Santa Barbara for Earth Day

[slcasner]

The SoCalGreenspeed group and a group of N. Cal. owners are planning to meet up in Santa Barbara on Earth Day weekend, 4/21-4/22. Forum member Timothy is looking for Roadster owners in Santa Barbara who might be willing to let a visitor charge. If any of you are here, please PM me or Timothy. Planning is currently in progress. Locals who have not been participating in these groups and would like to join in are welcome.

[slcasner]

This is a cross-post to Santa Barbara for Earth Day in the SoCal area subforum (I hope that is considered acceptable protocol) because it is about a meet-up of Northern and Southern California groups. If you have not joined the tesla_owners@yahoogroups.com mailing list where we N. Cal. drivers have been discussing this, I invite you to join. If you would like to join the drive or ask about it, please post on the other thread or PM me.

[Lloyd]

Anyone needing a charge in San Luis Obispo is welcome at my house. I have TS70 plus 5 x 14-50 sockets. Send me a pm with your arrival time and date.

[doug]

This sounds like quite an event. What's the anticipated participation?

[Timothy]

The 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara was the catalyst for the Earth Day movement--the first Earth Day in the US was here. It is a large event with tons of vendors and lectures in just about anything 'green.' It occupies 2 square blocks of city park both Sat and Sun April 21-22. It is a lot of fun--we go about every other year. Last year I saw a three Teslas displayed, talked to the owners, bought mine the next week! Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival My wife went to a lecture on bees, told me I could buy the car if I built her a bee hive--so now we are beekeepers as well. And we have solar panels for our electicity (demo at Earth Day). We are so damed 'Green' I can't stand it! (Well, except for the '55 Chevy).

[vfx]

.... Last year I saw a three Teslas displayed, talked to the owners, bought mine the next week!....

You are welcome !!

We love the SB Earthday Event. It's really well run, there are 30,000 people in attendance who have the right attitude, and like Timothy, many can afford a car. I am praying they will have a Model S there. They would sell a dozen each day.

This year we are arranging a very obvious PV EV connection in the displays. The solar powered slotcar track is an awesome learning tool for the kids.

[Timothy]

You are welcome !!

I am praying they will have a Model S there. They would sell a dozen each day.

.

I communicated with Tesla in a couple of ways, and was told we couldn't get a Model S. They are only being used in showrooms at this point--not enough to go around!

[GSP]

I communicated with Tesla in a couple of ways, and was told we couldn't get a Model S. They are only being used in showrooms at this point--not enough to go around!

That sounds crazy. Tesla should take the Model S from the nearest showroom for that one weekend.

Can they even keep the showroom open on Sunday? Some states don't allow car dealers to open on Sundays.

Either way, Tesla is missing a good opportunity, and more Model S sales will always be a big help to their bottom line.

GSP

[vfx]

I the past Tesla has not really supported "green" events withe the $100K Roadster. Many looks, few buyers. As the Model S is more mainstream upper middle class and they need larger sales volume I'm sure they will take the car out to shows like this one more often. Tesla did do this event first year of release and called us to help out the next.

Every year we get asked via separate channels to do about (now up to) a dozen Earthday Events. Of alll the car shows and green events we do during the year, this one is the standout. The atendees are of the right income level, and are interestend in how they can contribute and when they learn about EVs (in our case it is the Roadster) they get that look in their eyes that you know is the "that would work for me" realization. I swear I have sold at least a Roadster every year. We usually have three owner manned cars on display so that number may be higher. Anyone who has worked tradeshows can relate to how exhausting this kind of work this is (30,000 is a lot of people to talk to) but it's also rewarding to get the word out and flattering as there are a lot of video cameras that cover the event as well.

A Model S would be off the hook.

[Timothy]

I swear I have sold at least a Roadster every year. We usually have three owner manned cars on display so that number may be higher. A Model S would be off the hook.

Well, talking to the three of you last year had a big influence on my purchase the next week. And the race with the Corvette up Page Mill Road in the demo car with my son the next week sealed the deal. I plucked down my deposit after that ride--and my son did for a Model S -- Signature #194 he will hopefully have in a few months. We have always wondered if that red Corvette was owned by Tesla....