Tesla Motor’s Chairman Elon Musk on Production Plans
Tesla Motors chairman is Elon Musk, who founded PayPal, making billions there. Besides trying to launch the first commercial space rocket, he also funded Tesla Motors in the interest of producing electric cars.
In his post yesterday on the corporate blog, he tells us Tesla expects to begin Roadster production in earnest in the Spring of 2008. In case you don’t know, the Roadster is a two-seater sports car with about 250 miles range per charge.
He also assures potential customers that their plan to build a $50,000 sedan is still a go and that the car will be unveiled in the first half of next year. He notes they plan to build 10,000 of these “model 2’s” per year, whereas the $100,000 Roadster will be built at a rate of 2000 units per year.
Musk goes on further to note a 3rd even less expensive model will follow. He confirms that Tesla too plans to build an REEV (as opposed to GMs term E-REV) for “range-extended electric vehicle”, and mentions Tesla will eventually go IPO.
Will they be able to rise up and compete with the General? I don’t know, but at least they are based in the U.S.A.
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32 Responses to “Tesla Motor’s Chairman Elon Musk on Production Plans”
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December 22nd, 2007 at 10:13 am
Aptera is going to give Tesla a run for their money. Their sub $30K 2 seat BEV is very cool for those who want to be noticed! GM could learn a thing or 2 from this company. Digital displays and PV electricity to control the cabin temperature when parked and maybe even add a tiny bit of range when the thermostat allows are excellent features. Here is a video.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4237853.html?page=1
December 22nd, 2007 at 10:32 am
More power to them but the Aptera couldn’t be produced in a million years at a million dollars. It’s easy for them to say what they are going to do… It’s not in a marketable product form.
December 22nd, 2007 at 10:40 am
Lyle - Thanks again for this excellent reference! Your site rocks!
I always suspected that Tesla would go range extended. For the Roadster, a pure BEV makes sense because:
1) People that can afford a $100K sports car can also afford another gas car for longer trips.
2) You probably need all those batteries anyway to get the power for a sports car.
3) A pure BEV gets more attention - more show-off factor.
But for lower priced cars, a range extender makes the most sense because:
a) Batteries are expensive.
b) Saves weight (the ICE + 40-mile batteries weigh less than 250-mile batteries).
c) Unlimited range (gas stations everywhere).
As a side note, I have a ton of respect for Elon Musk. He’s pragmatic. If it can be done, he will find a way to do it. I’m encouraged that he is talking with major car manufacturers. Sounds like a win-win.
December 22nd, 2007 at 10:52 am
I don’t think Aptera will go mainstream. You’ll need a motorcycle license to drive one. They chose 3 wheels because it puts them in a class of vehicles that requires much less safety testing. I don’t think 3-wheels will do well in the snow. They only seem to target California.
December 22nd, 2007 at 11:03 am
Did you see where First Electric SMART Delivered to Coventry City Council,the first of 100 cars to be delivered as part of a UK-based market trial for the introduction of the fully electric version.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/12/first-electric.html#more
The momentum is beginning to build for electric cars. But I want a Volt.
Come on GM, I know you can do it. I haven’t bought a foreign made car since a 1964 VW, and have had several GM cars that I have been happy with. Support built in USA.
December 22nd, 2007 at 11:15 am
Computer-Codger Says:
“Support built in USA.”
Yes, Yes. Buy Toyota and Honda, built in USA! (humor)
December 22nd, 2007 at 11:16 am
I agree with Dave G. ANy company that tries to market a 3-wheel car has already doomed itself.
As for Tesla, I hope they succeed, but I doubt they will. At least not in the sense of producing a high volume car. By the time they get their act together, GM and Toyota and others will already be there to eat their lunch.
December 22nd, 2007 at 11:46 am
“ANy company that tries to market a 3-wheel car has already doomed itself.”
More likely just limited itself to a niche market at low volumes. After all, there are companies that produce only motorcycles that survive very nicely. If you want to see a really cool three wheeler got to http://flytheroad.com/
December 22nd, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Yes, but I see motorcycles all the time. I have never seen a 3 wheel vehicle on the road, unless you count a motorcycle with a sidecar.
My point is that even if a company is able to sell a few thousand EVs per year, they are still irrelevant because it basically does nothing for the environment or the fuel situation. We will still be stuck with the same problems until a widely marketable vehicle is built.
December 22nd, 2007 at 12:41 pm
The only thing Tesla has going for them is time (a two year head start on the competition with the Darkstar roadster).
The $30k Bluestar REEV sedan will be their saving grace.
December 22nd, 2007 at 12:41 pm
If I could afford the $100,000 I would order one today. However count Me in on the $50,000 sedan. The large Auto Mfgs. won’t produce an equivelant of a Tesla! Brian, a few thousand EV’s a year may not make much difference at first on a national level. But it Will make a big difference on a personal level. I’ll be the one driving by while you wait in line to fill up with gas!
December 22nd, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Martin,
I only buy gas about once every two months, so I think I’ll be OK.
I want EVs and EREVs to succeed not because they are personally convenient, but because they can help ween us off oil as a nation. A few thousand cars won’t do that; a few million will.
December 22nd, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Tim #1 thanks for that excellent video.
When I first looked at the car in past months, initial thoughts were its way out there, will never exist … Over time, it didn’t look too bad, in fact it was beautiful from an energy efficiency point of view. The car would need front (2-wheel) drive for cold climates. The dash cluster is great with the 3 rear cameras with operational information overlay. The touch/motion sensing control panel looks good. I would expect GM to do a similar cluster panel for the Volt. Repeating the same style instrumentation cluster for decades is a bit silly with all the neat technology available out there. Time to think out of the box and progress. Looks lots of space for the two occupants.
I would not be embarrassed to drive the car, it speaks energy efficiency and engineering. The first automobile looked pretty strange to folks who only used horse and carriage.
If they sell a few thousand to a hundred-thousand a year and survive, great! It’s choice, and more choice is a good thing. Kudos for Aptera.
December 22nd, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Lyle I wanted to try and clarify a few things about that blog post since I’ve been reading up on tesla for a while now. The REEV nature of the whitestar sedan (model 2) is not confirmed at this point if you read the blog post carefully Elon only says that it’s an option.
That being said tesla has had very complementary things to say about the Volt Concept, specifically about it’s powertrain setup, and these comments have lead to suspicion in the Tesla blog community that they are buttering up the market in anticipation of putting out their own serial hybrid/range extended EV(REEV), similar to the volt. However I must stress that none of this has been confirmed or denied by Tesla all we know for sure is that it is one of the optoins they are considering.
If anyone is interested in more of the goings on at tesla I would highly recommend the official tesal blog at Tesalmotors.com or the unofficial forum at teslamotorsclub.com
December 22nd, 2007 at 2:40 pm
The car is interesting. I would probably drive it to work instead of the Pontiac if it were already sitting in my garage, but I wouldn’t pay that much. You’d also likely have to buy motorcycle insurance. That’s what it’s classed as. This 2 seater commuter and errand runner should cost less than $15,000.
I do like the controls and displays as well, Tim. I hope Tesla has some sort of touch screen navigation and bluetooth. I personally hate OnStar.
December 22nd, 2007 at 3:19 pm
The inferior batteries doom Tesla in the future unless they adapt.
December 22nd, 2007 at 3:32 pm
wow,
I’d take Tesla’s 250 miles over GM’s E-REV in a heartbeat if it wasn’t for the $100K price tag. 40 miles is just enough for me to bite, thinking I’m getting the equivalent of an EV with the Volt. I’m settling, assuming the Javlon isn’t available first. As Oil Jihad would say, “death to oil.”
December 22nd, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Merry Christmas guys. See you on the 26th.
Keep the faith!
Maybe the Oil Jihadi will see a great star in the heavens somewhere! Maybe it will be over Detroit.
December 22nd, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Making an all-electric car is easy enough that several little shops will convert your gas car to electric. Just replace the drivetrain with a motor and a battery. That’s more or less what Tesla is doing - - taking a Lotus and switching it to electric. But of course they’re doing it on a larger scale, more of a professional job.
Making a serial hybrid must be a whole different level of complexity. Gas engines are complex and require a lot of supporting parts (radiator, mounts, exhaust, etc.) and you need it all designed to fit around the batteries, motor, etc. Also the electronics and control systems and software to use the engine to recharge the battery and supply the motor with power etc. etc. are not going to be trivial either.
Well, I should adjust my assessment. These things are relatively trivial for GM because they make a lot of engines in a lot of formats and they have a lot of engineers with experience in laying out drivetrains etc. And they also certainly have all the control and software people necessary to handle the interfaces between the engine and battery/motor–it’s complex, but it should also be fairly straightforward and not especially HARD. So while GM may have no problems producing a car like the Volt, I don’t see a small company like Tesla being able to do it…
December 22nd, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Lyle,
Just FTR, Elon Musk did found Paypal, but Martin Eberhard founded Tesla. Musk invested 37 or so million after the company was already under way and that got him a chariman’s seat.
December 22nd, 2007 at 6:27 pm
I too noticed the rapid rewriting of history. With the true founder Martin Eberhard now out of the way, Musk is being reported as the “founder”. He is just a financier. Calling the company “Tesla” was a cheek and in poor taste since they are not associated with that man nor does their car run on atmospheric ionic electricity, like the original.
December 22nd, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Dave B #17 Says:
“I’d take Tesla’s 250 miles over GM’s E-REV in a heartbeat if it wasn’t for the $100K price tag.”
The Roadster batteries alone cost Tesla $22,000. If you really want death to oil, range extended EVs are the fastest way to get there.
Tom #19 Says:
“That’s more or less what Tesla is doing - - taking a Lotus and switching it to electric.”
Actually, Tesla has made many significant design changes from the Lotus Elise on which the Roadster was based (e.g. chassis, hood, doors, seats, etc.), so it’s more accurate to say that Lotus is building the Roadster to Tesla’s specifications.
Grizzly #20 Says:
“Just FTR, Elon Musk did found Paypal, but Martin Eberhard founded Tesla. Musk invested 37 or so million after the company was already under way and that got him a chariman’s seat.”
Yes. If you read the article on the Tesla site:
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog2/?p=54
Elon Musk says:
“The overarching Tesla Motors goal remains unchanged from the day that I first funded Tesla”. Note that he says FUNDED, not FOUNDED.
Lyle - I suggest you fix this typo. People who are upset about the recent management shakeup at Tesla could be offended.
December 22nd, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I can’t imagine anyone buying a Tesla if the Fisker Lightning is available. With its superior looks, practicality (ala Volt) and better performance, it has the ability to make the Tesla buyer look rather foolish. And I believe it will be powered via Abat’s batteries, which will outlast Tesla’s 1st generation $25,000 li ion battery pack by, oh, about a thousand years. Other than that …
December 22nd, 2007 at 8:26 pm
By the way, Elon Musk was just named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Inc. Magazine. Full article here:
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20071201/entrepreneur-of-the-year-elon-musk.html
December 22nd, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Fisker Lightning - is this the one that costs $250,000?
December 23rd, 2007 at 1:55 am
Heh, that Aptera vehicle looks a heck of a lot like the 3-wheeled gravity cars (”buggies”) I used to build at Carnegie Mellon. Here’s a pic of the last one I designed:
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/fringe/buggy/banyan%20line%20day%201%20b%20(2).jpg
Note that these are completely passive (no motor), but they go down a fairly steep and windy road, reaching speeds of up to 50 mph. The driver lays flat, head-first, about 2-3″ off the ground, and must be no more than about 5′2″ and 120 lbs. The construction is a trade secret, but suffice it to say that it makes heavy use of carbon and polymers. This one weighs about 22 pounds without the driver and cost about $5K to build.
There are two rules about 3-wheeled steering geometries: First, two-in-front (reverse-trike) is vastly superior to one-in-front (trike) in all ways other than complexity and cost. Second, the narrower the track width and/or the longer the wheelbase, the easier a reverse-trike rolls over in tight cornering, but given a particular track width and center of gravity, the reverse-trike is significantly less prone to rolling over than a 4-wheeler.
The Aptera looks well-designed and should corner very well. It looks like they could lower the monocoque as much as 6″ to improve the center of gravity and aerodynamics, but otherwise it looks excellent, exactly as I would design a buggy with seats.
December 23rd, 2007 at 1:59 am
Apparently, this site chomps long URLs, so try this:
http://tinyurl.com/3blcgu [cmu.edu]
December 23rd, 2007 at 8:58 am
Sorry..changed to funded.
December 23rd, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Answering Lyle’s base post question “Will they be able to rise up and compete with the General?”…
They don’t (or won’t) compete as they are designed for different markets. If Tesla ever decides to build a mass market car on par with what GM is (will be) offering they won’t be able to compete with GM.
Regarding Tesla’a battery system… because of the limited (relatively speaking) number of vehicles they are making building a system from essentially off the shelf cells did make the most sense. Hopefully they can switch to using mass produced packs someday.
Someone mentioned doing EV conversions… I actually was starting down that path myself earlier this year, joining the ranks of thousands of others who have already done so. But with the news that the Volt could be available by late 2010, and others could be out shorty there after, I’m saving the 10 grand I think it would have cost me to buy and convert a used S-10, and put it toward possibly the Volt (3 years is too far out for me to commit to any future vehicle purchase… it took me 10 months of test drives and research to decide on my last new car purchase).
Oh yea, even if I could afford the Tesla Roadster, to be allowed to buy one you have to be within a certain distance of one of their company owned showrooms. For me the closest would be New York City, a drive of 243 miles… a little further than the 220 mile range of the Roadster
December 23rd, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Jeff M Says:
“They don’t (or won’t) compete as they are designed for different markets.”
Tesla has 3 models planned. They seem to be:
1) Roadster - $100K BEV sports car
2) Whitestar - $50K performance sedan
3) Bluestar - $30K range range extended EV
So their third model would compete directly with the Volt.
Also note that Tesla is already talking with some of the major car manufacturers.
December 24th, 2007 at 8:36 am
Musk sure has an impressive style of doing things. If he can successfully IPO those companies he’s leading, well, than anything is possible.
January 16th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Big shakeup at Tesla, see http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7937510?source=most_emailed&nclick_check=1