Tesla beats out BRZ in Motor Trend COY
 

Isn't Tesla on its way to bankruptcy?

We all know which one had the more profound effect on more people.

Yup.

CEO is about on par with the old head of DeLorean.

1971 Chevy Vega
1974 Ford Mustang II
1980 Chevy Citation
1997 Chevy Malibu

I could go on but I think that is 'nuff said.

You mean Elon Musk? The guy also behind SpaceX? Probably going to be a huge part of the U.S. manned space program going forward. Far cry from John Z...

Wait dont these pieces of electrical junk catch on fire?

Fire shouldn't be the chief reason for dismissing a car. Plenty of first production run 458's went up in smoke. I would gladly recycle whatever is left of the burnt remains, lol.

No, infact the Model S was still underway last I heard. Perhaps you're thinking of some other startup car company, FiskerKarma or someone else.

No, that was the Volt and the Fisker Karma. To be fair, it wasn't the Volt's fault. :bellyroll:

Keep up man. :slap:

Edit: Here's the story of the Volt catching fire.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/electr...182151161.html

Somebody posted something similar on FB, and I gave them the answer:


IT HAS A GIANT TOUCHSCREEN.


How could it lose?

It could lose when Apple sues them because touchscreen.

?

Yes. The same deadbeat who founded PayPal, which might just be the worst internet startup there ever was.

Not sure on that one. They are hiring big time right now, I personally know 3 people that just started and are working plenty of hours. Also they recently opened a new plant in Germany right across from BMW ( in the last year or so I believe). Doesn't sound like a company on the verge of bankruptcy to me.

what is Telsa ??? Need to pass Toyota Prius line up before any discussion :)

That's all investor money (massive debt). They aren't making money/selling enough cars, afaik. Sounds like the path to bankruptcy to me.

Plus Apple's going to sue them for being a trendy electronic gizmo with rounded corners and having a touch screen. Heh...

So does it bother anyone that this company recieved $465 million dollars during the automotive bailout to make a car that is close to $50,000 base and fully loaded is close to $100,000? I'm not trying to get to political but was that money, tax payers' money, well spent?

And has produced only 255 of those cars so far.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...804520180.html

How do you figure? It sold to Ebay for 1.5 billion, that was the end of Musk's involvement, right? Not too shabby... I've used it handful of times, no complaints. "Worst internet startup" by what measure?

Again, this guy is very likely to be largely responsible for reviving a manned space program in the U.S.

I think they should have aimed a little lower and done a smaller car, but I wish Tesla nothing but success with the Model S.

Obviously, big projects require huge investment, but Musk has demonstrated that he's responsible with large-scale projects and he gets results. He's not just in it for a buck, he wants to DO stuff, and he has demonstrated that he's capable of getting incredible results (private firm creates vehicle that docks with the space station, this is no small feat).

Tesla took my favorite car (Lotus Elise) and turned it into an electric dog by blowing even more money on losing weight and then piling in hundreds of pounds of batteries.

For this I'll never forgive them.

I'm glad to see there are many that are willing to invest in the future.
I had a ride in a Tesla roadster at an autocross event this summer. 0-60 in 3.7 seconds and it goes 245 miles on a charge. It's an amazing achievement. It's no surprise they are having their fair share of problems getting the sedan (model s) into full production though, it's a new technology.

Last I had heard, Tesla expects to be cash-flow positive next quarter. A far cry from bankruptcy.

PayPal notwithstanding (even though he hasn't had any involvement in years), I greatly admire Elon Musk for the money he has dumped into the research and development of new technologies in respect to his electric car and space ventures. This is in contrast to the countless other millionaires and billionaires who only use their money to speculate on short-term investments.

In addition, his enterprises are remarkably vertically integrated. The great majority of the actual manufacturing of Tesla cars and SpaceX rockets is done in the US, rather than via international contractors. Keeping this money in the hands of US residents.

This is *good* for the country.

???

Tesla didn't do anything that affected the Lotus Elise in a negative way. You love the Elise, I love it too, I don't think anything Tesla did reduced the number of Elises available.

You should be a LOT more worried about the current owners of Lotus, want to turn it into something else entirely, and never do another car like the Elise again :(

The Tesla Roadster is an extremely cool car, and it is pretty quick. And it is lighter than the FR-S/BRZ! Can't fault Tesla for starting with the lightest-weight sports car available.

And again, it's not like Tesla killed the Elise! If anything, they helped Lotus' bottom-line a bit. Unfortunately the Lotus that gave us the Elise is probably gone away now :(

Tesla and any other car manufacturer making electric cars wont really woo car people. Electric cars have two very major things going against them; the complexity of the car and the utter lack of upgrade-ability. Another huge turn off is the sound...or lack thereof. I'll take the sound of any combustion engine over the sound of an electric motor. 0-60 in 3.7 seconds is commendable, but how long does that battery last under spirited driving? 240 miles is best case, then what? Pray you're near some place with the ability to charge or youre SOL.

Its great that the car exists as a testament to ingenuity, but its actually even less practical than an Elise and such a niche car that its a joke that is was even considered for motortrends car of the year. I dont care that the Twins didnt get it, but the Tesla? Seriously? Its about as relevant as the DeLorean was, but with substantially less recognition from hollyweird.

They already are. Going forward, electric vehicles will only make more sense for more people. I commute on my electric motorcycle/scooter (big bike, capable of 70mph on the highway) when the weather allows. In one week I save ~$27 vs. taking my 50mpg motorcycle, $50 vs. my 27mpg car.

An electric motor, motor controller, and battery pack are less complicated than an internal combustion engine and all they systems that support it.

The vast majority of the motoring public don't upgrade the powerplant performance of their cars, but anyway there's certainly the possibility to add voltage, modify controls software, etc. etc with electrics (I've done this).

And many will prefer a quieter powerplant. You wouldn't take an electric vehicle on a long trip (at least not with a well-developed plan) any more than you'd take a 19' sailboat across the Atlantic, of course.

For most people, for most of their usage, the Model S is going to be quite practical, MUCH more so than the Elise (a car designed for very different purposes). You can take the kids to school, go to work, take clients to lunch, go shopping, etc. etc. with the Model S.

Since when is "recognition from holyweird" any kind of measure of significance?

The move to electric vehicles is not an all/nothing proposition. Electric vehicles will continue to make more sense to more people over a time scale of years/decades.

The Model S is a niche car, but it is also a significant car, a harbinger.

Yahoo named Tesla S as CotY as well. I still don't understand why they would pick such a limited run car as the CotY.

Oh well...maybe next year.

I would expect that Tesla will be further supported by the federal gov't (that's us). We'll just have to wait and see.

Haven't read the Motor Trend report yet. I wonder what their evaluation was for the DeLorean. Any car historians out there?

Also, isn't Tesla in the process of developing am more broadly-marketed vehicle?

I, for one, am much more optimistic that we wll develop the technology to make cars electric or from some other source of energy. Now if we can only get more engineers and scientists out of our colleges. But that's another issue that isn't worth discussing in this forum of car enthusiasts.

...."the sound of any combustion engine..." isn't on the minds of the vast majority of car buyers, 'sports cars' yes, but this technology is slated for all cars. I am aware of at least two cars that have engine sounds piped into the interior or the car: The BRZ and the Mustang Boss 302. Sounds can always be 'manufactured'.

Regarding being "SOL on charging locations": the Suppy will follow the Demand as have gas stations during the growing popularity of horseless carraiges.

I think the car is cool and all, and I admire Tesla for pushing the envelope with the development of useable electric cars, but I don't see it as the "COTY". Why? Because I have yet to see one on a U.S. roadway. Also because Robert Cumberford, the design editor for Automobile magazine, didn't have anything particularly nice to say about it. Which car do I think deserves COTY? Well, that's a silly question. Look what forum we're on!

Is 'cash flow positive' the same thing as profitable? Just sounds like they have more investment or loans lined up.

UPDATE: I researched (googled) "Motor Trend DeLorean":

Motor Tend selected the DeLorean car as "Import Car of the Year", April 1962.

Does history repeat itself??? We'll see.
Do I subscribe to Motor Trend? No.

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I would expect that Tesla will be further supported by the federal gov't (that's us). We'll just have to wait and see.

Haven't read the Motor Trend report yet. I wonder what their evaluation was for the DeLorean. Any car historians out there?

Also, isn't Tesla in the process of developing am more broadly-marketed vehicle?

BRB trading in BRZ for a Telsa. :bellyroll:

I could end up cross-shopping a GT86 and Tesla Model S.
Base Models S is cheaper than a GT86 here. And the performance version costs about a 1/3 of BMW M5.

No need to say Tesla is starting to get well known where I come from. People are queuing up to get the car.

Definitely a worthy winner!
I made this thread, and most people tought the Tesla would win. No surprise it did. Most innovating EV the market have ever seen. And the first good EV in terms of range, performance, cabin space, luggage space, technology, premium feel, looks, etc..

Then what? Wait a number of hours to charge your car? Supply and demand isn't the solution.

Hehe people have crossed the Atlantic in far less ;) That said - +1 to all your points and *currently* electric vehicles are not suited to long trips, but it's looking a lot like it's only a matter of time before there's enough charging infrastructure (and maybe even battery-swapping technology, logistics and infrastructure) to change that.

As a matter fact, he doesn't even have to be in it for a buck because he's already very wealthy.

He started with the Roadster because he wanted to show the world that electrics can be cool, that they don't have to be just the street-legal 30mph golf carts we'd seen before. He used the Elise to base it on because that was more practicable than starting completely from zero and because he was able to partner with Lotus. Now that he's shown what's possible, he's moving on to other categories of vehicles. Word is that they already have other vehicles in the pipeline e.g. an SUV.

How much charging infrastructure do you have in Norway? In the US, it's starting to pick up a little bit in California (i.e. Tesla is building a whole network expressly for owners of their cars, where they will be able to recharge for free) but not much elsewhere. Until this is solved, electrics will be a tough sell in the US.

I like the idea of rapid battery switching. But quick change batteries would need to be engineered with the car from the start. Plus there is the potential for abuse given battery condition. But I think driving up to a 'service station' and having someone change your batteries and wash your windows in 5minutes, like the old days, would appeal to more people than having to park at charging stations. Or instead of the battery jockeys, it could be automated.

It will come, but I don't think $100k vanity cars are going to do it.

Like it or not the internal combustion engine is going to start declining in popularity and the demand for alternative fuel/electric vehicles is going to continue to rise. That said, I love the model S and I'm glad it won car of the year. An electric vehicle is great for daily commuting and there are a lot of people with a "beater" for a daily driver; why not get a daily driver that'll save you a ton of money?

I'll use myself for example, I drive roughly 250 miles a week it'd be very generous to say I do 50 miles a day to and from work so the extra should account for miscellaneous trips. Telsa offers a 300mile battery pack and a full charge from empty to full is roughly $16. That's about $16 a week give or take, and my current car costs me almost $50 a week.

Track car, daily driver, and I personally rent large vehicles for long trips seeing as I don't do the road trip thing very often.


I respect Elon Musk immensely, I respect any businessman with the good sense to step away from the mold and actually invest in the future of humanity. It's not all about short term investments and quarterly gains, all that shows is that you can make money given the current situation. Those are the companies that tend to tank when the world is ready to change.

been considering the Tesla but the one we'd want is still cost prohibitive from a cell cost -$77k too much.