Link (http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/01/teslas-roadster-to-exit-in-2011)
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/autopia/2010/01/tesla_roadster_sport.jpg
Tesla’s Roadster To Exit In 2011

If you want a Tesla Roadster, you better sign up now. Tesla Motors plans to stop building the car in 2011.

Buried deep inside the Securities and Exchange Commission paperwork Tesla filed ahead of its IPO is the announcement that production of the two-seater and its souped up Roadster Sport sibling (pictured) will stop next year, and a replacement won’t hit the road until 2013 at the earliest.

Why? Because it doesn’t have anyone to build it.


“We do not plan to sell our current generation Tesla Roadster after 2011 due to planned tooling changes at a supplier for the Tesla Roadster,” the company wrote in the filing.” The Roadster is built by Lotus, so presumably Tesla is talking about changes at the British automaker’s factory in Hethel, England, but we can’t confirm that because Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes declined to comment.

Tesla plans to replace the Roadster, but not “until at least one year after the launch of the Model S, which is not expected to be in production until 2012.” The company just closed a $465 million loan with the Department of Energy to finance construction of the Model S sedan, and it is focusing most of its time and resources on that car.

Stopping production of the Roadster could could present a problem, because it means Tesla won’t have any cars to sell — and no revenue coming in.

“As a result, we anticipate that we may generate limited, if any, revenue from selling electric vehicles after 2011 until the launch of the planned model S,” the company says in the SEC filing. That may not be a problem if S production starts on plan and goes off without a hitch, but if Tesla hits any snags, things could get ugly fast — a point it concedes in the filing.

“The launch of the Model S could be delayed for a number of reasons and any such delays may be significant and would extend the period in which we would generate limited, if any, revenues from sales of our electric vehicles.”

The move amounts to killing the car that made Tesla famous for the sake of the Model S. Tesla better hope everything goes according to plan, or it surely will regret that decision.

Photo: Jim Merithew / Wired.com



Read More http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/01/teslas-roadster-to-exit-in-2011#ixzz0e8b9Rm4D

WOOHOOO!

#250 out of about 2500 should be a collector's item.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn15/sunpowr/2009_05_09_Tesla/th_signtur.jpg

Don't be so "smug." Certainly you must have something more profound to say than that!!!

Hopefully, Tesla Motors has built enough Roadsters to have learned all they need to know to develop the Model S. To have shipped so many in this amount of time bodes well for their future.

Whoever set up there contract with Lotus made a little oops. They should have never been vulnerable to this decision by Lotus in this timeframe. Since they are setting up production for the Model S in CA and Lotus must be planning to discontinue production of the Elise, why can't they purchase the tooling and learn the expertise in the next 2 years to produce it themselves. They might even be able to refile for an additional loan to do this. They really need another 2 years of production from this design, unless they aren't actually profitable as previously claimed.

WOOHOOO!

#250 out of about 2500 should be a collector's item.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn15/sunpowr/2009_05_09_Tesla/th_signtur.jpg

So did you buy it so you can drive the HOV lane on I-66? (Going to try that with the wife on the Volt, curious to know if it works?)

Cheers!

They didn't exactly say they were going to quit selling a tesla roadster. They just said they were going to halt production on the current model roadster. Sounds more like they're releasing the model s and then a year later producing a gen 2 roadster.

They didn't exactly say they were going to quit selling a tesla roadster. They just said they were going to halt production on the current model roadster. Sounds more like they're releasing the model s and then a year later producing a gen 2 roadster.
Elon has said that roadster 2 would be a bit larger with 2+2 seating.

So did you buy it so you can drive the HOV lane on I-66? (Going to try that with the wife on the Volt, curious to know if it works?)

Cheers!
No, the clean fuel plates can only have 6 letters and I preferred SPARKZZ to the HOV. The HOV for "hybrids and alternative fueled vehicles with clean-fuel plates" was supposed to expire in the middle of 2009, but they extended it to mid 2010 - before the Volt comes out. This would be a good time to start petitioning for benefits for true alternative-fuel vehicles (including the Volt, of course). I would add time-of-day electric rates to the list as well.

Remember that corporate SEC filings require full disclosure of worst-case scenarios. They tend to bend over backwards to paint the ugliest picture possible.

No, the clean fuel plates can only have 6 letters and I preferred SPARKZZ to the HOV. The HOV for "hybrids and alternative fueled vehicles with clean-fuel plates" was supposed to expire in the middle of 2009, but they extended it to mid 2010 - before the Volt comes out. This would be a good time to start petitioning for benefits for true alternative-fuel vehicles (including the Volt, of course). I would add time-of-day electric rates to the list as well.

I can agree with you on that, time to get all those Priuses and Civic Hybrids out of the HOV lanes. New Rule: Starting 2011, only EVs and PHEVs have HOV privileges. I wonder what percent of Prius sales were driven by the Virginia law that allowed hybrid drivers to use the HOV lanes? I understand in DC the percentage hybrid drivers is quite high compared to the national average.

Cheers!

I don't understand why Lotus can't make about 1,000 Roadsters and ship them to Tesla, AND THEN RETOOL. Drrrrr.

That would give Tesla enough stock on hand to meet supply until they can gear up for the Gen 2 Roadster. Tesla didn't even sell 1,000 in all of 2009 and who knows, demand might start tapering off after the original flood gate of pent up demand has been satiated.

WOOHOOO!

#250 out of about 2500 should be a collector's item.

Wolfman Jack?? Isn't he dead by now??

If you want a Tesla Roadster, you better sign up now. Tesla Motors plans to stop building the car in 2011.

Buried deep inside the Securities and Exchange Commission paperwork Tesla filed ahead of its IPO is the announcement that production of the two-seater and its souped up Roadster Sport sibling will stop next year.

THIS JUST IN . . . . (as I suspected). The IPO can't be far behind (is anyone on the Board qualified to advise on initial offering to insiders? If so, please send Private Email or PM.)


Responding to customer demand, Tesla has negotiated agreements with key suppliers that will increase total Roadster production by 40% and extend sales into 2012. In the coming year, you'll find Roadsters in more countries as we expand to Australia and Asia. Customers in 23 countries have now taken delivery of their Roadster - last month we delivered the first Roadsters to Spain and Ireland.

-SPARKZZ

WOOHOOO!

#250 out of about 2500 should be a collector's item.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn15/sunpowr/2009_05_09_Tesla/th_signtur.jpg

Yeah my guess is it will too if not already...

You own one; Does the Tesla really perform that well for anything more then a brief burst?

E.g. would it even be able to complete the Nuremberg‎ course any faster then say a Prius?

Yeah my guess is it will too if not already...

You own one; Does the Tesla really perform that well for anything more then a brief burst?

E.g. would it even be able to complete the Nuremberg‎ course any faster then say a Prius?

The car performs phenomenally well in all conditions that I drive it.

Full "throttle" from a stop is like a jet plane, it seems to "like" 80 mph - this is probably where the torque curve stops being flat.

I can vouch for the Car and Driver "fastest passing car ever tested" (believe it was the time from 30-70). Going 60-70 on a highway, instant passing.

The only time (I've heard) that there is a limitation is in continuous full throttle (limited top speed on a track) where the motor will heat up and reduce power after a few minutes.

Stoplight-to-stoplight, nothing will beat it. Passing, nothing will pass it. Racetrack - never been on one.

-SPARKZZ

It's an intriguing car. I have a 99 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP that I installed an air-water intercooler below the ported roots style supercharger, along with high compression forged pistons, supporting components, ported heads notched the cyl block, and a different cam.

The car runs low 12's and high 11's on NOS.

Not bad for a 3.8L V6 mid-side coupe.

Being a FWD car, I thought it would be pretty cool to find some electirc motors, modify the trunk compartment for batteries and make the thing RWD (front gas / rear electric.) but I never did this. (yet!)

Several transmissions later, and wanting more, I picked up a CTS-V powered by a 5.7L LS6, so far all it has is a cam, headers, and an intake, dynos over 500HP... I haven't directly compared it to the Grand Prix (yet), but the power-band sure feels different.

The GTP has sooo much low RPM torque, it's not even a comparison, the LS6 needs R's to make power...

I still have the GTP, and probably will forever...

Statistics wise, I realize both are quicker in the quarter then the tesla, but it would be interesting to actually run one....

When you get on it, does it have any ozone or electrical smell to it (from behind?)

(My avitar picture is actually my old CTS (not a V.))

Being a FWD car, I thought it would be pretty cool to find some electirc motors, modify the trunk compartment for batteries and make the thing RWD (front gas / rear electric.) but I never did this. (yet!)

When you get on it, does it have any ozone or electrical smell to it (from behind?)

Intriguing thought. In a comparison of the Tesla vs a Boxster, the Tesla had it hands-down in the 1/8 and zero-go-60. It was only at the end that the Boxster passed it with a higher final speed at the quarter.

With a dual drivetrain, putting the electric motors in the back with no transmission, with the high-hp ICE in FWD, you'd get the full-torque starting advantage of the Tesla with the mid-range/high-range HP of the ICE (and could probably skip the first couple of gears).

Hmmmm.

No ozone smell, doesn't that come from arcing contacts? (the Tesla motor is brushless).