You mean Tesla is becoming a bit...un-coiled?

would it? is that too much to ask for?

I think you have to sell more than 1,000 cars to be considered a real car company.

The departures "may be for personal reasons, but it doesn't look good," said Jim Hall, principal of 2953 Analytics Inc., an automotive consulting firm in Birmingham, Michigan.

Particularly if the personal reasons are not wanting to be associated with another Solyndra-like fiasco.

It is great that people who can afford a 90k car are getting a tax credit!

I really hope not, 'cause I want an S.

MeinRS6: Just another Solyndra.

Actually it looks like Fisk is another Solyndra.

We give money to an electric car that is building the cars in Finland (hello outsourcing!). And then they recall them!

Here we are at least giving tax breaks to the rich people who want to buy these cars, so we are helping out the 1%.

I really do think the Model S is an amazing car, with huge promise...

...but why did they style it like an old Chrysler Concorde?

Could be. There are signs, signs, EVERYWHERE there's signs.

That's highly inappropriate, since their last gig in Rhode Island set fire to a theatre and killed 700 people.

thalidomide new and improved: That's highly inappropriate, since their last gig in Rhode Island set fire to a theatre and killed 700 people.

No, no, you're thinking of Jackyl, the band whose frontman always wore the schoolboy costume.

Sigh, another example of an electric car designed from the start to fail. This time it wasn't the technology, but the price.

Enjoy your century old technology running on fuel obtained from the least stable region on earth, everybody!

Great_Milenko: Sigh, another example of an electric car designed from the start to fail. This time it wasn't the technology, but the price.

Enjoy your century old technology running on fuel obtained from the least stable region on earth, everybody!

I say this a lot. If Alternative Energy worked, it wouldn't be 'the alternative' to regular energy.

Great_Milenko: Enjoy your century old technology running on fuel obtained from the least stable region on earth, everybody!

Alberta?


/it was this comment or maybe something snarky about Edison being an idiot and Tesla a genius
/went with the trolltastic one

Tesla was interesting, but I don't think they ever become a car company in the sense of producing a full line of vehicles.

They were at the forefront of the auto industry in producing electric vehicles, they were not at the forefront in terms of producing batteries. Nissan, General Motors, and Honda were all ahead of them in terms of research. Research that allows them to get better battery range, cheaper unit cost, and battery cells that could handle recharge cycles.

At this point I figure Tesla either moves in the direction of becoming a supplier. They can sell their current production ready system to various Chinese manufacturers and others looking to get into the hybrid game. The profits can go into researching new systems. They currently supply to Mercedes and Toyota.

Secondly they could just let themselves be sucked into the larger Toyota/DENSO borg like project or Daimler might grab them.

Or finally bankruptcy.

I'd be curious to see the books, but I bet they took a massive bath on their whole sedan thing. The Roadster was an awesome idea and a great product even if it lost money, simply because it got people excited and got Tesla those contracts for the RAV4 and Mercedes E-Cell vehicles (also they're supplying to Freighterline now). The sedan isn't really going to get people excited and the sedan market is a harsh mistress with low profit margins. I guess the deciding factor is if the loss on the sedan exceeds the profits off their supplier contracts.

thalidomide new and improved: Great_Milenko: Sigh, another example of an electric car designed from the start to fail. This time it wasn't the technology, but the price.

Enjoy your century old technology running on fuel obtained from the least stable region on earth, everybody!

I say this a lot. If Alternative Energy [sources] worked, it [they] wouldn't be 'the alternative' to regular energy [sources].

Foundation knowledge and reason are demanding and difficult. They discipline the thought process and limit the freedom to be inconsistent, vague, confused.

All energy is equal, some sources are more efficient than others.

they don't have Shipstone technology.

rohar: thalidomide new and improved: Great_Milenko: Sigh, another example of an electric car designed from the start to fail. This time it wasn't the technology, but the price.

Enjoy your century old technology running on fuel obtained from the least stable region on earth, everybody!

I say this a lot. If Alternative Energy [sources] worked, it [they] wouldn't be 'the alternative' to regular energy [sources].

Foundation knowledge and reason are demanding and difficult. They discipline the thought process and limit the freedom to be inconsistent, vague, confused.

All energy is equal, some sources are more efficient than others.

Paging Dr. Pedantic, Dr. Pedantic, you have a call on the white discourtesy phone.

All the billions spent on electric car loans and subsidies and we still have players in the game who can't build one for cheap.

thalidomide new and improved: That's highly inappropriate, since their last gig in Rhode Island set fire to a theatre and killed 700 people.

No, that was David Bowie when he did his hit song Smoke On The Water.

HempHead: I think you have to sell more than 1,000 cars to be considered a real car company.

To be fair, Tesla also make parts for other car companies.

Kraftwerk Orange: I really do think the Model S is an amazing car, with huge promise...

...but why did they style it like an old Chrysler Concorde?

[www.boston.com image 609x349]

]

I dunno. I think it's more reminiscent of the DB9

DB9:


Tesla:

Kraftwerk Orange: I really do think the Model S is an amazing car, with huge promise...

...but why did they style it like an old Chrysler Concorde?

Wind resistance. That's the most efficient shape for a car moving through the air, which means it's the best shape as far as fuel efficiency is concerned.

/believe it or not, we hit a high point in auto design in the 1990s.

Dwight_Yeast: Kraftwerk Orange: I really do think the Model S is an amazing car, with huge promise...

...but why did they style it like an old Chrysler Concorde?

Wind resistance. That's the most efficient shape for a car moving through the air, which means it's the best shape as far as fuel efficiency is concerned.

/believe it or not, we hit a high point in auto design in the 1990s.

Yeah, once they could really apply computers to the problem, aerodynamics became easy. Once you find the perfect shape, you can't get any further, except by reducing the friction on the surface of the vehicle.

Article is shocking.

Nah, man, they just need to hang tough. Sure, there's alot to lose, but lady luck is on their side and things will start gettin' better soon. They just have to be a man and go through these changes remembering that they did it for the money and that's just the way it is. I'll be watching for the signs of a recovery.

Enormous-Schwanstucker: Kraftwerk Orange: I really do think the Model S is an amazing car, with huge promise...

...but why did they style it like an old Chrysler Concorde?

[www.boston.com image 609x349]

]

I dunno. I think it's more reminiscent of the DB9

DB9:
[3.bp.blogspot.com image 640x480]

Tesla:
[www.boston.com image 609x349]

1956 Dodge Dart:

Great_Milenko: Enjoy your century old technology

If there is one thing I know it is that the Stock Market is the only indicator of the well-being of a company.

NGVs are something the nation should explore. Were already piping the stuff all over the county, and it's dirt cheap right now, one fifth of gasoline per BTU, no exotic materials or technologies needed.

thalidomide new and improved: rohar: thalidomide new and improved: Great_Milenko: Sigh, another example of an electric car designed from the start to fail. This time it wasn't the technology, but the price.

Enjoy your century old technology running on fuel obtained from the least stable region on earth, everybody!

I say this a lot. If Alternative Energy [sources] worked, it [they] wouldn't be 'the alternative' to regular energy [sources].

Foundation knowledge and reason are demanding and difficult. They discipline the thought process and limit the freedom to be inconsistent, vague, confused.

All energy is equal, some sources are more efficient than others.

Paging Dr. Pedantic, Dr. Pedantic, you have a call on the white discourtesy phone.

See that's the problem. We engineers call that being accurate. Marketing and management calls it pedantic. Then you end up with some watered down POS like the Tesla sedan. Then we all loose.

rohar: thalidomide new and improved: Great_Milenko: Sigh, another example of an electric car designed from the start to fail. This time it wasn't the technology, but the price.

Enjoy your century old technology running on fuel obtained from the least stable region on earth, everybody!

I say this a lot. If Alternative Energy [sources] worked, it [they] wouldn't be 'the alternative' to regular energy [sources].

Foundation knowledge and reason are demanding and difficult. They discipline the thought process and limit the freedom to be inconsistent, vague, confused.

All energy is equal, some sources are more efficient than others.

Energy sources do not have efficiency. Energy transfer does.

Tesla is fine. People complaining about their lack of volume or price are missing the point: that is part of the plan. Sound crazy? Follow along kids:

It's basically impossible to start a business creating low-cost high-volume cars. All the tech development, all the manufacturing costs are just too expensive. And if your high-volume car needs to be returned to the factory for fixing, your business is no longer a business.

So they came up with a simple plan: start with high-cost low-volume. The key to this is one simple fact that has long been known: electric engines have tons of torque at all velocities. It doesn't matter what your speed is, you press the accelerator and you jump. So the obvious first step in a high-cost low-volume plan is this: Start with a sportscar.

And thus it came to pass. If you are building your way up to making serious volume, what's the next step? Luxury sedans. Better volume due to lower price, but still requires a very sporty engine like you just produced for your first car.

Then you move on to the final step: soccer mom vehicle.

That has been the plan since day one at Tesla. There are not hurting for investors. Maybe with all the Toyota interest, they'll get bought before the plan finishes. But that's a better than planned for outcome, not a worse one.

/ Not a Tesla employee, but know one

/also does not approve

Buy Mortimer! Buy!

I wish for them they could push out some product earlier.

Call me when it doesn't cost more than the average yearly income of the American worker.

SN1987a goes boom: Call me when it doesn't cost more than the average yearly income of the American worker.

Yeah, like the Volt:


Hot!

bingethinker: I'm not the first to suggest that this is just a scam. How many cars have they actually sold?

Tesla has sold more than 2,100 units in 31 countries since launching the $109,000-model in 2008. (new window)

/Bug Googling is hard!
//Since math is also hard, that's about $1/4 billion in sales.

Tesla losing its spark: Nope.

LonMead: How is a picture of a gas powered mid nineties Ford hatchback on fire in any way related to a Volt?

jvl: Tesla is fine. People complaining about their lack of volume or price are missing the point: that is part of the plan. Sound crazy? Follow along kids:

It's basically impossible to start a business creating low-cost high-volume cars.



Stop right there. Starting with a bad premise.
Tell that to Tata Motors and see what they say.

I'd sure like to win one in a sweepstakes or raffle!