BlackbirdHighway

They (actually Elon, I think) did say that the 2 new companies are not starting from scratch, but building and improving on the existing design, now that they (Tesla) has a much better understanding of where it went wrong.

With two failed efforts already, and no time left for a third, they are certainly showing they are serious about getting the thing out by pursuing two in parallel. Normally you would not want to incur that sort of expense.

He stressed how long it takes for a transmission development cycle. Molds have to be designed and made in order to produce castings of prototype housings. Other parts have to be machined, then assembled. Then you can't tell if it's successful until many, many miles of testing have been performed, and it all takes lots and lots of time.

TEG

When you say "get a break on the price" does that just mean the transmission fixes will be free, or are they actually offering discounts to those willing to accept the "temporarily crippled" version of the vehicle?

AGR

Their most pressing priority is to put cars on the road, they have a single speed (high gear) transmission that works. What stops Tesla from approaching customers with deposits and offering a free transmission upgrade, and a price adjustment on the car for the inconvenience of enduring a transmission and software upgrade at a later date.

Or get a car now, with the single speed plus the upgrade and Tesla pays for the charger and the installation of the charger at the customer's house or business.

How many cars do they need to put on the road in a timely fashion to maintain momentum and credibility? 25-50-75-100? Whatever number they decide, put them on the road in a hurry ASAP....time is of the essence.

This transmission development can drag out, at a juncture where Tesla is almost out of time to have additional delays. They need to have cars on the road driven by customers.

TEG what do you mean by temporarily crippled? They won't do 0 to 60 in 4 seconds, perhaps at this juncture doing "tires to the pavement" is a higher priority than 0 to 60.

tonybelding

The way I see it, it's the guys at the front of the line who have the most to worry about. Here I am as number 315, so the problems should be sorted out long before they get to me. The only concern for someone placing a new reservation today would be when they'll get a car, not whether the car will be good. And nobody else is shipping a production EV yet either, so where else are you going to go?

The other impression I got from the meeting is that they are putting intensive resources into the transmission problem. They have major transmission design companies working on it. I haves no doubt whatsoever that they're going to come up with an excellent, reliable transmission. The only enemy is time, because they need it yesterday. Or last year, really.

I don't see it.

The Volt is much further from reality than the Roadster, there isn't even a running Volt prototype yet. But more importantly, they're completely different kinds of cars. The Volt isn't a sports car. I'm getting a Roadster as a replacement for my Esprit, not my Bonneville.

TEG

Yes! I could see someone going for a Tango, Exige S, or even Lexus GS450h instead of the Roadster, but not the Volt concept. Tesla going out of their way to praise the Volt seems so peculiar to me. I don't see the Volt as any kind of competition to the Roadster.

AGR

The roadster is a re powered Elise, with enough modifications to make it a viable car.

It would seem that Tesla is realising that a fully electric high volume car (sedan) at a price point that car turn some sort of a profit sell in the market, keep the investors content is intellectually closer to a Volt than a Roadster.

If Tesla is struggling with a transmission, how about a whole car?

If it gets to the point of a Tesla sedan it would have a "range extender" in the form of an ICE to keep the price down, the battery costs down, and sell a reasonable volume to keep the various stakeholders content.

TEG, the roadster is a toy for the individual that wants and can afford a 100K toy! The sedan is the "workhorse" that has to make the money, and its got Volt breathing down its neck.

graham

One of the more interesting revelations at the meeting I thought was that only 10% of the Roadster is made of Elise parts. It is almost entirely a new vehicle.

The claim in the meeting was that any given "new" model car you see on the road uses parts from other vehicles of the same manufacturer. So most any new car design isn't entirely new at all.

In the case of the Roadster, it is not so much an Elise conversion anymore because 90% of the parts are unique to the vehicle. It is as much a completely new car as anything else on the road today. While it is true that it is still being assembled on the Lotus manufacturing line, almost all the individual parts come from manufacturers around the globe.

-g

BlackbirdHighway

Elon spoke about how we need to transition from an oil based transportation system to an electric one as quickly as possible. So anything that helps that cause is worth supporting, hence the support for the Volt.

A lot of people seem to think he is just in it for the money, but I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of his passion for electric cars. If he makes some money on the way, even better.

I also have serious doubts about GM, but I would love to see them prove me wrong.

Dogtown

The absolute worst thing they could do is rush to put cars on the road that is not 100% ready. You start with a bunch of recalls and issue from the production car and you are doomed. You can take time with the test vehicles. The buyers will still be here. Others have waited far longer for far less. The press can overlook the faults with a test car. They will not with a production model.

I do not think you can be so sure about that. It is about the money, and it needs to be. It doesn’t do any of us any good if they can not stay in business. After everything that has happened this week it pains me to watch this video. I think it takes on a whole new meaning now:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x25...ctric-car_auto

__________________
-DT

TEG

I hope they can pull it all together and make it work.

The early optimism and conviction was intoxicating. It is rough to watch reality set in harshly like this.