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Tesla loses two Model S executives, Elon Musk says it's no big deal
A pair of bigwigs over at electric vehicle maker Tesla have drawn their final checks, with Peter Rawlinson and Nick Sampson calling it quits. The former was the automaker's vice president and chief engineer, while the latter "supervising vehicle and chassis engineering." Ricardo Reyes, a company spokesman, emailed the following: "Having completed conceptual and design engineering work on Model S, Peter has decided to step away to tend to personal matters in the U.K." The Model S, if you'll recall, is the un-launched four-door sedan that has heaps riding on its success, so it's no big shock to hear that the outfit's stock plunged around 20 percent following Bloomberg's report. Elon Musk, Tesla's chief executive officer and biggest shareholder, stated that "the uncertainty around [the] Model S is now much diminished, as anyone who has seen the beta vehicles and toured the factory will appreciate; there is no question in my mind that we will start delivering vehicles in July, if not sooner." Musk took to Twitter to assure people that the shock reverberating from the news was "way overstated," insinuating that the company's still well in control of its destiny. Whatever the case, we'd still take a couple of those S sedans in our garage, regardless of who's heading up their deployment.
Tesla opens its workshop, shows off more Model S prototypes
It's expected that when the Tesla Model S hits full production it'll be rolling out of the company's newly acquired facility in Fremont, California -- formerly the NUMMI plant jointly owned by General Motors and Toyota. For now, though, the cars are being put together at Tesla HQ in Palo Alto and the company invited some media to go check things out. GigaOM has some pictures showing various Teslas in various states of disassembly, including motor and rear suspension assemblies about to be bolted in, and Chief Engineer Peter Rawlinson talking about the car's massive front radiator assembly. Oh, and the matte orange models? No, they're sadly not the first examples of a special General Lee edition. Those cars are destined to be run into various walls at various speeds to test the car's performance in a crash, much like this poor Volvo was. Do spare a thought.
Tesla Chief Engineer Peter Rawlinson geeks out with us about Model S design
Did you sit through all three of the lengthy, expository videos that lovingly and exhaustively detailed every aspect of the Model S's design and engineering? If so, you'll be familiar with Peter Rawlinson, Tesla Chief Engineer and genuine car nut who, in previous lives, held the titles of Chief Engineer of Advanced Engineering at Lotus and Principal Engineer at Jaguar. His latest creation, the Model S, shares some frame concepts the products of one of those companies and some styling cues from another, but it's safe to say this is an all new car that has been obsessively designed starting with a "blank computer screen" as he puts it. He was kind enough to spend some time talking tech with us, and you can read the highlights below. %Gallery-113678%
Tesla shows us what the Model S looks like on the inside (video)
We've recently had the chance to get closer than ever with the Model S, taking off the covers from a rolling prototype and gazing longingly at the fingerprints on its giant, Tegra-powered 17-inch central display inside. Now Tesla is showing what else is inside -- inside the sheet metal, though. Tesla and its VP of Vehicle Engineering, Peter Rawlinson, have taken the time to release three videos showing the construction and development of the car, giving us a tantalizing view of the frame. Looking at the above picture the amount of cross-bracing on the front structure is impressive, resulting in what should be a very twist-averse chassis that loves being slung through the twisties. What remains to be seen, however, is how well it will hustle the weight of its battery pack around. We're just going to wait for a test drive to find out.
