Tesla banned from being sold in multiple states

[EstoBRZ]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Not sure I follow...ever heard of the Volt, or the Cadillac ELR?

Yes, I know they are not 100% electric, but 100% electric isn't practical to me since I don't fit in Tesla's model of "geography/demographic that deserves to drive our car so that's where we'll but our infrastructure, plus you should only drive our car the way we want you to anyway because we know better than you how you need a car", not that I'm bitter or anything...

Despite all the conspiracy theorists, GM (or Ford or Honda or....) has no vested interest in the internal combustion engine. They sell automobiles, that just happen to need cost-efficient practical engine technology to meet consumer need. If something better, and just as practical, came along, and people could afford it and bought it, they would sell it. No different than any other company.

Don't get me wrong Tesla is great tech, and I'd love to own one as a second car, but it is not practical for most people that can only afford one or two cars, and need that car to go where they want to go, on their timelines, without the infrastructure dictating their trips. They may only need to travel outside the practical range a handful of times a year, but when they need to, they want to just go, and the experience has to be no different than going to the local market.

Also, before we start down the "GM was bailed out" path remember that Tesla basically is "pre-bailed out" by being partially funded up front by government subsidies and incentives. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but to me, it is the same. (and yes I realize that other manufacturers benefit from the same incentives at some level).

Should GM been allowed to fail, absolutely. They could have reorganized and come out just as strong from bankruptcy as they did from the bailout, or others would have picked up their slack. I'm just not sure Tesla would be as far down the road without what, to me, adds up to the same government "intervention" in the natural order of things.

OK, [/Soapbox]! I feel better now.

I think he might have been referring to this: [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1"]General Motors EV1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
I might be wrong though.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by EstoBRZ

I think he might have been referring to this: General Motors EV1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I might be wrong though.

No, I figure he was, and I don't 100% buy into the conspiracy theory around why GM killed it. Bottom line is it wasn't profitable, and may have been a little too much before its time. I've seen one of the few remaining ones floating around my area, but I've never been able to catch the guy to ask him about his. It's like spotting Bigfoot, I've seen it maybe 4 times in 10 years.

In the end though, GM didn't abandon the electric car, they (in my opinion) went back to the drawing board and made it practical.

[Campo]

I'm not a big fan of conspiracy theories in general either, but my thoughts on why they pulled EV1 are not as nice as yours.
If you saw who the board members were in the late 70s and early 90s, and looked at their other industry connections and stock holdings, they were much more closely aligned to the oil industries of the day. The board under which the Volt was developed and released was less close to the oil industry.
I'm glad they decided to refocus on electric, and in not saying there was a conspiracy to kill the EV1, but I'm also not saying there wasn't something fishy goin on.


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[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Campo

... and in not saying there was a conspiracy to kill the EV1, but I'm also not saying there wasn't something fishy goin on.

True, every good conspiracy theory has a hint of truth in it. EV1 is probably somewhere in the gray area.