Tesla to produce 800 cars in first year

[Rob Williams]

According to Cnet, Tesla is planning to release 800 of their electric roadsters in their first production year. At $98,000 a piece, that could end up being near $80 million in overall revenue. Leno recently reviewed the car and was impressed overall, and even managed to compare it to his 1909 Baker Electric.

This is one sweet car. Considering the Lotus Elise it's based off of retails for around $45,000 though, the Tesla is offered at one heck of a premium price. Of course, the Elise can't do 60 in 4.0 seconds...

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9750191-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

 

[NicePants42]

I hope this car gains traction. The better this car does --> the more R+D Tesla does --> the farther we can travel between charges --> the more sales volume increases --> the lower the price goes --> the better the car does...

I spend ~$30 per week on gas, which adds up to over $1500/yr. Give me a way to turn that expense into equity, and I am a happy person. Unfortunately, the $40K price premium is a little steep for me just now.

 

[madstork91]

I'd buy it now for in town purposes if I had the $ to spend...

I remember first reading about this a while ago and I'm glad to see that one could purchase one soon if so inclined.

I wouldn't mind sacrificing some of that acceleration if I could get closer to 300 miles out of it. Living in Texas as I do, a long distance drive can be 120 miles and can be 500+. It is a 130 something mile drive from here at college to my hometown. Until there is a range closer to 300, I wouldn't feel comfortable driving it around here.

Also, how would one power up this thing on a trip? How willing would people be if i asked "hey mind if I run up your electric bill for an hour while I eat?"

Kinda brings in a new question of "how do I recharge on the go and away from home?"

 

[Rob Williams]

I am in agreement with both of you. The battery-life would no doubt be the biggest issue with the car, but with all this support, that should only improve. It's a car you could take out around town, but you wouldn't want to travel to the next city with it, for the exact reason Stork mentions. It takes too long to charge even when you are at some remote place. The car is small as well, so there wouldn't be much room to carry a backup battery or generator or something.

$100K for a car that has so much burden is a little too extreme at this point.

 

[NicePants42]

$100K for a car that has so much burden is a little too extreme at this point.

Except for the 800 or so people (this year) who are in a position where they will not need to travel more than 100 miles one-way and have a spare $100K.

In general the idea of this car is a fantastic business investment:
-You have a delivery truck that runs a 100 mile route every day
-You have lots of people driving to/from a local [anything]

In a few years, it might be the Tesla Taxi that racks up 450,000km.

 

[moon111]

Where I work right now, they don't have hydro meters and I could probably plug the car in ...umm to keep the block from freezing.

 

[Rory Buszka]

Actually, even though the Prius plug-in hybrid goes only 8 miles before the ICE has to kick in, that's a long enough distance for many of the short trips people in America take to places like the grocery store and stuff. It might not be enough to be a huge commercial success, but that kind of distance is not as paltry as it seems for those who make infrequent short trips (like old people or those who live in the city).

 

[moon111]

I've had two jobs which were 2.5 and 1 km away. Being so close it make me think... Heck I can afford to drive a 454 powered dually to work now! The only reason I'd want a small car is if I had to drive further.

 

[Rob Williams]

Actually, even though the Prius plug-in hybrid goes only 8 miles before the ICE has to kick in, that's a long enough distance for many of the short trips people in America take to places like the grocery store and stuff.

Good points. I still think for the mass-market to care though, it will need to go a little further. For driving around town, this car would be spectacular. You'd imagine with a car THAT freaking fast though, you'd want to hit up a highway, and if you do that, chances are you are getting far enough out of town and power will become a concern.

I don't know, I am exaggerating the battery-life, really. 200 miles is what one charge will get you, so 100 miles each way for a trip, which if plenty for most people.