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The Tesla Motors mass market car....???

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Will the automotive market ever see a mass market car designed and built by Tesla Motors??? I'm not sure but I would i like to see that happen. In the past 18 months, I have seen several manufacture design and in some cases put small and cheap EVs on the road. Will TM be able to compete in this arena? If TM is going for an SUV and then a Coupe when will we expect to see a TM mass market EV? Just had some questions.
 
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They are talking about a $30k price point vehicle but it will be several years. I think it's a good decision as the market is crammed w/ EV's at that price point (Leaf, Coda, and upcoming Ford, VW, Audi, BMW EV's). Like the Roadster, they're going after a segment that isn't currently served by EV's (luxury/sport sedans).
 
Given the estimated cost of just the 160 mile battery pack (there's an article somewhere that derived an educated guess), it seems unlikely we'll see a mass market price with a good range unless battery price per mile of range changes significantly.
 
You guy both have good points but I think it will be a tough road to produce a, sub $30K quality, EV despite TM's successes thus far. I keep mind that TM has talked about a new Roadster and a SUV prior to the mass market EV.
 
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IMHO, The Toyota connection is the biggest factor saying that it could happen.
Along with the fantastic deal they got on NUMMI->"Tesla Factory", they also have some ability to cooperate with Toyota who are masters of high volume, low cost, automotive mass production.
Even if Tesla doesn't do it soon maybe we see more Tesla tech in a Toyota branded model? (Rav4-EV2 first, then perhaps a lower priced small sedan after?)
 
IMHO, The Toyota connection is the biggest factor saying that it could happen.
Along with the fantastic deal they got on NUMMI->"Tesla Factory", they also have some ability to cooperate with Toyota who are masters of high volume, low cost, automotive mass production.
Even if Tesla doesn't do it soon maybe we see more Tesla tech in a Toyota branded model? (Rav4-EV2 first, then perhaps a lower priced small sedan after?)

Hey TEG... your opinion is very valuable but I hink it will be quite some time before we see a Tesla "mass market" EV. IMHO, the dev of the SUV, Model S coupe and Roadster will delay and may even halt the TM vision of a "mass Market" EV. I may be worng but recent TM media releases show a push to other offerings first.

Toyota could very well be the key in bring the TM vision to fruition because of their large production capabilities. How readily is toyota willing to help TM build an EV ahead or along side of its Prius line? Only time will tell what direction this will go.
 
Toyota is so big. If they wanted, I could imagine that they could have one small team helping with whatever they need to support Model S variants, and at the same time move forward on their own designs. I guess a bigger question would be about Model S power-train tech. The RAV4-EV2 prototype shows "1st gen" Roadster power-train tech. When/if will Toyota get to use the new liquid cooled Model S motor and cylindrical inverter? Will that make it into the production RAV4-EV2? Or any Toyota model ever?
 
Toyota is so big. If they wanted, I could imagine that they could have one small team helping with whatever they need to support Model S variants, and at the same time move forward on their own designs. I guess a bigger question would be about Model S power-train tech. The RAV4-EV2 prototype shows "1st gen" Roadster power-train tech. When/if will Toyota get to use the new liquid cooled Model S motor and cylindrical inverter? Will that make it into the production RAV4-EV2? Or any Toyota model ever?

TEG, I agree with you that Toyota can come in and make things happen at a fatser pace. I thought the Roadster power-train was just for the demonstration RAV4. It would be nice to see the new Model S setup make into the RAV4 because I think it has the potential to stregthen the relationship between TM and Toyota.
 
Reality check: as far as most people know, Nissan is first to market with an electric car (it's what they are telling their customers). They're not going to sit on their hands. By the time Tesla is ready to go for the smaller cars, isn't Nissan going to be pretty well established in that market?

On the other hand, I see Tesla has a huge opportunity in the higher end market.
 
I'm sure Tesla will find a way to differentiate their offering in the $30k market. Consider how many ICEs are available in that price range. It was always Tesla's goal to get down to that price range, and I'd be surprised if that changes, given that Tesla has the large Nummi factory already available. At a time at which the Model X was already in the plans, the time frame for Bluestar was still mentioned as about 2015-2016 (I think), although I don't think that was a fixed date, more an intent.
 
This concept drawing of what could be the elusive Tesla Motors mass market car. This is a David Imai design who is currently employed with Tesla Motors.

c01v01.JPG


More information about the designer could be found here. A fellow TMC member (TEG) provided the us with initial designer's information on this link.
 
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This concept drawing of what could be the elusive Tesla Motors mass market car. This is a David Imai design who is currently employed with Tesla Motors.

View attachment 3834

More information about the designer could be found here. A fellow TMC member (TEG) provided the us with initial designer's information on this link.

Would just need to be stretched for 4 doors. It will be bubbly / slippery because drag coefficient is key. It cannot be boxy, even in the back.
 
Would just need to be stretched for 4 doors. It will be bubbly / slippery because drag coefficient is key. It cannot be boxy, even in the back.
It's actually okay to be boxy in the back, because of the "Kamm effect", where given the suggestion of the ideal teardrop shape in the front, you can cut off the tail end and still have very similar aerodynamics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kammback

In fact, a lot of modern cars have abruptly ending rear edges to reduce rear turbulence, and there are certain boxy/edgy shapes you can apply to the front that actually do better than less boxy shape (because it reduces turbulence in other areas, like the wheel wells).
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/motoring/2008578336_aerocars02.html
 
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