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Tesla to stop selling electric sports car next year

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It sounds like the initial public offering of electric-car maker Tesla is already being greeted with skepticism, but some of the fine print about its plans may give potential investors even greater cause for concern.

A reading of the fine print by Wired's Autopia blog uncovers some disturbing product planning news. To wit, the company only product, the first true freeway-capable, mass-produced electric car of the modern age, will go bye-bye next year.

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...op-stop-selling-electric-roadster-next-year/1

🙁🙁🙁
 
"'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.'
​
Of course, it doesn't hurt that Tesla obtained a $465 million loan from the Energy Department to build the Model S and is shopping for factory space in Southern California."

Not entirely horrible news.

I'm not sad because I never could have afforded that car nor would have I bought one even if I did have the money, but I've been reading about it by chance in magazines and on the internet for a few years, and it certainly was a beautiful model with a lot of potential (quite literally 😀).

tesla-roadster.jpg





Model S:
tesla_model_s1.jpg
 
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I'm just hoping the Model S goes off without a hitch. They have a huge cash infusion to prepare for this, and hopefully they can trim costs and just focus on plant retooling and R&D tell then.

I always liked the Model S concept a lot. It's still sporty, still very high mile-to-charge ratio, and can seat four so I could show people my damn Tesla. 😛
 
The Model S is truly a beautiful car. Hope that it does well. I wouldn't mind at all getting one at all if it's affordable for me(~40-50k).
 
Charging them has always been a question. Either wait a long time, or pay a lot for a special charge station.

It still seems like a proposition for people who have money to burn compared to a regular fuel sipper.
 
LTC8K6 said:
Charging them has always been a question. Either wait a long time, or pay a lot for a special charge station.

It still seems like a proposition for people who have money to burn compared to a regular fuel sipper.
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The money recoup compared to a similarly priced hybrid would be quicker though in many cases, so...hmm! 😛

50k "fuel sippers" if they are out there won't match this in economy.

<50k fuel sippers might, but will they be as fast / luxurious?
 
Evadman said:
Then get a diesel or a motorcycle. Both handily beat hybrids and cost way less.
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I dont know of ANY diesel that gets 100 miles per gallon. And a bike might get that but its no damn good to me when I gotta haul anything more than a small backpack. Thats not even enough for school because I need two backpacks for all my books.
Its also not a smart idea in any kind of inclement weather.

BAD ADVICE!
 
Evadman said:
Then get a diesel or a motorcycle. Both handily beat hybrids and cost way less.
Click to expand...

Simply not true. Most diesel autos offered get measurably worse mileage than, say, a Prius, and this on more costly (diesel) fuel at that.

And even many, many motorcycles get worse gas mileage than a safer, larger, all-weather, 4-5 passenger plus significant luggagecarrying Prius.

I would have expected a better grasp of the basic facts from you, Dave!
 
I saw one of these the other day at a local eco center. They just opened up a dealer in Boulder (near me) and it is very cool.

That S also looks nice!
 
I've seen 3 at my work - I think 2 different blue ones and an orange one. They're pretty cool looking cars, but for the money I'd rather buy something else myself... 😉
 
Perknose said:
Simply not true. Most diesel autos offered get measurably worse mileage than, say, a Prius, and this on more costly (diesel) fuel at that.

And even many, many motorcycles get worse gas mileage than a safer, larger, all-weather, 4-5 passenger plus significant luggagecarrying Prius.

I would have expected a better grasp of the basic facts from you, Dave!
Click to expand...

i'm fairly sure if they made a diesel car specifically for getting the absolute highest mpg it could beat a prius in non stop and go driving.

the reason the prius gets really really high gas milage is it is specifically designed to have low rolling resistance tires, small wheels, a very aerodynamic shape.

i would be if they ripped all the gas engine components and hybrid systems out of a prius and say put a 2.0 TDI VW engine in there, it would probably be an even better car.

I hate it when people point to the prius as "why hybrids are better" when in almost all other facets of car performance a prius is a god awful car. it is specifically designed to make gas milage and suffers in handling, accelerationg, braking etc. that and it looks the way it looks.

the audi A4e concept in euro is a much much larger car and gets over 50mpg and is a diesel. and various VW models that are basically just a diesel dropped into a normal car also do fairly well. maybe not prius level, but again it isnt designed for the one goal of being a high mpg car.
 
Evadman said:
Then get a diesel or a motorcycle. Both handily beat hybrids and cost way less.
Click to expand...

Perknose said:
Simply not true. Most diesel autos offered get measurably worse mileage than, say, a Prius, and this on more costly (diesel) fuel at that.

And even many, many motorcycles get worse gas mileage than a safer, larger, all-weather, 4-5 passenger plus significant luggagecarrying Prius.

I would have expected a better grasp of the basic facts from you, Dave!
Click to expand...

First, I was replying to shortylickens post which seemed to be to complain about raw mileage only, not safety or all-weather, passenger count, or luggage carrying. In all of those, a car obviously wins. But so does a freightliner. But changing body style drastically effects everything besides raw MPG in the equation. But that's ok, we can take that out. Hybrids don't do what people think they do; in almost every case a diesel engine would be more fuel efficient and cheaper over the life of the car. But the US population generally hates diesels for reasons that they, themselves, don't understand. So lets look at some examples.

lets look at a car first instead of motorcycles. Here is a perfect example that I did absolutely no research on besides the fact that I know some VW's can be had in a diesel while the body is nearly identical. We need to remove all variables as possible in order

2009 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen
Diesel: 29 mpg City/40 mpg Hwy with 140 HP/236 ftlb torque
Gas: 20 mpg City/29 mpg Hwy with 170 HP/177 ftlb torque

A 32&#37; improvement in city mpg and a 38% improvement in highway between gas and diesel in the same car. If that isn't 'handily beaten', then I don't know what is. It would be a perfect comparison if VW had a hybrid model, but sadly they don't. If I was really bored (which I am not) I would do some math to compare the cost of diesel to gas to get a mile per dollar of fuel, then add the price difference of the diesel option, and figure out the maintenance differences for this car. But I don't really feel like it, since I have done it on other cars and already know the result. Hell, the Prius 'actual' mileage is only mid 40's.

If you want more examples, top gear has dome some races on their track between diesel and gas cars, and the results would surprise the hell out of you based on your comment above. Diesel has more energy in it per unit weight, and a diesel engine is able to extract more of that power and put it to the road. Both combined lead to an equivalent diesel beating the crap out of an equivalent gas car both in performance and in economy (MPG or MPD, however you want to calculate it).

The diesel is actually 50 state LEV II emissions rated, which means it is likely cleaner than your car. It is definitely cleaner than mine. It will even run on biodiesel. That means fuel can cost as little as $0 per gallon (plus filtering and such, which raises it to about 50 cents per gallon). It would be that price for me since a friend runs a mexican food joint. He would probably pay me to take the oil instead of disposing of it. I don't get that diesel is more expensive than gasoline. It isn't around here, diesel is usually within a few cents (higher or lower, it fluctuates) than 87 octane gasoline. I don't know if that is true nationally though.

Since you say most diesels get lower mpg than a Prius, then please, post some data. Show me a diesel that weighs close to what a Prius does with equivalent performance numbers where the prius kills the diesel in MPG and I will eat crow. It should be very easy since 'most' means > 50%.

Your motorcycle comment makes no sense. A quick look shows the yamaha vstar classic with 50 mpg and performance numbers that leave the prius in the dust. To get horrible mileage you need a big ass motorcycle, like maybe the roadliner, but even that gets 42 mpg. Almost every motorcycle (unless you get into crazy displacements < 250 or over 1500cc) are between 40 and 60 mpg. You can get > 100 MPG on a < 250cc motorcycle if you try.

sources in my 5 minute search:
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/oneyear/112_0902_2009_volkswagen_jetta_tdi_arrival/index.html
http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/sedans/0310_toyota_prius/index.html
http://www.eurocarreviews.com/specifications/volkswagen_jetta-sportwagen_2009_4dr-2-5l-s-auto
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/04/first-drive-2009-volkswagen-jetta-sportwagen/
http://www.vw.com/jettasportwagen/en/us/
http://www.automotive.com/2009/12/toyota/prius/specifications/exterior-aerodynamics.html
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009-vw-jetta-sportwagen-se-review/
http://www.hybridcars.com/emissions-standards.html
http://www.brianberliner.com/2007/02/2007-toyota-prius-mpg-actual-results/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4257807.html
 
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Diesel was probably 38&#37; more expensive than regular unleaded a little while ago when I was shopping. It's closer now. The diesel engine costs more in the first place. Used cooking oil is a far cry from diesel fuel or biodiesel, especially for a modern vehicle.

Also, they don't like you driving on the roads without paying your share of the road taxes that others pay...just check into the penalty a trucker gets if caught with off-road diesel...

So, there's more than just the fuel economy to consider.
 
I'm looking forward to the model S...and from what I've heard they will be coming out with a Roadster replacement in 2013 (or somewhere around there).

Honestly, I'm really cheering for these guys. They successfully created and marketed a decent vehicle (not perfect...but it works) and now they potentially are coming out with a more affordable, and still beautiful car. If they pull this off, I really think they ahve a chance of succeeding...something the American auto industry really needs.
 
The vehicle physically works, yes. That's nothing new.

It still takes too long to charge unless you purchase the fast charge system or have a high current outlet installed.

Does it work economically? Not so much.

Environmentally? That depends on how the electricity is generated to recharge it.
 
LTC8K6 said:
The vehicle physically works, yes. That's nothing new.

It still takes too long to charge unless you purchase the fast charge system or have a high current outlet installed.

Does it work economically? Not so much.

Environmentally? That depends on how the electricity is generated to recharge it.
Click to expand...

Exactly...so because it physically works, people are buying them, which is giving them enough credibility to get funding to R&D their next generation of cars and improve. If they are able to continue with this, at some point they may have a car that is less exclusive and can be purchased by a greater number of people.

If we get a more mature product that can be used reliably by more people...we can work on the environmental impact of generating the electricity (and the batteries for that fact). It takes steps, but in my opinion, these are the right ones to reduce our reliance on oil and any affects it may have on the environment.
 
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