Tesla Motors

[Duddy]

I'm not understanding the hype for the cars produced by this company.

YEah it's a cool car, but it's cost over 100K. Who in their right minds would spend that much if your not rich?!

It's just another statement car.

 

[jtvang125]

Well if it was hyped up to what you're saying it is then you would have heard that they're coming out with a sedan model for $50k.

 

[VinylxScratches]

Currently you can get a Telsa for 49000 I believe.

 

[MovingTarget]

I would definitely buy one! Unfortunately, I can barely even afford a junkyard-worthy Geo Metro.

 

[Imported]

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
Currently you can get a Telsa for 49000 I believe.

Not for 2 years and after putting down $5k which may not be refunded if Tesla ceases to exist. My guess is the Model S is just hype to get some money from the DOE.

 

[thomsbrain]

So you're saying that someone who is in their right mind would spend $100K on some other kind of car if they weren't rich? What kind of car would make it smart for a poor person to spend $100K?

Seriously, WTF are you talking about?

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: MovingTarget
I would definitely buy one! Unfortunately, I can barely even afford a junkyard-worthy Geo Metro.

Car theft.. ftw?

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
So you're saying that someone who is in their right mind would spend $100K on some other kind of car if they weren't rich? What kind of car would make it smart for a poor person to spend $100K?

Seriously, WTF are you talking about?

He's saying that you don't get much for the money. For $100,000 you can get a really nice luxury car or a sports car. This Tesla looks like a $20,000 car, like a Saturn.

 

[DanTMWTMP]

it's so hard to even start a car company without a significant investment. Sure it can be a statement car, but I SERIOUSLY hope people can invest for the future and continue to buy cars from Tesla. Their ultimate goal is to have an electric car for the masses, so I sincerely do hope they succeed with their early endeavors.

 

[Imported]

No, their ultimate goal is to make a profit.

 

[SSSnail]

Which gets me thinking, where are all the yuppies from Hollywood that wants a green badge? The Tesla would be even a better green badge than Prius. They surely can afford the car and would help a noble cause at the same time.

To those that say the Tesla is not a sports car, you're sorely mistaken. It's built on the Lotus bodywork and it has the performance numbers to back it up, its only shortfall right now is the range and charging time. But, let's be real here, you think people that can afford that car has one car to drive around?

 

[JSt0rm]

lots of hollywood types buy the tesla. We even have a tesla dealership in santa monica. It has like 2 cars but still

 

[Imported]

The Tesla in Menlo Park has like 5 cars in the show room, and another 10 on the lot.

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: Imported
No, their ultimate goal is to make a profit.

The money is not so much in selling top-spec sports cars to the glitterati as selling econoboxes to the teeming masses.

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

He's saying that you don't get much for the money. For $100,000 you can get a really nice luxury car or a sports car. This Tesla looks like a $20,000 car, like a Saturn.

It's actually a $50,000 Lotus with some batteries and a great big electric motor.

Originally posted by: SSSnail
Which gets me thinking, where are all the yuppies from Hollywood that wants a green badge?

Having an electric sports car would deny its' owner the opportunity for public self-flagellation that makes the prius so popular. Remember, many of these Hollywooders are only using the Prius to drive to the airport so that they might take their private jet on a grand tour of tax havens 'round the world. They're not interested in being green; they're interested in the image of being green.

Originally posted by: SSSnail
To those that say the Tesla is not a sports car, you're sorely mistaken. It's built on the Lotus bodywork and it has the performance numbers to back it up, its only shortfall right now is the range and charging time. But, let's be real here, you think people that can afford that car has one car to drive around?

Motto of Colin Chapman, racing god and founder of Lotus:
Simplify, and add lightness.

Motto of Tesla Motors:
Complicate, and weigh the car down with hundreds and hundreds of pounds of batteries, and then put it on low-grip high efficiency tires to make it go further.

It's not really a very good combination. The weight and cost of electric systems makes them far better suited to cars that already weigh a ton and cost more than the moon - an electric Maybach would be perfect.