My Town Hall Notes - Page 2

siry · 12-12-2007, 04:25 PM

@TEG

I think there was a bit of confusion on this. we won't ship any cars without relaible, durable transmissions. The distinction is between the short term solution of a fixed second gear, which is easier to develop and test, but does not provide the performance spec we have set, and the final solution that we will continue to work on. Once we have a final solution to the issue we will provide a free upgrade to customers who have been delivered cars with the earlier transmissions so that their car meets the performance specs we have set.

BlackbirdHighway · 12-12-2007, 04:26 PM

TEG, I'm not 100% certain, but I believe that Elon was taking about only 20 cars or so that might need a transmission upgrade later. And each of the early customers would have the choice of either getting a temp. one or waiting for the final one. I think this is just an attempt to head off losing any of the early high profile celebrity buyers who might bail if they have to wait too long, which would look bad.

stopcrazypp · 12-12-2007, 04:33 PM

@dogtown
I have heard this arguement before but I am not sure how much more open do people want Tesla to be. I mean they have blogs already and they are willing to talk face to face with customers, which is more open then any other auto company I have seen. I don't see them closing up either in the recent months. You can't really expect daily updates from them. They likely will post updates when they reach a real milestone.
There has been such a negative air in the blogosphere around tesla lately, probably due to the personnel changes, but I don't see indication of them closing up.
@tonybelding
Did you get a chance to ask about Martin's departure? I don't really agree with the tranmission scheme either. I know they want the first cars out quickly, but delivering with a less than perfect transmission doesn't sound like a good move. It would be expensive to replace once it fails. I hope this only applies to Elon's car, which is already built anyways.

TEG · 12-12-2007, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siry

we won't ship any cars without relaible, durable transmissions.... the short term solution of a fixed second gear...

OK, there have been a number of prototypes driving around locked in 2nd gear for a while now. Without specifically saying (but dancing around it quite a bit) it sounds like the plans is to ship some initial production cars also locked in 2nd gear. (Am I correct about that or not?)

I can understand that approach, but then I wonder about this statement:

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonybelding

"A single-speed transmission wouldn't solve the problem. Some of the problems they've experienced are related to shifting, but many are not. Elon expressed frustration with durability problems, because these are things that only show up after driving the car a few thousand miles."

So, are the models locked in 2nd gear long term durable / reliable or not?

Dogtown · 12-12-2007, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siry

I disagree with you...

...Im the first to admit that there has been less communication in recent months and I'll take the blame for that, but we have had our hands full with leadership changes and a very intense focus on the issues at hand...

Thank you for the prompt response. I do not want to try and start a flame war and be viewed as a Troll. I sincerely hope that you are right and the company can over come these hurdles. I have misinterpreted the posts on this forum. I thought there were concerns about what could possible happen at the company, to cause the only founder who was fully focused on this company to be kicked out. I guess the question was just not asked in the open meeting with the entire executive team.

TEG · 12-12-2007, 06:03 PM

For reference, Martin responded about the town hall meeting over here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by martin

Town Hall impressions
I think the customer call went pretty well. The Tesla spokespeople did a good job of keeping the discussion focused on the Roadster and on Tesla's vision - rather than on the issues surrounding my departure.

Elon's only comment about my departure was benign, noting that my "personality and attitude" are better suited to running startup-phase companies than larger companies. Generally I agree with with this assessment, though as I have stated before, I would have been happy to have continued to contribute to the growth of Tesla Motors and the delivery of the Roadster in another capacity besides as CEO.

Congratulations to the Tesla team for creating a very positive event that addressed many of the open concerns especially surrounding the Roadster shipment delays. It was a very good idea to make the Tesla executive staff available to answer questions directly from customers at this time and in this way.

Still looking forward to my Roadster #2!"

TEG · 12-12-2007, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonybelding

The cars with early transmissions will be programmed for slightly less performance in order to "baby" the transmission.

Any specifics on that? Just locked in 2nd gear?
Or something like reduced eMotor torque? Lower redline?

tonybelding · 12-12-2007, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEG

Any specifics on that? Just locked in 2nd gear?
Or something like reduced eMotor torque? Lower redline?

I'm a bit fuzzy on it myself. At one point they seemed to be talking about something in the firmware that would reduce the peak torque, and at another time they seemed to be talking about locking it into 2nd gear. Or maybe both. Or maybe they haven't decided yet.

Any clarification from Tesla would be welcome.

AGR · 12-12-2007, 06:37 PM

tonybelding, thank you for posting your notes very informative.

My understanding is that they will deliver cars with a single speed "set up" to get cars on the road and being driven by customers. Tesla has realised that at this point, time is of the essence, the "transmission problem" and the "realibility problem" is being perceived as a "credibility problem" which goes beyond transmissions.

As they say "perception is reality" and the reality is that there are no cars on the road.

The line would be "If you don't want to wait, we will deliver a car with a single speed and at a later date replace the transmission and alter the software" of course this would be free to the customer.

They had 2 companies work on the transmission, and now they have another 2 companies that seem to have just started working on the transmission.

If you want a Tesla in a timely fashion, get a sinlge speed, get a free transmission upgrade, and get a break on the price in the process.

DDB · 12-12-2007, 07:03 PM

Tony,

Thanks for the excellent notes. I can't add much to the technical discussion on the transmission, but from what I can tell, the fence-sitters, those that want a Roadster, may even be able to afford it, had better stand back for the time being. Maybe even weigh other EV options. I hope to hell Tesla figures it out and goes public doing so--and Martin has some sort of options. The now VERY speculative time frame is very close to the Volt's, and at 1/3 the price. That's sobering.