New Tesla CEO takes it upon himself to explain Roadster delays

We've already had a pretty good idea of the reasons for delays with Tesla Motors' all-electric Roadster vehicle, but it looks like the company's new CEO, Ze'ev Drori, is now trying to set the record straight himself, with him recently posting a fairly lengthy letter addressing the matter on the company's blog. That letter is apparently the very same one that was sent to buyers of the car earlier this month and, as you might have guessed if you've been following this thing as closely as we have, it pegs most of the blame on the car's transmission troubles. As we previously reported, that has forced Tesla to ship the roadster with a temporary transmission, which is apparently slower than the final version, but assuredly safe. Drori also confirms that the company will begin full production of the vehicle in the spring of 2008, and that while they plan to ramp up production throughout the year, he admits that some of the initial run of cars won't be in the hands of customers until early 2009. Among other things, he also attempted to clarify some of the confusion over those initial EPA range targets,saying that the lab that conducted the tests "made a small error in the testing procedure," resulting in an overstated range figure. According to Drori, the revised figures now stand at 221 miles per charge, although he says the real world figures are actually as high as 267 miles per charge in "slow city driving," or 165 miles in aggressive highway driving. Those looking for more details can get the full explanation from the man himself by hitting up the read link below.

[Via CNET News.com]

[Keenan @ Dec 28th 2007 7:08PM]

i wish the whole car was covered in solar panels so that when its not in use or parked outside, it can slowely recharge. or even get some power from them while its driving.

[Jeff @ Dec 28th 2007 8:51PM]

Yeah, because that's what every performance car owner wants: a bunch of solar panels all over the exterior.

I mean forget about the fact that a $100,000 car is probably going to be kept garaged 99% of the time. The whole point of this thing is that it makes *no compromises*. It's the first electric car that's got the performance of a real sports car, and the looks to match. It is designed to make electric cars cool, which in turn will hopefully help their adoption.

Installing a bunch of solar panels would make it just another nerdmobile.

[fivestarsoul @ Dec 28th 2007 9:36PM]

@ jeff, i guess the goal should be to create solar panels that attain form and function then?

[seoultrain @ Dec 29th 2007 12:45AM]

Putting heavy batteries in a "real sports car" is the ultimate compromise.

[rento @ Dec 28th 2007 7:35PM]

That's fine just get em out there before they invent teletransportation!

[EvilGrouse @ Dec 30th 2007 11:13AM]

Cool. But someone please tell me why you can't put an alternator on the damn thing so that it recharges just like any other battery? Granted, you'd probably need a big ass alternator.

[mark @ Jan 7th 2008 7:41AM]

You can't stick an alternator on it because there is no engine to stick it on.

[Eric YJ Chiu @ Dec 28th 2007 8:16PM]

That's why venture capitalist should avoid high-tech firms at all cost.

[Ian @ Dec 29th 2007 3:33AM]

i saw one of these the other night on the road... i was amazed at how they look in real life.. ah beauty

[Tracy in Cary @ Dec 29th 2007 9:34PM]

He can say whatever he wants, but I learned many years ago to not trust the Taelons.

[Lord John Whorfin @ Dec 30th 2007 2:27AM]

It's Ze'ev, not Zo'or. He's not a Taelon, he's a sex slave from P3K that ended up being part Cluster Lizard.

[Calladus @ Dec 30th 2007 4:27PM]

With a 4-hour recharge time, I can see I won't be using this car for any sort of long trips.

Still, as a city car, not bad. When will Tesla come out with the all-electric mini-van?

[Ian @ Jan 28th 2008 6:55PM]

@EvilGrouse

Because in this forum we obey the laws of thermodynamics!

Actually, many electric cars do something similar when braking to reclaim some of the energy.