stockey

Following the enthusiastic response from its electric Roadster (pictured), Tesla Motors is working on a sedan. The new four-door model is tipped to share similar dimensions and performance with the BMW 5-Series, which, as the benchmark sports sedan, is a pretty ambitious target.

The Tesla sedan will have the electric motor and batteries up front, sending power down the rear wheels. Two powertrain options are expected to be on offer, the smaller featuring a range of 200 miles, and a more powerful version with a 300-mile range. Unlike the Roadster, with a Lotus-built aluminum structure, the sedan is expected to be made of steel. Tesla figures on building 10,000-20,000 sedans each year and will be sold globally.

Along with the sedan, the roadster will undergo an update by 2010, at which point the more powerful engine from the higher-end sedan will also likely be offered in the two-door, giving it some serious punch.

It's a pretty shrewd move on Tesla's part to have made the Roadster first, in the process garnering some excitement over a sportscar before branching out into more practical applications.

[Source: PistonHeads]


http://www.autoblog.com/2006/11/24/t...ated-roadster/

Iz

On this week's Tesla blog someone referenced a cnet article containing the following:

"Although he declined to comment on the California legislative proposal, the Tesla representative did give some new details on White Star. There are actually two White Star vehicles in the works. The cheaper one is set to cost less than $50,000 and last about 130 miles. It will also accelerate from 0 mph to 60 mph in just 6.7 seconds, according to the rep. A more expensive version is designed to hit 60 mph in less than 6 seconds and to last about 200 miles. Both cars are designed to seat four adults."

http://news.com.com/2061-11128_3-6156963.html

Can anyone give any credence to this? It is contrary to what's been written in a number of places.

130 miles :'(

Iz

New information regarding possible location of the manufacturing plant:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/...s/16660419.htm
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/...s/16651388.htm

tonybelding

Interesting tidbit. . . Article mentions they have taken 325 pre-orders thus far. :)

It's nice to watch that number steadily growing. They are already selling faster than the similarly-priced Lotus Esprit did during most of its long life span, even though the Esprit didn't require a hefty deposit and year-long wait for delivery of a largely unproven car. I would say the demand is very healthy, all considered.

Iz

Very healthy indeed. Last week there was a statistic indicating 300 sold and now it is 325. It would be good for the buyer and Tesla if the 125 or so 2007 1/2 models were delivered before summer. Would give the roadster more visibility.

An excellent milestone will be when there are more roadster's on the road than there were EV1s.

klausefluoride

Nice. The thing about Tesla is that their cars aren't even on the road yet. Once they get out there, people will start trusting the company (unless they get out there and start breaking) and I think sales will go up. Nobody buys version 1.0 of anything.

Michael

Any word on whether 4 wheel drive will be offered as an option for the seday?

I would be quite surprised if the mileage range on the sedan is not significantly greater than 200 miles.* The latest marketing info about the ZAP-X is that it will provide about a 350 mile range using batteries that have much less energy density. Even the Phoenix SUT/SUV's are expected to have an optional range of 250 miles using batteries that have been identified as having 70% less energy density than those used by Tesla. Since the Phoenix vehicles are just shells of Korean ICE vehicles, I don't expect that they have the greatest aerodynamics, so it would seem that the Tesla sedan should have greater range since it would be designed to be very aerodynamic (probably better than the Lexus LS).

tonybelding

I see no apparent reason to suspect that it would be.

I don't believe it. Isn't the ZAP-X supposed to have a "range extender" option, making it effectively a plug-in hybrid? That's assuming it ever is made, even.

I have never seen that claim before. According to Phoenix's homepage the range of the SUT is "100+ miles". According to their FAQ the range is "approximately 130 miles". It also says, "We are currently working on an expansion pack extending the range to 250 miles, available in 2007." But it doesn't describe this expansion pack at all. . . It might be a trailer with a motor and generator, or it might be a pickup bed full of batteries, who knows?

TEG

Yes, I think the Zap-X 350 mile range numbers are probably a stretch... Even if it uses a 70kWh Altair-Nano pack.