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Tesla Model S now official
After a brief period of unofficial officialness this morning, Tesla has rolled out the Model S to a sea of eager photographers. The company's also revealed specs for the EV: this seven-seater can go from 0 to 60 MPH in 5.6 seconds, boasts a top speed of 120 MPH, features a dashboard display and a 17-inch main touchscreen monitor. It's fully 3G capable, sports HD and satellite radio, uses LED and neon exterior lights, smart-key power, and push button gear selector. While that $49,900 base price will get you a battery that's good for 160 miles per charge, 230-mile and 300-mile range packs will be available. On a 220V outlet, the company says it'll charge in four hours with a 45 minute "QuickCharge" option, and you should be able to swap batteries if necessary in under 8 minutes. Excited? Find a way to control yourself, this baby isn't going into production in Q3 2011. Check out a brief glimpse of the interior after the break.
Tesla Model S official shots unofficially unveiled
Kevin Rose has some Tesla Model S imagery up on his Flickr account, including the first unshrouded pictures of the car, along with a rather wild interior shot. The all-electric sedan is styled beautifully -- if rather predictably -- but things start to get weird on the inside. In what looks to be a concept car mockup of the interior, there appears to be a large touchscreen taking the place of the entire center console, wrapped irregularly by dashboard padding. The instruments panel also appears to be a screen, though it could just be a mockup at this stage. Concept cars typically have rather strange and unlikely interiors compared to their tame street-legal counterparts, but even so, if this indeed isn't some sort of cruel Photoshop trickery, we'd say Tesla really outdid itself here. Besides, who needs safe, tactile ways of adjusting climate and audio settings when you're living life this large?[Via Autoblog Spanish]
Tesla Model S priced just under $50K, rest of car still shrouded in mystery
While much of the Tesla Model S is still a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in an inconvenient white cloth, the company has revealed the EV will list for $57,400, which after the $7,500 federal tax credit puts the final price at just a Benjamin under $50,000. That's almost $40,000 less than the Fisher Karma and $10,000 more than the estimated price of Chevy Volt. Of course, we still haven't actually seen the thing, but at least we won't have to wait much longer for that -- the grand unveiling is set for this Thursday at Tesla's design studio.[Via NPR; thanks, mitchell]
First Tesla Model S teaser shot silently sneaks onto the scene
Tesla just dropped word yesterday that a drivable prototype of its Model S sedan would be unveiled on March 26th, but the automaker has now gone one step further and let loose the first official teaser image of what we can only assume is said prototype. In true teaser fashion, there isn't a whole lot to see, but as AutoblogGreen points out, it is fairly evident that the Model S is at least shorter than the rival Fisker Karma, and it seems to boast a larger passenger compartment to boot. Hit up the link below to check out a higher res shot, and don't be surprised if Tesla continues to tease this one out right up until that March 26th launch date.
Tesla tidbits: new retail stores, Model S prototype, extended warranty
Last we heard, Tesla was reevaluating some business decisions as it sought to become a thriving, profitable enterprise in 2009. In a lengthy newsletter sent out to over 60,000 subscribers today, CEO Elon Musk has laid out a torrent of news. Most notable are the imminent openings of retail locations in Chicago and London's Knightsbridge district, with four other locations slated to open before the year's end. Additionally, a street-drivable prototype of the Model S four door sedan will be unveiled on March 26th, with production scheduled for 2011. We're also informed of updates on the Smart car / Daimler partnership, a few new interior options for the Roadster, a battery replacement program and the new extended warranty. Chances are, Tesla owners have already digested all of this, but those looking in from the outside should certainly have a peek at the full letter just after the break.
Better Place's $1 billion electric vehicle grid headed to Bay Area
Need another reason to live in America's other bastion of social liberalism and homelessness? How about a $1 billion electric vehicle re-charging infrastructure in the Bay Area? Palo Alto's Better Place is finally bringing its ambitious, city-wide electrical grid and battery exchange service home after staking plans to do the same in Israel, Denmark, and Australia. The plan just endorsed by the San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco Mayors (without coughing up any money), is expected to result in 250,000 charging ports (for topping off charges), 200 battery-swap stations (for trips over 100 miles), and a driver service center by 2012 -- network planing and permitting will begin in 2009 with infrastructure deployment set to kickoff in 2010. Here's how it works, customers will receive a discounted price on electric vehicles when they subscribe to drive a certain number of miles -- Better Place will own the batteries. Besides clearing the way of government bureaucracy, the mayors have agreed to offer incentives for companies that install the plug-in stations. Now get this, Better Place expects to lure electric vehicles from the usual suspects like Toyota, Renault-Nissan, and GM in addition to, get this, Tesla Motors. Oh yes. Almost makes us want to hug an Upper Haight, teenage, poser hippie. Almost.Update: Coincidentally, Tesla is considering a small, swappable battery for its Model S sport sedan that, according to Elon Musk, could be changed "faster than you can fill a car with gasoline." Ah, synergy.[Via San Jose Mercury News, Thanks KKH]
Tesla's 4-door, all-electric Model S sports sedan gets pictured
We knew good and well it was on the way, but now we're bubbling over with excitement. The forthcoming Model S -- an all-electric, five passenger sports sedan that will ride on a platform developed entirely by Tesla -- has apparently been revealed. Of course, there's still a real possibility that the image you're drooling on above isn't a finalized look, but Road & Track has a pretty good record to fall back on. We're also hearing that the 2010-bound whip will get around 240 miles per charge while still doing the zero to sixty in under six ticks, and the $60,000 base price just makes it all the more appealing. For those with a thing for rear bumpers, check out Autoblog's link below for a sneak peek of the fanny.Read - Road & Track writeupRead - Sneak peek of the rear
Tesla starts delivering Roadsters as production ramps up, hires hotshot engineering exec
Move over, Elon Musk -- the Tesla owners club is about to get bigger. The upstart electric-car company announced the delivery of the first nine production Roadsters to customers in California earlier this week, with several more to follow at the rate of four per week, and the plan is to start building 100 a month by December, when that new transmission is ready. That's pretty ambitious, but Tesla's brought in some big guns to help make it happen -- the company just hired Mike Donoughe as EVP of Vehicle Engineering and Manufacturing. Donoughe is fresh off a 24-year stint at Chrysler, where he was most recently in charge of revamping all of the company's mid-size sedans. Word on the street is that Donoughe could have written his own ticket at any major carmaker, so it's interesting that he landed at Tesla, where he'll be working on the Model S as well as the Roadster. Oh, and there's a new Tesla store in Menlo Park, in case you were looking to blow a quick $100K in Silicon Valley -- aren't we all?
Tesla's Elon Musk promises sub-$30k all-electric car in less than four years
Yes -- more breaking electric car news! Just after Tesla CEO Ze'ev Drori announced Telsa's plans to build the Model S, Elon Musk began discussing its development of electric car tech to get the price of future cars to (and below) $30,000. When asked when that technology would be commercially available, Musk said that it shouldn't be any more than four years from now. Granted, a $60,000 car is affordable but still quite steep for most buyers -- but a vehicle mass-produced at half the price is essentially mainstream, which could have a substantial impact on the automotive world.[Image courtesy of Edmunds]
