First Ride in the Tesla Model S

[Martin]

http://translogic.aolautos.com/2011/10/03/exclusive-first-ride-in-the-tesla-model-s-video/

Some videos of a reporter riding in the Beta version of the Model S. Honestly, I think this is one of the best looking cars soon to be out there - both inside and out.

I think Tesla's going to do well - this car is sure to become a huge status symbol, like a Prius, iPhone, iPad and Patek watch all rolled into one, heh.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Looks like a promising car. Now, get those prices or electric cars lower...

 

[PricklyPete]

Can't wait till this thing comes out. I'm really rooting for the company.

 

[Doppel]

Has potential to sell. Is in an interesting market niche.

 

[RichieZ]

I was at the factory on sunday (have a deposit down), Elon gave a nice speech where he asked everybody to be an electric car ambassador and tell people they've seen it and its real. We also got a very short ride as shown in the video.

All in all a decent event, but I don't think its up to par with what Porsche does for their customers - not really what i'd expect for a car that can cost upwards of 100K. Porsche treated me better before I bought my car from them. Going to keep my deposit down for now.

 

[busydude]

I would buy.. just for that gorgeous 17 inch touch screen. :wub:

 

[thedarkwolf]

I would buy.. just for that gorgeous 17 inch touch screen. :wub:

Really? That is the part I dislike. Looks way to bright and trying to adjust anything while driving would be PITA.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Really? That is the part I dislike. Looks way to bright and trying to adjust anything while driving would be PTIA.

thats my biggest gripe with the move to "infotainment" centers in general.

 

[punjabiplaya]

looks great and all but the fitment of that screen just seems off to me, kinda last minute crammed in there sort of

 

[busydude]

Looks way to bright and trying to adjust anything while driving would be PITA.

thats my biggest gripe with the move to "infotainment" centers in general.

People will just get used to it eventually.

 

[LordMorpheus]

looks great and all but the fitment of that screen just seems off to me, kinda last minute crammed in there sort of

It's a prototype; I imagine that the fit and finish will be much improved on the production cars.

 

[thegimp03]

What's estimated to be the MSRP of these? I'm guessing $100K+.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

Looks like a promising car. Now, get those prices or electric cars lower...

if you are in the market for a bmw 5 series, may as well get the tesla...

base price is $57,000 with a 7000 rebate. First year gas savings will be ~3000. It costs less than 5 bucks (national average) to charge from 0 to full. You never have to stop at a gas station, and unless you are driving more than 150 miles a day you can't complain. seats 7, does 0-60 in less than 6 seconds (5.5), handles better than a 5 series....


Only problem is you have to wai ttill 2013 to get one. We pre-sold 6600ish, and are only making 5000 in 2012, and 10,000 in 2012.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

What's estimated to be the MSRP of these? I'm guessing $100K+.

see my post above. the base model is 57,000 with a 7000 rebate. up to 80,000 for the 'sport' version (0-60 in 4.4 seconds)


the roadsters were around 100k, these are supposed to be half that cost.

 

[jtvang125]

I would buy.. just for that gorgeous 17 inch touch screen. :wub:

I have an android tablet dash mounted and at 10.1" screen size I think that's the perfect size for usability while still being easy to read. 17" is just way too big. Your eyes have to scan too big of an area and your hand/finger has to move too far to make an input. Too much time with your eyes off the road to safely use.

 

[RichieZ]

if you are in the market for a bmw 5 series, may as well get the tesla...

base price is $57,000 with a 7000 rebate. First year gas savings will be ~3000. It costs less than 5 bucks (national average) to charge from 0 to full. You never have to stop at a gas station, and unless you are driving more than 150 miles a day you can't complain. seats 7, does 0-60 in less than 6 seconds (5.5), handles better than a 5 series....


Only problem is you have to wai ttill 2013 to get one. We pre-sold 6600ish, and are only making 5000 in 2012, and 10,000 in 2012.

do you think you're going to win the $1M bet Elon made with the reporter? How many of the 6,600 are signature models so they get to jump to the front of the line?

 

[HybridSquirrel]

do you think you're going to win the $1M bet Elon made with the reporter? How many of the 6,600 are signature models so they get to jump to the front of the line?

I didn't read that article, but I read one Elon sent in the e-mail. What was the bet?


AFAIK we have about 600 pre-orders in Colorado, but I don't know if anyone has paid in full. I think Pre-orders were first come first serve, on a basis of who finances them first. Example, if you reserve it with the deposit, but don't pay for it, you are 2nd in line. If you pre-pay or finance, you will get yours first. Some people threw down 50 grand up front and will get their cars first (naturally). Don't quote me on that, but thats the last I heard about the Model S. The deposits are refundable though so people can back out at any time. Granted, I don't work sales so I dont have exact figures, and if I did I couldn't talk about it anyway. Some people have already received a delivery date on their cars from what I heard (from the PLYCAR driver, he said that he was schedule to deliver a few next Feb.)


Personally, I haven't even seen a Model S in person....but it is a Beta design, so some of the cosmetic issues will be tweaked.

 

[KentState]

I really like where electric cars are going and think this is a great idea, but I could never plop that much money down for a car with a limited range. The day that we can charge an electric car in 20-30 minutes is when I will get one. Hopefully in the next 10 years, this will be a reality.

 

[LTC8K6]

I really like where electric cars are going and think this is a great idea, but I could never plop that much money down for a car with a limited range. The day that we can charge an electric car in 20-30 minutes is when I will get one. Hopefully in the next 10 years, this will be a reality.

You can charge it that fast, but you will shorten the overall battery life.

 

[Imported]

Some reason.. it doesn't look as good aesthetically as I remembered.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

I really like where electric cars are going and think this is a great idea, but I could never plop that much money down for a car with a limited range. The day that we can charge an electric car in 20-30 minutes is when I will get one. Hopefully in the next 10 years, this will be a reality.

a lot of people say that...but honestly its a non-issue unless you are driving the max range of the car daily. unplug- commute to work - commute home - grocery store - home - plug.

does that take you 300 miles? With the HPC unit it will charge from 0 to full in 3.5 hours. You don't have to sit tehre and watch it charge the whole time.

 

[LTC8K6]

300 miles is with an optional, more expensive battery, which also takes longer to charge, yes?

Standard range is 160 miles.

How many times can you punch it to get on the freeway, or whenever you need to, before you seriously deplete the standard battery?

 

[LTC8K6]

The ~300 mile range Tesla S would have an 85Kwh battery pack. Much larger than the pack in the Roadster, with correspondingly longer charge times. Below is for the 53Kwh pack in the Roadster, so you can add quite a bit of time for the optional long range 85Kwh pack in the S.

Charging times vary depending on the ESS's state-of-charge, the available voltage, and the available circuit breaker amp rating (current). In a best case scenario using a 240V charger on a 90A circuit breaker, Tesla documents a recharging rate of 56 miles (90 km)-of-range for each hour charging; a complete recharge from empty would require just under 4 hours. The slowest charging rate, using a 120V outlet, (15 amps) is 5 miles (8.0 km) for each one hour of charging. So a 2 hour charge will power the car for 10 miles. A complete recharge from empty would require 48 hours.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

300 miles is with an optional, more expensive battery, which also takes longer to charge, yes?

Standard range is 160 miles.

How many times can you punch it to get on the freeway, or whenever you need to, before you seriously deplete the standard battery?

the batteries hold up pretty well to abuse and romping on the accelerator. lots of our customers use them as daily drivers, even in the winter. the regenerative braking helps a lot if you just throttle the accelerator.

 

[hanoverphist]

a lot of people say that...but honestly its a non-issue unless you are driving the max range of the car daily. unplug- commute to work - commute home - grocery store - home - plug.

does that take you 300 miles? With the HPC unit it will charge from 0 to full in 3.5 hours. You don't have to sit tehre and watch it charge the whole time.

that would be a work week for me. and im sure if you kept it plugged in to "top it off" it would last quite a while. too bad im not rich enough to buy one.