducing Electricity into the Chemistry to give it charge onece more.
If while charging this Battery chemistry you could occilate organised Caotic Voltage and perhaps minor caotic current noise along that charge current then might you be able to tune the caotic noise to better charge the battery chemistry.
IThe Cuircuit would be an odd one but could be achieved if you had a caotic noise source you could minipulate.

Well it just so happens i have developed a Maths Algirythmic tehnology that can be used to generate organised caotic noise and i have worked out the basics of how to use it to Play with the noise and have produce sounds with mathematica with it.

I have been considered a mental health patient and other consider me on drugs and hence i cant function well enough yet to further develop my maths technology.
I have developed it well enough to have a working example of it that itself is very usful but i am fighting against Quantum Radar Homming Based Radio Transmitter Electrosonic technologies and the people behind it seem to treat me as if i'm vermin who should bow to their god an die and of course i just see straight through it but i'm not rich and power ful and we are fighting.
I have coal underneath my bed. Peizo electric tweeters and shilding material and am building up my nights sleep technology and push my learnid dicipline to try and get my self to the point where i can improve on and use my skilled mind to make my self rich and powerful.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://freespace.virgin.net/luke.marsh2/index/Basveo.html" target="_newWindow">http://freespace.virgin.net/luke.marsh2/index/Basveo.html</a>

[Richie7]

This is a subject I

I have been working on for 25 years with no money ro work with. I have a car motor in my head. I am an electronic specialist I made an electronec wheelchair that has solar panels and a special charger that takes 700 ma from the panels and supplies a 7 amp pulse to the batteries if they need charging. I also built a 4 ft electric motor but that is another story.

[rshelton3000]

Cropland for ethanol

Everyone assumes that the best way to produce bio-fuels is from corn or other food crops. This is ridiculous. There are species of algae that are over 50% oil that can be used to produce bio-diesel and the remainder can be processed to produce either ethanol or gassified to produce other fuel products. No croplands or food crops would be necessary as there is a vast ocean of (yes I will say it) ocean that can be used to grow these algae. Furthermore, a German company is producing a diesel car that (they say) can get 130 - 150 mpg! So, again, why are we talking about taking up cropland or using food crops for fuel?

[muskdgusa]

Mr Musk, If I could show you how to make an electric car that will run a million miles and never need recharging would you be interested?
next,
If I could show you how to build a flying car, like nothing you've ever seen, will you be interested?
next,
If I could show you a new and improved wat to harness the wind to make electricity, again, will you be interested?

[donelll77]

mrs. elon musk.i have a patent search on my ideal,but i cant pay for it.i seen you on charles ross show and was imprest with what you are doing.the name of my idea is the newage energy i fill my patent is what you need for your cars.there would be no toxic or troulesome byproducts -nocarbon dioxide emission to polute and damage the atmosphere,no hydrocarbon residues to poison ground water,lakes etc. no radioative waste to dispose. such a clean,limitless source of power would literaiiy transform the would .this newage energy dont used oil or gas.no more one gas company,but one in every nabalhood .on a bigger scale it is allso a space ship that fly without gas or oil.this is why i am whiting you .

[donelll77]

by donelll77 December 9, 2009 12:18 AM PST
mrs. elon musk.i have a patent search on my ideal,but i cant pay for it.i seen you on charles ross show and was imprest with what you are doing.the name of my idea is the newage energy i fill my patent is what you need for your cars.there would be no toxic or troulesome byproducts -nocarbon dioxide emission to polute and damage the atmosphere,no hydrocarbon residues to poison ground water,lakes etc. no radioative waste to dispose. such a clean,limitless source of power would literaiiy transform the would .this newage energy dont used oil or gas.no more one gas company,but one in every nabalhood .on a bigger scale it is allso a space ship that fly without gas or oil.this is why i am whiting you .