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    Re: pretty dam impressive

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    Re: pretty dam impressive

     Tesla Says It Will Turn a Profit Next Month
    By Jim Motavalli

    Peter DaSilva for The New York Times
    Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla Motors, with one of the company’s Roadsters.

    Tesla Motors has been mired in lawsuits, seemingly from the company’s inception. The latest was filed last month by Martin Eberhard, the company’s co-founder, who is no longer with the company, against Tesla and Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive.

    On Monday, Mr. Musk wrote a lengthy blog post, responding to Mr. Eberhard’s legal action. And while the back-and-forth on Tesla’s history makes for interesting theater, the blog post contains a useful prediction about Tesla’s future: Mr. Musk said that he expected the company to be profitable next month.

    Really.

    The cost of producing the Tesla Roadster has dropped, according to Mr. Musk, who wrote that “an incredible effort by the development, supply chain and manufacturing teams has brought the Roadster material cost down from $140k to approximately $80k as of this month.”

    “Combined with a steady production volume of 20 to 30 per week in the third quarter this year and a good take-up rate of the higher-priced Roadster Sport,” he continued, “we expect to cross over into profitability next month.”


    Rachel Konrad, a Tesla spokeswoman, said that the $80,000 estimate does not include overhead costs. Customers ordering cars with options, including a carbon-fiber hardtop, has helped the bottom line, she said. Tesla will begin delivery of the $128,500 Roadster Sport late this month. The specs on the Sport model include a more powerful electric motor, Yokohama performance tires and a suspension upgrade.

    Tesla has delivered “more than 500” of the 1,300 or so cars that customers have ordered, Ms. Konrad added, and reduced waiting-list time from a year to six months. “We’ve seen an uptick in sales, and part of it is that we now have a wait time that is more typical of other sports cars,” she said.

     


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    Also very interesting, Merc probably made its investment back; from NY Times also

     

     

    Tesla Motors opened a dealership in Manhattan on Tuesday, just one day after Daimler announced it had sold a 4 percent stake in Tesla to Aabar Investments of Abu Dhabi. Daimler had bought a 10 percent stake in Tesla in May.

    The dealership joins locations already open in Menlo Park, Los Angeles and London, with Seattle and Chicago set to open soon, said Colette Niazmand, the company’s senior marketing manager. All of the stores are company-owned.

    Tesla chose to locate the dealership not on auto row, on 11th or Park Avenues, with its handful of high-end auto brands like Ferrari and Mercedes, but on West 25th Street in Chelsea’s art district. The dealership is in a former art gallery in a building full of art galleries.

    The location is appropriate. The sales numbers of the company’s Roadster, whose prices begin at $101,500, are closer to those of limited-edition prints than to most mass automakers. Ms. Niazmand said that the company, which is in San Carlos, Calif., had sold 1,200 cars and had delivered 550 to 600 of them.

    The dealership is outfitted more like a boutique than a traditional car dealer: don’t look for pennants and a lot full of trade-ins. The dealership will take orders rather than sell from stock, but will have test vehicles available.

    The interior of the store takes inspiration from Apple stores, and the décor, graphics and furniture were designed by several consultants, including R O Studio, a firm that designed Tesla’s logo.

    “We wanted to keep the feel of a gallery,” Ms. Niazmond said. There is bright red and bold white furniture, photos on the walls of the cars being built and an espresso bar with Tesla mugs. The display on the wall of available color choices is an abstraction that looks as if it could be a work of art itself.
     


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    Great Interview of Elon Musk on the facts about the Tesla Model S including battery charge times and everything else

    http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/09/tesla-motors-ceo-elon-musk

     

     

    Great interview with the Tesla product designer


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    News - Tesla decides where they will build the Model S

     

    Tesla eyes Downey, Calif. for Model S assembly plant

    3388564188_4427beac12_bTesla Motors may have finally picked a site for its new Model S Assembly plant — an announcement that has been awaited with bated breath by California politicians and those in the advanced vehicle industry for months. While the company has yet to confirm the selection, the city of Downey, Calif., likes its chances — its mayor has gone as far as to say the deal is 99.9 percent done.

    Today, the issue is under consideration by the Downey City Council, which may or may not approve a memorandum of understanding from the Industrial Realty Group, according to local newspaper the Downey Patriot. The site in question is 80 acres and only about 15 miles away from downtown Los Angeles (about 17 minutes driving time). About 20 of the acres included in the deal are owned by the city of Downey.

    The land has formerly been used by Rockwell International and Boeing to build spacecraft. Right now, it is the home of Downey Studios, a film and television production house. If Tesla does take up residence there, it will be the first time car assembly has taken place in Southern California since General Motors closed its plant in 1992.

    Mayor Mario Guerra says that “the deal points have all been agreed to,” but that a formal announcement of the town’s selection probably won’t come until next week. Tesla had also been considering an old Boeign factory in Long Beach.

    This could be a major boon for the town and  those surrounding it, like Compton, Alhambra and Cerritos. The plant — to be built and opened with up to $365 million of the stimulus loans received from the Department of Energy — is slated to employ between 1,200 and 1,500 people.Downey itself has fallen on hard economic times after high-tech manufacturing jobs moved away.

    Production is supposed to start by the end of 2011, with each Model S costing $57,400. With tax credits and other rebates, the price could be as low as $50,000 for consumers. Even though its two years away, almost 2,000 people have already pre-ordered the sleek battery-powered sedan.

    Tesla’s headquarters and smaller assembly operations are currently located in San Carlos, Calif., but will soon move to the Stanford Research Park in Palo Alto.

     


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    If that compagny goes public I'll buy some shares


    --

     997.2 C2S, PDK, -20mm


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    not before I do ^^

     

    funny you should say that

    IPO talk revs up for Tesla Motors

    swirling today that

    Tesla Motors

    is seriously considering an initial public offering sometime soon. The talk has been tracked to two anonymous sources, who say the six-year-old company could cash in big on the battery-powered car trend before electric and hybrid models from companies like General Motors, Mitsubishi and Nissan make it to market.

    Tesla has officially denied the prediction, calling the IPO chatter “rumor and speculation.” That said, going public in 2010 would give the San Carlos, Calif. company several distinct advantages. First, it would solidify its position as the electric car player to watch. It’s already been casually anointed as the leader by industry observers and the Department of Energy, which granted it $465 million in stimulus funds in its first round of low-interest loans for advanced transportation projects. Second, it could use the sale to raise money to get its hotly anticipated Model S sedan out the door by its 2011 due date.

    Tesla is one of several cleantech companies anticipated to go public as soon as next year. When A123Systems shocked the market with its blockbuster IPO in late Sepember (its share price jumped 50 percent on opening day), many analysts, including the Cleantech Group, said that the biggest public offerings in 2010 will probably come out of the green sector. In addition to Tesla, solar system maker Solyndra — which received $535 million in loan guarantees fro the DOE in March — and smart grid communications provider Silver Spring Networks have also been named as likely candidates.

    Tesla filing to go public would cap off a year of consistent wins for the company, which began with Daimler taking a 10 percent stake ($50 million) in May. After that, it nabbed the millions of loans from the DOE, followed by $82.5 million from Daimler, Aabar Investments and Fjord Ventures in September. It declared profitability in July and purchased space in thePalo Alto-based Stanford Research Park for its new headquarters and smaller assembly operations. On top of that, it opened swanky showrooms in New York, Seattle, Munich, and other major markets.

    The company has now raised $783 million from a wide-ranging field of investors including Compass Technology Partners, Valor Equity Partners, Capricorn Management, Google (and its founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page), JP Morgan, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Technology Venture Partners and of course its CEO Elon Musk.

     

     


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    So lets follow this closely .... I think they will be very interesting for the next 2 or 3 years.


    --

     997.2 C2S, PDK, -20mm


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    Great interview - very interesting. If I would live in a large city I would definitive go for one!

    @Gnil: I would go for some shares, too!

    This interior design with that 17" screen is amazing. "The iPhone of the cars"... WOW  - so cool!


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    Musk and Model S on the David Letterman show

    Listen to the audience reaction when the car is driven out on stageSmiley

     


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    Very interesting video, thanks for posting.

     


    --

    The secret of life is to admire without desiring.


    Re: pretty dam impressive

     A great looking package with all the tech one could ask for...at the right price? Here's hoping he can pull this off...


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    21st century Howard Hughes - hope he avoids the downside

     

     


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    interesting reading that is very public and could affect the car/company

    http://moschus.livejournal.com/


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    Interesting...  I just read Tesla has entered into a partnership with Toyota regarding the production of their Model S car, and they've bought the Fremont, California car plant NUMMI which has just closed recently...  I'd rather have seen them go at it on their own without Toyota, but oh well...

    Geoff


    --

    2001 Corolla LE - 0-60: Yes.

    2009 Corvette Z06 - 0-60: Ooooh yes.


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    That's a HUGE deal ^^.

    That gives Tesla a large step forward. They have a pre-built factory with a lot of room to grow, an expert pool of already trained workers to pick from and $50,000,000. extra bucks to use.

     

    "Mr. Musk said he looked forward to “learning and benefiting from Toyota’s legendary engineering, manufacturing and production expertise.”

    Toyota opened talks with Tesla over a partnership after Mr. Toyoda rode in a Tesla Roadster in California about a month ago, the company said. The Japanese automaker then sent an executive, Yasumori Ihara, to test-drive Tesla’s Model S prototype in early May before inking the deal."

     

    Despite the stock markets craziness lately the Tesla IPO looks even better now. Tesla has a very bright future in the long run.



    Re: pretty dam impressive

    Does that means Tesla is going to inherit the un-intended acceleration bug from Toyota too?

     


    Re: pretty dam impressive

     Another article on the subject:  http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/05/toyota-tesla-deal/

    Toyota will buy $50million of Tesla, provide an old factory and know-how for mass production.

    The image is hilarious:

    Looks like the PR team for a new type of workout. From right to left: Mr. Before,  Professor Buymyname, and Mr. After.


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    Eunice:

     Another article on the subject:  http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/05/toyota-tesla-deal/

    Toyota will buy $50million of Tesla, provide an old factory and know-how for mass production.

    The image is hilarious:

    Looks like the PR team for a new type of workout. From right to left: Mr. Before,  Professor Buymyname, and Mr. After.

     amazing shoe choice by Arnold.


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    Arnie is prove that money doesn't buy taste haha.


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    Arnie has nothing left to prove, been that way for loooong time, so he does what he wants and says what he wants w/o regard for what others may think, remember the comments about the ferrari at LA auto show. It does not matter to him. Looks like green crocodile.

    Musk also has accomplished a lot in different way, like I said above closest thing to a Howard Hughes.

    It's good news, this deal, for the country.


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    WAY:

    Arnie is prove that money doesn't buy taste haha.

     Hey the boots match the tie, have to give him some credit! SmileySmiley


    --

    993 Targa Black/Black


    Re: pretty dam impressive

     

    Who wants to own a car which has energy for only 3 hours? This is only a solution for cars which are used in a big city. So you need a second car for all other needs. Do enough people want to buy a second car for this use case? Are there enough buyers to pay the development costs for such a new technology? Is this the right car type for using a car only in the city? I don’t think so. Only a very small number of people will buy this car, not enough to even think about making money
    And I do not believe that we will see a much better battery technology (capacity/time to reload) in the next 10 years.
    But the big players have to invest to be prepared for “the day after”, this will maybe help Tesla to survive. But not to make money.

    Re: pretty dam impressive

    You could say the same thing about gas cars if you  limited yourself to what gas was in the tank.

    What re-charge time are you basing your comments on?

    What range are you basing your comments on?


    Re: pretty dam impressive

     I think I can call you a lucky guy if you use your Tesla for 200miles (=3h in Germany outside the city) before you have to recharge the car. This will take several hours depending on the recharger. 

     

    I have to use my car very hard to burn up my gas in only 200miles. After 5min I will leave the gas station.

     

    And I don't talk about the difference about finding a gas station (used by several million of cars) and a optimized recharger (used by some exotic consumers). This is another as we say here hen-egg  (Henne - Ei) problem. Nobody will buy a car which can't be reloaded/recharged/refueled every few miles, nobody will build recharge/reload/refill stations in adequate numbers if there are not enough cars on the street. Maybe the government could do/support this but does this belong to the tasks of the government (probably this will be called a good reason to higher tax) ? 

     

    Question: I don't know the power supply network. Is it possible to transmit the same amount of energy as we burn with our cars today additional? I can remember some collapses of the network   

     


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    The tesla model s (top model) is claimed to have a 300 mile range with a 45 minute quick-charge capability.

    That should handle almost every conceivable need for most people, especially in Europe with your great public transportation network and smaller travel distances. In other words, If I had to travel any distance greater than 300 miles 1 way I would use train or plane.

    Already many corporations and municipalities are building the charging "stations" that will be needed. (already posted here on RT) This is not some mickey mouse idea.

    The electric grid has huge over capacity at night when most cars will be charged. Just think of the pollution that will not be created in large city traffic jams daily.


    Re: pretty dam impressive

    Cities like Houston and San Francisco are forging partnerships with automakers and power companies to make the vision a reality. In Houston, for instance, Japanese-based Nissan Motor Co Ltd has signed a deal where the city and power provider Reliant, a unit of NRG Energy Inc, will build a handful of public-charging stations to allow electric car drivers to recharge their cars.

    Nissan has signed agreements with other cities like San Diego, Seattle and Orlando and states like Tennessee and Oregon to ensure that public-charging stations are built. Such agreements are key to easing skeptical consumers' fears of running out of juice if their car batteries run low before they can reach their garage charging stations.

    and

     

    http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS283228882520100524


    Re: pretty dam impressive

     

    from topspeed

    Nissan Leaf Sold Out for 2010

     

    Believe it or not, the 2010 Nissan Leaf has been sold out. Okay, that’s really not that hard to believe considering it was able to get 6,635 reservations in just three days, but some people might consider that shocking for an electric car. In a recent interview, Nisssan CEO Carlos Ghosn said "We think there is a big future for this car. I can already tell you that the production for 2010 is already sold out." Everyone at Nissan was probably breathing a huge sigh of relief considering it will already take them three years to make a profit on this vehicle due to the expensive components involved in the electric car’s production.

    The 2010 Leaf will arrive at dealerships in December, but Nissan has already received a total of 13,000 reservations in the past month. The Leaf will be offered in two trim levels: the base SV model, priced at $32,780 ($25,280 after a federal tax credit of as much as $7,500) and the top trim level, priced at $33,720 ($26,220 after the tax credits).

     


    Re: pretty dam impressive

     European public transport: Probably better than in the USA. But still not good. Example: I live in Munich, my parents 15car minutes near Bonn (former capital city, 350miles). By car travel time is 4:15 to 5:30h (depends on traffic). By train I have to go with the subway to the railway station, than take the ICE train (I have to change the train on my way to Bonn) to Bonn. In Bonn I have to change the train again for a local train and than I have to use a bus for the last 4 miles. Traveltime at least 5:45. And no own car while my visit. And I can tell you more stories about my weekendtrips (Italy, Swiss, Austria, other German cities). If you travel between big cities the train can be a good alternative. But if you leave the big cities the train is difficult. In big cities (my daily travel to the office) public transport is often better than the car (my daily travel to the office: about 12-17min by car, 14min by sub)

     
    Range: I don't know how realistic 300 miles range is. The range of my Porsche depends on the way of driving:  450 (easy, easy, easy), 370 (no problem, but no fun), 320 (average), 230 (autobahn fast) and 190miles (track). Official range is 400miles. I suppose 300 Tesla miles are not always 300miles.
     
    45min quick charge: I think you need a special power supply. Where do I find this? (My private and my office subterranean garage has no power supply at all. Both are used by several different people, electric meter etc has to be retrofitted). Even 45 min is much to long, impossible to use this car on holiday trip. Or would you like to wait 45min with your wife and children while the car is recharged? 
     
    As a toy (Roadster) - nice! As a city/second car - why not? As a sedan - No thank you! I think the Model S is the wrong way. To expansive, not enough customers.  
     
    Question: I can refuel my car as often as I want. Is it possible to recharge the battery as often as I want (my laptop or ipod battery must be replaced after some time)? Or do I have to wait until the battery is nearly empty (memory effect, number recharge cycles)? Then we would need even more possibilities to recharge our future cars. And nobody will buy a e-car if public charging is available in Houston, San Francisco or Munich. We need public charging possibilities everywhere (In Germany most people don't live in big cities).
     
     
     
     

     
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