Tesla Model S: $50,000 Electric Car that Seats Seven
 

Note: Click for larger images After months of PR, big claims, and worry over Tesla’s future, the young company is finally letting us see the specs on their new electric sedan, the Tesla Model S. For a cool $50,000, you’ll be able to get a very sleek looking sedan that will have a 300 mile range [...] Related posts:

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Hi,

I'm not sure how it seats 7 with the two front bucket seats, and there are 3 sizes of batteries -- the 50K version may have 200 miles? The 300 mile version is ~$60K, I think.

Two rear facing children. It should really be seats seven*.

And since there are no EPA tests for battery range, I am tempted to think the range claims are inflated as well.

Hi,

The common way of naming this would be 5+2, I think. Like the iQ is 3+1, or many sports cars are 2+2.

Lots of new details on the Tesla Model S:

Video: Tesla Model S "Alpha" Prototype Previewed; Coming to Detroit | PluginCars.com

Check out the three videos showing all sorts of closeup looks at the (near?) production Model S.

...well, it sure LOOKS worth $50K...and certainly $10K better LOOKING than the Volt™.

It's certainly the best looking of all the current electric cars. (Then again, when the competition includes the catfish-like Nissan Leaf, that's not really all that hard to accomplish.) I still will believe that the Model S will provide the performance and range Tesla touts it as having when I see it. They have a history of promising much more than they can deliver.

I Like it...:cool:

>

I hate it. Just the idea of a seven passenger car, to start with. And then why on earth sell it for less than half the price of the Roadster?

They seem to be pretty accurate. I mean, if the Leaf can get ~100 miles w/ a ~25kWh pack the S should be able to get ~300 miles with a ~100 kWh pack.

I LOVE the idea of a seven passanger car! How else am I supposed to haul around 4 kids and a dog?:)

...if the dog's BIG enough, remove the spare tire and use him as a "tow-home" device when necessary (wink,wink)!

If you dump the rear seats and their occupants, you should have some decent luggage space.
If the battery is underneath the middle of the car, the lower space aft of the engine/transmission should be available for even more luggage.

http://www.blogcdn.com/green.autoblo...detroit-01.jpg
(click on image for link)

...sounds like the word "economical" has become the new euphemism for "expensive" (wink,wink)!

...must be a side-effect of eating TARP money.

I don't follow your comment about TARP? How did Tesla have anything to do with that?

I like some things in the Model S chassis: the battery in the floor, the direct drive and the controller right next to it.

It is a *hatchback*, if you missed it...

...sorry for my 'warped' sense of humor--I was only commenting on their very euphemistic use of the word "economical" to describe a vehicle costing $57K.

...and, as I recall, Tesla "dipped" into the TARP ("bail out" money) back when things first began to crash--maybe I'm wrong?

You may be right... Yeah, even a $40K+ vehicle (Volt) is not "economical" in that sense.

Why would you want to haul around four kids?

Tesla never got any TARP money AFAIK. Economical in this case really depends on perspective. Is it more economical than a $15k compact? Nope. But it's probably more economical than other vehicles in it's price range. That said, using the same idea the $15k compact isn't economical because someone can get a used version for $5k, and along the same lines they could get a used motorcycle for $1k, and a used bike for $100, or a beater bike for $free. By the time we're done the only really economical thing to do is ride around on our free bike eating only out of dumpsters! ;)

Exactly. If you're the sort of person who would ordinarily drive say a BMW 7-Series (MSRP $82,000 - $137,000), which is pretty obviously Tesla's target market for this thing, then $57K looks pretty cheap.

its nice but out of my price range
(but then again, so is the price of ANY new car)

maybe one day theyll make a base model for the public
(which i would consider)


Model S Features | Tesla Motors


Seats 5 adults, 2 children (i dont see it)
More cargo space than most sedans
2nd cargo are under the hood
160, 230, or 300 mile range pack
45 minute QuickCharge
0-60 in 5.6 seconds
120 mph top speed

http://crenk.com/wp-content/uploads/...el-s-sedan.jpg


turbine wheels are cool looking

but make mine with flats and wheel skirts please

(tires are way too thick)

I want BAD. If I had the $ to spare, I'd buy one.

looks like a Chrysler 300S, Dodge Intrepid, almost identical in many respects. Your $400 million tax dollars at work.
The Tesla guys sold-out, begged for government money, went IPO while losing millions, and sold out to the JAPANESE. total losers.

A video about the Model S:

Meet Tesla's 7-seat sedan - Video - Business News

This is the best EV, so far. A Cd of 0.22 is excellent and it is one of the main reasons the car can have good range.

How much does it weigh? Lets hope its nowhere near the 5300 lb of the Fisker.

The body panels and chassis will be primarily aluminum, with a total weight of just over 4,000 pounds, about 1,200 pounds of that being battery mass.

Wish it was under 3.5k pounds. Too bad batteries weight so much still.

This is exciting stuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmVtf...yer_detailpage

My friend has one on order. He is an electric vehicle nut, and is quite excited about it.

I will get the chance to drive it, and I'll report back.

He has a 2012 Zero DS electric motorcycle and I get to ride that any time I like. (yes, it's kind of cool, and performs quite well)

Good vid, Neil.

Just hope Tesla can hold on long enough to get to their Stage 3 vehicle.

My friend took delivery of his new Model S with the 85KWH battery pack and 415? HP electric motor.

He let me take it for a solo drive out of the airport, and on some really nice back roads and high speed roads. I'm in love.

In short, the car is stinking fast. I took an iPhone video of a 20 to 90 acceleration run. Four seconds flat. The 90MPH run took place on a 3000 foot strip private airport here in South Florida.

The car drives perfectly. The "tach" is really an energy use gauge. It hovers around 20KW at 50MPH. The cornering is world class for a sedan, and the low center of gravity works well with the high quality suspension components. The steering feel is perfect. The brake re-gen system is exactly as you would design it. Lift the go-pedal and the car goes into re-gen. Lift a bit more and you decelerate more, lift fully and the car slows rapidly, creating significant re-gen. It took all of 30 seconds to be fully comfortable with this system. I love it.

The car has instant response, no downshifting, no lag, no messin' around that is so common in today's 6, 7 and 8 speed automatic transmission cars.

Using cruise control clearly uses less energy for the same speed. As the human foot is unsteady, and shows up on the "tach-energy meter". And, of course, the energy use is easily tracked by the built in programs and the large display.

Here's Elon Musk's thinking in a nutshell:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgKWP...layer_embedded

I saw a Tesla Model S "in the wild" today for the first time! It was a black one down on Walnut Street in Maynard just above The Mill. Sweet!

I saw a second Model S a few days ago - I hope to see many more.

Consumer Reports gives the Tesla Model S a 99 (out of 100) rating - the highest rating ever!

Consumer Reports On Tesla Model S: Best Test Car Since 2007

Consumer Reports: Tesla Model S is 'best car we've ever tested' (Score: 99/100) : TreeHugger

It was docked that 1 point because it takes 6 hours to charge - oh the horror! It does have the Supercharging port that can do an 80% charge in under 1 hour, though - for free...

As noted, it is about 2X as efficient as a Prius.

Cost 90 grand, right?

regards
Mech

No, the 60kW battery pack model is $62,400 (after $7,500 tax credit) and the 85kW model is $72,400 (after $7,500 tax credit). The 85kWh Performance model is $87,400 (after $7,500 tax credit) - so, none are inexpensive. But, compared to similar size and performance cars, they are actually pretty reasonable.

The Mercedes S600 starts at about $160,000 and it gets 12/19 according to the EPA. The higher performance BMW 7 Series are about $140,000. Driving these fossil fueled cars will cost you about $40K per 100K miles.

My Fiesta cost 10k and will cost 8k in fuel for 100k miles. Why would you think that using the most ineffecient vehicles for a comparison supports your position? Are there any MB or BMW V12 owners on this site? I'm fairly sure there are no Tesla owners.

Also, how much does the replacement battery pack cost for the 3 versions quoted?

Pragmatic balanced comparisons between vehicles does not negate your position Neil. People have enough sense to see the imbalance in any postion if they care about the topic.

Will Tesla even be here in 5 years? I'll bet MB and BMW will and I think one of those two companies is working with Tesla when this was posted.

regards
Mech

A ten year old Tesla with a marginal battery pack is worthless, unless you part it out.

regards
Mech

Did you purchase that new? My Forester was five thousand, plus a thousand in unnecessary dealership fees, another two hundred for tinting that I never received, and $1,600 for a service plan that is only useful for my fourth and least expensive repair.

I have probably paid $1,500 in fuel.

I think that I would have been better off with a Festiva.

I am going to do a Google search for "How to Assume the Fetal Position." Maybe that would help.

As for Tesla, I imagine that plenty of people purchase [plug-in] Prii and that is enough of a status symbol. I do not think that hybrids or current electric cars are "the answer" by any stretch of the imagination, but if Tesla is successful, electric cars should improve faster than if they are not.

Please excuse me, I need to consult Google.

The Blue Book for a 2,011 Fiesta is $10,000. How did you do that?