JEFF TYLER: Most of us won't be too concerned if Rolls Royce or Bentley dealerships sell fewer cars. But you just might care if the rich stop buying the Tesla Roadster.
It's the only all-electric car on the market. That means no gas. No oil. And no emissions. The Roadster goes from zero to sixty in four seconds. That's almost as fast as a Porsche 911 Turbo.
And at $109,000, almost as unaffordable. But thanks to rich patrons, cheaper Tesla's are on the way. Diarmuid O'Connell is the company's VP of Corporate Development.
DIARMUID O'Connell: We'll be shortly introducing what we call the Model S, which is a four-door, five-passenger sedan, which will retail -- after a federal tax credit -- for $49,000.
The Model S is being unveiled next week. But O'Connell says there's a less expensive, zero-emissions car in the works.
O'Connell: We're already looking at our third vehicle, which is targeted at a $30,000 price point. And building in the hundreds of thousands.
Using money from rich customers to fuel mass-market production is a fairly common business model.
O'Connell: Think of the Tesla Roadster as the $2000 cell phone of 1985.
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