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Old 08-12-2015, 01:16 AM   #36 (permalink)
UltArc
Hydrogen > EV
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: NW Ohio, United States
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Quote:
Originally Posted by darcane View Post
Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe...

To aid initial development and greatly simplify getting safety approval, they used a platform for an ICE car, modified it as needed, and added electrical bits. I would still call this converting an ICE car, they just started the conversion a little earlier in the manufacturing process than you or I could.

I'm not saying this is a bad idea, far from it. It saves tremendously on R&D costs which is a huge hurdle for a new automotive manufacturer. But it's a far cry from designing an electric car from the ground up like they did with the Model S. Even with Musk's prodigious capital, I don't think Tesla could have started out with the Model S and been successful.
Notice how Elio is "in process" for the past X years (no pun intended)? They are building everything on their own from scratch. Tesla made a proof of concept they could sell, THEN developed their own.

Though this is a partial truth, seven years ago they did do what you said- even if they stopped three years ago, and have been successfully building their own vehicles since then. I do think it was smarter to get a working platform and build off of it- kind of like how that nimble guy is using a Nissan frame for his, before building his own.
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