Tesla to unveil Model S on March 26, hopes for DOE money by summer
In a newsletter distributed today by Tesla Motors, CEO Elon Musk provides an update on the business including an announcement that a driveable prototype of the Model S would be unveiled on March 26. The Model S reveal will take place at the Southern California headquarters of Musk’s other company, Space-X, which is where Tesla’s design studio is located. According to ex-Tesla SVP Darryl Siry who refused to show us images of the car no matter how much we begged before his departure, “the Model S a very beautiful car.” As long as it doesn’t have a hump back like the new Porsche Panamera we’re looking forward to seeing it. However, before it becomes anything more than a prototype, Tesla will need a lot more cash to pay for engineering and a factory to build it. As Musk told us when we talked to him in Detroit last month, he fully expects the company to be profitable by mid-year thanks to price increases and cost reductions for building the Roadster. Even if that proves to be true, which will be difficult when considering the current economy, it’s unlikely to be anywhere near the required cash flow to cover the cost of the Model S. Learn more about how Tesla hopes to fund the Model S after the jump, where you can also see the full text of the newsletter. Gallery: Jason Calacanis’ Tesla Roadster Photos copyright (C)2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc. [Source: Tesla Motors] Continue reading Tesla to unveil Model S on March 26, hopes for DOE money by summer Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Tesla Motors Tesla to unveil Model S on March 26, hopes for DOE money by summer originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
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Tesla to unveil Model S on March 26, hopes for DOE money by summer
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Leave a commentTesla holds customer town hall to explain price increases
Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Tesla Motors Click above for high-res image gallery of Jason’s Tesla Roadster Tesla Motors held the first of a series of customer town hall meetings at its Menlo Park store on Tuesday to try and assuage anger over recently announced price increases . A couple of attendees have posted their thoughts about the meeting around the web. As usual, CEO Elon Musk was forthcoming with information, although it some cases it may actually raise more fears than calm them down. For example, when responding to a query about the price hike, Musk responded, “It was a really close call at the last round of investments, I can’t shoulder the load of the company alone and I couldn’t continue the company like that.” Musk also revealed that the company would be getting an investment from a “well respected company” in the next week or so. In the current environment, that may not have been the safest response if the deal has not yet closed. If something happens and it falls apart, the company could end up looking worse. Musk blamed the new $3,000 price for the high-powered charging cable on the cost of making the current one and said a new, less expensive version is being developed. A 440V charger that would facilitate 45-minute charges is in the works, he said, possibly for 2010. Musk also announced that the Model S would be shown to customers and VIPs at an event at the Space-X headquarters in Los Angeles on March 5. Tesla is also working on drivetrain 2.0 with an eye on cost reduction. Gallery: Jason Calacanis’ Tesla Roadster Gallery: Trying out Jason’s Tesla Roadster Photos copyright (C)2008 Drew Phillips , Sam Abuelsamid, Sebastian Blanco / Weblogs, Inc. [Source: Planettesla , TeslaMotorsClub ] Tesla holds customer town hall to explain price increases originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green
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Tesla holds customer town hall to explain price increases
Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, current, elon musk, entry, low speed vehicle credit, meetings-at-its, price, space, tesla, tesla-motors, teslaroadster, thoughts, wheels-or-top | Leave a commentElon Musk discusses the state of affairs at Tesla
Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Tesla Motors Tesla Motors may well build the most desirable electric car of all time, but that doesn’t make the company immune the same economic realities as every other automaker. Last week, Tesla CEO delivered a keynote address at the Society of Automotive Analysts “Outlook 2009″ conference that took place during the press previews for the Detroit Auto Show . In the last few months, Tesla has had to abandon plans for a public stock offering as well as an additional private fund raising round. Before the speech, Musk sat down to talk at some length about the current state of the business. He did acknowledge that new orders have slowed down recently while some existing orders have been canceled. Musk declined to be specific about numbers but did acknowledge that the overall economic environment has affected some customer’s ability to complete their orders. Musk also discussed the battery supply deal with Daimler and indicated that he would like to see more OEM deals in the future. The bottom line is that even with the added revenue from increased Roadster deliveries and option price increases, Tesla is likely to have a very difficult time going forward unless the economy makes a dramatic turnaround in the next six months. [Source: Green Fuels Forecast ] Elon Musk discusses the state of affairs at Tesla originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green
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Elon Musk discusses the state of affairs at Tesla
Posted in Auto Green | along-the-route, dakarrally, did-acknowledge, elon musk, elonmusk, green-daily, society, south-america-, tesla-motors, teslamotors, volkswagen, year | Leave a commentDetroit 2009: Tesla talks Model S, Daimler deal and Roadster production update
Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Tesla Motors , Detroit Auto Show Click to enlarge We posted earlier today about what Tesla Motors’ CEO Elon Musk told us about the Model S and the deal with Daimler for the smart ed . Musk spoke at the Tesla Motors during a press conference here at the Detroit Auto Showthis afternoon and gave a little more information that’s worth sharing. First, the deal for the 1,000 smart eds we heard about earlier might only be the tip of the iceberg. Musk said that Tesla could supply the packs for “tens of thousands” of electric smarts if the testing of the first thousand goes well. Musk made it a point to add that he and Tesla are proud to be working with Daimler. One reason he worked to create Tesla Motors in the first place, Musk said, was to revolutionize electric car technology. This deal does exactly that, and we might soon hear more such announcements. Musk said Tesla is looking for another one or two strategic partners, either domestic or international companies, to work with. The whole Detroit vs. Silicon Valley thing is not the way to move forward, he said. There’s much more after the jump. Gallery: Detroit 2009: Tesla powertrain [Source: Tesla] Continue reading Detroit 2009: Tesla talks Model S, Daimler deal and Roadster production update Detroit 2009: Tesla talks Model S, Daimler deal and Roadster production update originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green
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Detroit 2009: Tesla talks Model S, Daimler deal and Roadster production update
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