Paul Tan's Automotive News » Tesla Motors

Tesla to end Roadster production, Model S out next year, 2014 Model X to combine SUV and MPV qualities

Danny Tan — Tue, 31 May 2011 05:30:17 +0000

A filing with the the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by public listed electric car maker Tesla has shed some light on future plans. There will be a prototype of a Model X crossover by the end of the year, and the company will end production of the Tesla Roadster in December this year, concentrating on a new platform series. Tesla has delivered 1,650 Roadsters to customers in over 31 countries to date.

According to Tesla, it is “designing the Model X to incorporate the functionality of a minivan with the consumer appeal of a sports-utility vehicle.” CEO Elon Musk has previously revealed in an interview that the Model X will debut in 2014.

When pitching to investors for its IPO last summer, Tesla said it wanted to build four derivatives from the Model S platform. First out will be a midsize sedan (the car pictured here, click here for gallery and video) followed by a convertible, a van and a crossover/SUV. From the latest plans, it looks like the latter two will be combined into one Model X.

As for the upcoming Model S sedan, customer deliveries are scheduled to start in mid-2012 and that there are several drivable prototypes already complete. Tesla is planning to make about 20,000 Model S per year, with prices ranging from $57,400-$77,400. As of end April 2011, the company has collected around 4,600 bookings with a minimum refundable payment of $5,000, the filing said.

“We anticipate that the initial units of the Model S will be introduced with a Signature Series, which will have range capability of 300 miles (480 km) and include certain colors and options, some of which may not be available in the general production of the Model S. We also plan to offer the capability to fast charge in as little as 45 minutes and the ability to rapidly swap out its battery pack at commercial charging stations,” it was revealed.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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Tesla to provide Toyota with two electric prototypes

Jacob Alexander — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:02:14 +0000

Tesla will deliver two prototype electric vehicles to Toyota by the end of this month. The cars will have Tesla electric motors and battery units housed in Toyota bodies, speculated to be the Toyota RAV4 and Lexus RX. This comes after Toyota announced in May that it will invest $50 million in Tesla Motors following an IPO, which generated over $200 million at one point.

“Toyota and Tesla engineering teams have made a lot of progress in a short amount of time and it is exciting to start seeing some initial results,” Tesla Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel said in a statement.

Other alternative fuel plans for Toyota at the moment include a electric city car based on the Toyota iQ, which is a separate project from that with Tesla, and the plug-in version of the Toyota Prius hybrid.

The world’s top carmaker previously gave off the impression that it did not really believe in pure electric cars, which they say is not practical due to their high cost, short range, long charging times and questionable battery technology. Perhaps the strong push by its rivals in the EV scene (GM with the Volt and Nissan with its Leaf) is pushing Toyota to join the party. Working with Tesla is a smart move that could pay off handsomely without the risk of major R&D investment.

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This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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Tesla Roadster 2.5 – roadster with a revised face

Jacob Alexander — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:04:58 +0000

The Lotus Elise-based Tesla roadster has undergone a facelift and is now called the Roadster 2.5. The revisions are minor and are centered on the front and back end of the car.

In front, the roadster gets a new reshaped grille with diffusing vents while the back gets a rear diffuser reflecting the future of Tesla’s design. This sits on forged wheels which are available in silver and black.

Inside, the seats feature greater comfort with larger supportive bolsters and a new lumbar support system while an optional 7-inch touchscreen display with a back-up camera. Not that the car was noisy to start off with, but they have added a new front fender liner material which makes the cabin even quieter.

The Roadster 2.5 is set to be unveiled at the new Copenhagen and Newport Beach, CA dealerships. You can view a picture gallery of the roadster after the jump.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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Tesla partners Toyota in EV production, buys closed plant

Jacob Alexander — Fri, 21 May 2010 08:34:34 +0000

Toyota and Tesla have announced that they will partner each other in the production of electric cars. EV specialist Tesla will acquire Toyota’s New United Motor Manufacturing Inc (NUMMI) plant that was recently closed down. NUMMI, located across the San Francisco bay from Tesla’s Palo Alto HQ, was a former joint venture between Toyota and General Motors.

Tesla will be looking to employ around 1,000 more staff. CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla’s next model, a sleek four-door coupe style called Model S, will account for about 20,000 units a year when it debuts in 2012. The $40,000 Model S will be affordable for the brand’s standards, joining the over $100,000 Roadster.

Toyota will be investing $50 million in Tesla in exchange for common stock after the latter’s initial public offering is completed. What does the world’s biggest automaker stand to gain here? Tesla’s lean and rapid product development is one, as well as its electric vehicle technology. Toyota is still using nickel-metal-hydride batteries in its hybrids for instance, while Tesla is using lithium-ion. In return, Tesla will gain from Toyota’s scale, engineering resources and access to its massive supplier base.

“Decades ago, Toyota was also born as a venture business. By partnering with Tesla, my hope is that all Toyota employees will recall that venture business spirit and take on the challenges of the future,” Toyota president Akio Toyoda said about the partnership.

See and read more of the Tesla Model S here.

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This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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Tesla loses three employees in plane crash

Danny Tan — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:56:46 +0000

Tesla Motors, maker of the battery powered Roadster sports car, lost three employees in a plane crash which happened over California’s Silicon Valley. The twin-engine Cessna 310 crashed shortly after taking off in fog from Palo Alto Airport. No injuries were reported on ground, but the accident cut off power supply to companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Facebook.

“We are withholding their identities as we work with the relevant authorities to notify the families. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Tesla is a small, tightly-knit company, and this is a tragic day for us,” said Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk.

Police said that the plane struck a power tower and one of its wings came off, hitting a residential structure. Electricity was cut across the town, affecting about 28,000 people and forcing two hospitals to rely on emergency systems.

This unfortunate incident aside, things are looking up for the company. Palo Alto will be the future base for Tesla Motors, which is set for an initial public offering and the announcement of the location of its US assembly site. The 500-staff outfit has delivered about 1,000 of its $109,000 Roadsters (0-96 km/h in 3.7 seconds, 200 km/h limited top speed) to buyers, which includes celebrities like George Clooney.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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Daimler AG takes up 10% stake in Tesla Motors

Paul Tan — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:36:51 +0000

Daimler AG has taken up a 10% stake worth US$50 million in electric car maker Tesla Motors, a move that depends their already pre-existing relationship where Tesla would equip 1,000 Smart cars with their electric motor and battery technology. According to Daimler chairman and Mercedes-Benz head Dieter Zetsche, Daimler wanted more than a supplier-customer relationship with Tesla.

“We are in a time of change. This industry is going through a kind of paradigm shift, and has to reinvent itself ultimately to be independent of petroleum and without CO2 emissions. We need fast technology change,” said Zetsche, and it seems that he sees Tesla’s technology as a way to achieve that fast technology change.

Of course this is a big score for the electric car camp. Any big manufacturers who votes yes for electric cars will steer the industry more towards electric motors and batteries instead of fuel cell cars or extended range hybrids as the defacto method of car propulsion in the future. Daimler has also invested in German battery company Li-Tec, and founded a battery production JV with Evonik Industries. These might end up supplying batteries for both Tesla and Daimler electric cars.

This could also mean Mercedes-Benz platforms could be used for future Tesla like a replacement for the Model S (shown above) in the future, but then again with the versatility in packaging with an electric car, a platform designed for a combustion engine might not be the completely optimal solution.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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1,000 bookings for Tesla Model S sedan!

Paul Tan — Thu, 14 May 2009 06:50:56 +0000

Tesla Motors has revealed that it has garnered a total of 1,000 bookings for its second model, the Tesla Model S. Tesla calls it a 4-door electric sedan with 5+2 seating – that’s something new! 3 rows in a sedan, with the +2 referring to child seats hidden somewhere way at the rear somehow I guess.

To make a booking you have to place a US$5,000 booking fee that is refundable but that means US$5 million in Tesla’s hands right now. The base model will cost US$49,900 after a tax credit because of the car’s zero emissions. The tax credit is quite substantial at US$7,500.

Tesla claims a 300 mile (480km) range (160 miles for the baseline model and another 230 mile model) and a recharge time of 45 minutes from a special external 480V QuickCharger line, or several hours (overnight) with a regular electrical outlet between 120V to 240V.

The company also claims the car’s floor-installed battery packs can be swapped out in less than the time it takes to fill a full tank of petrol, so in the future you could actually go to “battery stations” and swap out your batteries for a freshly fully charged new set instead of stopping and waiting for a full charge.

0 to 100km/h takes only 5.6 seconds which is pretty rapid for a sedan, and power goes to the rear wheels via a single speed transmission, but there are plans for the future for all-wheel drive models. For the US market the cars will naturally be left hand drive but right hand drive models will also be available later.

Look after the jump for a video and photo gallery!

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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Tesla Model S electric sedan: New teaser image

Harvinder Sidhu — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:02:45 +0000

A new teaser image of Tesla’s latest product; the Model S has emerged on the Internet. We were recently teased with another image which gave us a bellow-shoulder line sneak peak. Looking at the teaser above which reveals a glass roof, you can definitely tell that the four-door fully electric sedan will be a pretty handsome automobile. The sexy side profile reminds me of the Aston Martin Rapide four-door coupe.

The Model S will make its debut on March 26th next month in California and potential buyers should be able to place orders with a US$ 10,000 deposit. Selling price should be figured at US$ 60,000 (approximately RM 220,000) while it should be able to deliver 386 kilometers in terms of driving range.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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Tesla releases teaser of Model S electric sedan

Paul Tan — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:29:29 +0000

Click to enlarge

The future of Tesla and its upcoming Tesla Model S sedan is still doubtful, but that doesn’t stop us from getting excited about this new teaser image that the company have released, leading up to the official unveiling scheduled to be held on the 26th of March 2009. The profile shows a 4-door sedan but with sporty proportions, perhaps what an enlarged Mazda RX-8 would look like.

This will be interesting as we’ll get to check out what design language path Tesla is treading down, because its first model the Tesla Roadster has too much influence of its base model in it, the Lotus Elise. The Model S was first referred to as Project WhiteStar, and is expected to have a range of about 386km, with a price tag of US$60k, much cheaper than the Roadster’s US$109k pricetag.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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Tesla Model S luxury 5-seater to roll out of new plant+HQ in California

Paul Tan — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:31:19 +0000

While the Tesla Roadster is being assembled at a Group Lotus PLC factory in Hethel, Tesla is preparing the production center for its next model, a zero-emissions luxury sedan. Tesla is building a $250 million facility that will include a production plant for the new sedan as well as its corporate headquarters and R&D center. It will be located in San Jose, California.

The new Tesla sedan was previously referred to as “Project WhiteStar” and is currently referred to as the “Model S”. It will feature 4 doors, 5 seats, and zero emissions. It will use lithium ion batteries for a maximum range of 386km and its base price will be about US$60,000 or about RM204,000, much cheaper than the Roadster’s US$109,000 price tag.

A more expensive version will come later equipped with a range extending internal combustion engine to charge the batteries when you are unable to get the car to a plug-in charging point – this is much like the concept of how things work with the Chevrolet Volt.

The first Tesla Model S is expected to roll off the production line in late 2010. Both the Roadster and Model S will be priced far out of reach of common folk, but Tesla hopes the profits from the Roadster and the Model S can fund a third car – an affordable electric car currently known as Project BlueStar.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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Electric 4-seater luxury sedan from Tesla

Paul Tan — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:51:43 +0000

Tesla Motors, who sent shockwaves through the industry with the introduction of the Elise-based electric sportscar the Tesla Roadster (shown above) has announced that it will be making a new 4-seater sedan aimed at the BMW 5-Series, to be released by the end of the decade.

The luxury electric sedan is set to be available globally in two variants, one with a similiar engine to the Tesla Roadster (248 horsepower) with a 320 kilometer range on a single charge, and another more powerful variant with a higher range – about 480 kilometers. The sedan will be built with lightweight steel, and production is expected to be 10,000 to 20,000 units annually.

This is likely the first manufacturer to come up with a fully electric powered sedan for mass production, while other manufacturers have gone different paths – Lexus is focusing on hybrids while BMW is investing in hydrogen and turbodiesel technology.

Don’t expect anything funky like in-wheel motors though, the motor and battery pack will be positioned traditionally in the front, and power will be sent through the rear wheels.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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Tesla Roadster – Electric Plug-in Sports Car

Paul Tan — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 20:27:58 +0000

Tesla Motors is a Silicon Valley start-up founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning which set out to to one thing – to design a sports car that would go as fast as a Ferrari or Porsche, but run on electricity.

The name Tesla is a tribute to genius inventor Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-born American inventor, electrical engineer, and scientist whose many inventions include the induction motor and alternating-current power transmission. He also did experiments with wireless power transmissions. Anyone here who has played C&C: Red Alert would have been warmed up to the name.

Their first production vehicle is the Tesla Roadster, which looks so much like a Lotus Elise that people have begun calling it an electric Elise. What makes the Tesla tick? More details after the jump.

The Tesla Roadster is an electric powered sports car, with juice supplied by 6,831 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the same stuff that powers your notebook computer. Battery life is expected to be in excess of 100,000 miles or 161,000 kilometers. It’s got a range of 400 kilometers per charge for mostly highway driving. 100km/h is achievable from a standstill in about 4 seconds and the car has a top speed of over 209km/h.

The car is powered by an Taiwan-built AC Propulsion Inc 3-phase, 4-pole electric motor that produces a peak horsepower of 248 horsepower and redlines at 13,500rpm. The engine also offers regenerative engine braking, a must have considering the car is a pure electrical vehicle, not a typical hybrid which has a little gasoline motor. Since it doesn’t have a gasoline engine, the Tesla Roadster is a plug-in electric vehicle. The lithium ion battery packs are fully charged in 3.5 hours.

Being powered by an electric engine, the Tesla Roadster offers none of the screaming orgasmic sounds associated with a normal gasoline engine powered sports car. The car is very quiet. While the electric motor does not sound fast, it definitely goes fast. Peak torque of 244Nm is available right from 0rpm and stays powerful beyond 13,000rpm, dropping steadily from about 5,500rpm down to about 95Nm near the 13,500rpm redline.

The electric motor is mated to a 2 forward speed and 1 reverse speed gearbox. The gearbox is a essentially manual transmission with a computer controlled clutch. First gear revved up to the peak 13,500rpm gives you 112km/h, then you have to shift into second gear which brings you up to the top speed of 209km/h. Braking is provided by anti-lock disc brakes on all 4 wheels, with twin-piston AP Racing calipers in front and single-piston Brembo calipers at the rear. Power is transferred to the roads with 16 inch Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 LTS at the front wheels and the same rubber but in 17 inch size at the rear wheels.

The Tesla Roadster‘s physical design was done by Barney Hatt of Lotus Design in England which explains it’s similiarity to the Lotus Elise. Lotus even builds the car for Tesla Motors. Alot of Tesla Motors’ 80 employee team were former Lotus employees. The car would surely be a fun drive, but I think I’d miss the sound of a roaring gasoline engine. What do you think? Would you enjoy speed without sound?

The Tesla Roadster is expected to cost between US$85,000 and US$120,000.

More Photos: AutoBlog

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Tue, 14 Feb 12 12:52:36 +0000.

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Paul Tan's Automotive News » Tesla Motors

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