Link (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j1PIkkD6dKthOn3u4ISCtwAKSn6AD98VRG301)
NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla's CEO says that the material cost of the electric car company's Roadster has fallen to about $80,000.

That's down from a previous material cost of $140,000. The car currently has a starting sticker price of about $101,500.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk made the comments in a blog post Monday. He says the drop in costs is a result of cheaper battery packs and supply chain improvements.

In addition, Musk says the San Carlos, Calif.-based company expects to become profitable next month, thanks to the lower costs and steady third-quarter production.

Very nice. Maybe it will put the fire into others to do the same. Electrification is coming, get in now! :)

Wow, the cost dropped from $140,000 to $80,000? $60,000 per vehicle in just a few months?

I wonder what exactly about the cheaper has become cheaper. The labor involved in making the battery packs or the cells?

Wow, the cost dropped from $140,000 to $80,000? $60,000 per vehicle in just a few months?

I wonder what exactly about the cheaper has become cheaper. The labor involved in making the battery packs or the cells?

I would guess that they have gone so far now that they now can concentrate on making the production line more effecient. Buying new tools, orginaze the company and etc which could significant cut down the hours spent per car.

Maybe Musk did the right thing by firing the previous CEO?.. after all he is a pretty smart fellow.

I would have to imagine they are replacing the battery pack with a newer unit that uses prismatic cells like the Volt instead of traditional lithium cells. With the performance of the Telsa I'm suprised the pack isn't buffered with a super cap.

Good news for everyone. Looks like costs are starting to come down. Also I doubt the tesla would need a super cap with the massive amount of battery capacity it has. 50 kw/h worth of lithium based battery can both release and absorb massive amounts of power even when assuming a relatively low power density.

Good news for everyone. Looks like costs are starting to come down. Also I doubt the tesla would need a super cap with the massive amount of battery capacity it has. 50 kw/h worth of lithium based battery can both release and absorb massive amounts of power even when assuming a relatively low power density.

The internal impedance of the cells (in series/parallel configuration) will determine the instantaneous output current capability of the battery. If the supercapacitor has a lower impedance than that of the battery, you may see greater instantaneous power available at the drive wheels.

Also, lithium ion batteries will last longer when they are not subject to high discharge rates. A battery that has been discharged at a rate of 1amp its whole life will last far longer then one discharged at 20amps it's whole life, all other things being equal.