The Model S is launching next year, anybody pre-oredering it?

8/25/2010 4:19:47 PM

texa$

8/25/2010 4:28:57 PM

Well it is supposed the equivalent of a 5 series which costs about the same..

8/25/2010 4:41:15 PM

That doesn't look anything like a Maserati Gran Turismo.

8/25/2010 4:56:44 PM

i like the smell of unburned hydrocarbons way too much to drive one of these

not to mention no exhaust note

8/25/2010 6:16:24 PM

Reminds me a lot of an aston martin.

8/25/2010 7:53:37 PM

If I had $60k for a 4 door sedan I'd want something that can hold more than the energy equivalent of 4 gallons of gasoline. Perhaps an M3 sedan or C63 AMG?

8/25/2010 10:15:02 PM

8/25/2010 11:26:17 PM

those look a lot like mercedes wheels

8/25/2010 11:51:20 PM

I like the Fisker Karma better.

8/26/2010 12:10:08 AM

Quote :

" equivalent of 4 gallons of gasoline"

how are you getting that out of a 300 mile range?

8/26/2010 12:56:37 AM

The average car gets 75 mpg. Now get back to tech talk.

8/26/2010 4:17:47 AM

The model selling for $60k has a range of 160 miles...so I guess I should have said 5-6 gallons of fuel. My mistake.

I'd imagine most people on TWW would not consider this vehicle even if they could afford a new $60k car. This car still can't satisfy the requirements a person places on a car due to its charging time (instead of filling up in 5-10 minutes you need 3-5 hours, or 45 minutes on a Quick charge).

It's light years ahead of the EV1 but still doesn't have the practicality most people need.

[Edited on August 26, 2010 at 9:12 AM. Reason : and I'll believe that 160 mile range when I see it.]

8/26/2010 9:12:24 AM

I will seriously consider one in a few years. My employer has already installed charging stations in our parking lot (there are a few folks with DIY electrics already). The prospect of free-to-me energy is pretty cool, and the price is close to reasonable for what it is, and i'm a technophile.

I think i'll hold off until a couple of years into production, i'm sure there will be issues with the initial couple of batches.



[Edited on August 26, 2010 at 9:49 AM. Reason : oh and it's beautiful]

8/26/2010 9:48:10 AM

It's a great looking car, no doubt.

But what do you do when you go on vacation 400 miles away? Rent another car? While I might not be the typical car owner, I probably take 8-10 road trips a year further than 300 miles.

8/26/2010 10:36:05 AM

Well there will be charging stations in the future..

8/26/2010 10:38:54 AM

^ You're going to wait 45+ minutes for your car to charge every 160 miles?

I just don't think battery technology is good enough to use electrics for anything other than a pure city car yet.

8/26/2010 11:26:54 AM

i love it and would love to have one in 5 years. i generally drive about 250 miles a week....meaning charging over night twice a week which is less then my cell phone. no big deal. most of my road trips are less then 150 miles. hell you could drive to Wilmington on a full charge. anything more then that can be accommodated, like planning your stop around lunchtime. by eh time you finish you lunch the car is ready to go. i like the idea of free energy at places of employment too.

8/26/2010 12:42:20 PM

^^^

same thing we do now, take our other vehicle.


We never take our Jetta TDI on road trips simply because it's cramped... it's our commuter/putz around town vehicle.

It definitely has limiting factors to be an all purpose vehicle today. That will likely change over time, but for now the price/usability ratio (yeah i totally made that up, but should be self-explanatory) is closer to reasonable.

Hell, this isn't really much more than a chevy volt. The one thing i'd worry about would be a mechanic in this area.

8/26/2010 12:42:50 PM

Apparently it needs to be serviced once a year or every 12000 miles.. no more 3000 mile oil changes..

8/26/2010 12:57:50 PM

i never did 3k mile oil changes anyway

5k for my 4runner
10k for my jetta

both per manufacturer recommendation.

8/26/2010 1:32:12 PM

Quote :

"Apparently it needs to be serviced once a year or every 12000 miles.. no more 3000 mile oil changes.."

3k mile oil changes are for marketing hype victims.

8/26/2010 1:34:31 PM

Quote :

"Hell, this isn't really much more than a chevy volt. The one thing i'd worry about would be a mechanic in this area."

50% more than a Volt actually IS a lot more.

The technology available now is definitely good enough to make for a suburban commuter vehicle. But that's it. And most people can't afford to spend $30k just on something they use in their daily commute.

Spending $60k on a car b/c you don't have to pay for gas is dumb b/c you can buy an equivalent gasoline fueled vehicle for half the price. $30,000 buys a lot of fuel. And if you think you're doing the environment a favor then you don't know much about what is involved in battery cell production.

However one can argue that it would help to reduce our reliance on foreign oil...but that's the only benefit i'm really seeing.

8/26/2010 1:45:06 PM

I hear tell of battery swapping stations. Slide out your depleted batteries, rack in the fresh set.

Logistical issues for this:
Proliferation of stations can't happen without proliferation of cars.
Batteries are NOT universal. There are multiple EVs out there so you want see ev stations in BFE stocking batteries for all models (if any!)

Tesla does claim the batteries are easy to remove and change out from website:

Quote :

" Choose from one of three battery pack options to suit typical driving needs: 160, 230, or 300 miles per charge. Concerned with Range Anxiety? Like the Roadster, the Model S is engineered to plug into nearly any outlet, anywhere in the world. Plus, with the 45 minute QuickCharge or 1 minute battery swap, the car begs to be driven everywhere you want to go. - 160, 230, or 300 mile range pack - 45 minute QuickCharge - 1 minute Battery Swap"

0-60 in 5.6 seconds? Yes please.
300 mile range- it'll do for commuting. And wow- does it have the gadgetry on lock down 17" touchscreen?! That'll be interesting if it makes it into production.

For comparison 2010 M5 0-62 4.7s ~$85k
2010 S550 0-62 7 seconds ~$90K

Not comparing apples to apples here- you get a lot more out of the BMW and Mercedes than you would this car, but similar segments of society are probably looking at this one.

I'd like one- after all the kinks are worked out and the platform has been venerated. It seems like the main place you would charge an EV is at Home (duh) or Work. It isn't going to be a viable road trip vehicle yet (although could pack an extra battery in the back to get 600 miles one way and charge up at your destination- for NC that would get you to the beach or mountains from anywhere in the state).

[Edited on August 26, 2010 at 2:25 PM. Reason : k]

8/26/2010 2:24:39 PM

^there could be a future in battery swapping but then you wouldn't own a battery for your car and who wants that? Would seem kinda strange I think.

Quote :

"For comparison 2010 M5 0-62 4.7s ~$85k 2010 S550 0-62 7 seconds ~$90K"

I dunno where you got these figures but neither of them is even close to correct.

8/26/2010 3:09:03 PM

Quote :

"50% more than a Volt actually IS a lot more. The technology available now is definitely good enough to make for a suburban commuter vehicle. But that's it. And most people can't afford to spend $30k just on something they use in their daily commute. Spending $60k on a car b/c you don't have to pay for gas is dumb b/c you can buy an equivalent gasoline fueled vehicle for half the price. $30,000 buys a lot of fuel. And if you think you're doing the environment a favor then you don't know much about what is involved in battery cell production. However one can argue that it would help to reduce our reliance on foreign oil...but that's the only benefit i'm really seeing."

I thought the volt was mid 40s? and what i've seen on the model S, looking at mid 50s before the 7500 tax rebate. either way if i'm wrong about the price difference, then i take the comment back.

I want the car mostly from a technological standpoint... for me it has nothing to do with the cost of fuel or the environment. My jetta TDI is superior in every way to every hybrid or pretend 'green' vehicle out there. There's no practicality in my desire to own one.

otherwise i'll probably buy a boat at that time, which will cost me way more

8/26/2010 5:21:45 PM

^both cars get the rebate so there's no point including it. The base Model S starts at $57k and the base Volt is $40k last time I looked.

8/27/2010 9:01:33 AM

Quote :

"I dunno where you got these figures but neither of them is even close to correct. "

M5 price (MSRP):http://www.autotrader.com/2010-bmw-M5.jsp?modelId=19048
85K

S550 price (MSRP):http://www.autotrader.com/2010-mercedes+benz-S_Class.jsp?modelId=19490
You'll have to click through and look at the 5.5L V8 version which is $91K MSRP

Since we are comparing to Tesla's MSRP, I used the BMW & Mercedes original MSRP.

[Edited on August 27, 2010 at 12:11 PM. Reason : wrong link]

8/27/2010 12:10:14 PM

From autotrader

BMW M5

Quote :

"Fuel Economy 11-11 MPG City / 17-17 MPG Hwy "

[Edited on August 27, 2010 at 1:07 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2010 1:06:49 PM

I didn't think I had to be clearer about what I was talking about. I was referring to your acceleration stats. The S550 can do 0-60 in 5.7 seconds, though it's beyond me why you'd compare a fullsize flagship luxury sedan against a midsize electric sedan. The BMW M5 hits 60 in 4.1 seconds.

And a more appropriate sedan comparison (similiar price and better performance) would be the M3 sedan or C63 AMG. Or even a cheaper 335i ($40k) which can hit 0-60 in 4.8 seconds.

[Edited on August 27, 2010 at 2:26 PM. Reason : k]

8/27/2010 2:18:44 PM

9/12/2010 10:31:34 AM

does nobody see the issue with those 2 big ass screens for the dash and center stack.. they have to use a TON of juice...

9/12/2010 1:08:50 PM

^^didn't feel like addressing your inaccuracies?

9/12/2010 1:13:31 PM

Quote :

"I probably take 8-10 road trips a year further than 300 miles. "

I take about 100 road trips longer than 300 miles each year for work. Electric vehicles have a long way to go before I would consider one. A plug-in hybrid would be a viable alternative though.

9/12/2010 1:47:16 PM

bump

9/7/2012 2:19:47 PM

as always, thanks


Autoblog has a pretty cool (and long) interview with Musk now posted:

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/07/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-q-and-a/#continued

9/7/2012 2:27:29 PM

Nice documentary by Discovery about Tesla Motors that shows the manufacturing process of Model S in detail:

12/27/2012 1:13:52 AM

I'm not going to lie. Model S is cool as hell. I'd rock one, financial consideration aside.

12/27/2012 3:05:30 AM

Saw one up close in Charlotte the other day. Looked pretty pimp.

12/27/2012 8:18:43 AM