TEG

I think I see an opinion written there right between the lines.

TEG

<== NEW / OLD ==>

To each his own I suppose. I kind of like them.

WarpedOne

Is all this a making of new product arhitect?
Kinda worries me ...

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dpeilow

$1500 for a simple power lead

JRP3

I wonder if this breach of contract might bring on some litigation? I'd also be worried about "locking in" the battery replacement price of $12K by paying in advance. What's to prevent them from jacking up that price in the future? I'm really disappointed by this decision, either they are desperate for cash which doesn't bode well or they've taken the attitude that people will pay anything they demand to have a roadster.

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James

I saw the black version of the wheels on a Roadster in the service bay of Menlo Park. I believe that is what they are doing with the picture for the Sport. That is clearly superior (to me) in terms of looks.

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bill

Tesla is playing this close to the vest so we will just have to guess at what might be happening behind the scenes. They seem to be in a cost pinch.
First, the forum reported months ago that Elon stated that the roadster costs were underestimated.
Second, along with the spike in oil prices came an overall increase in material prices.
Third, Tesla doesn't have the volume to negotiate steep price discounts.
Fourth, The roadster is still hand built and I doubt that they have realized much of a cost reduction from increased production. They have certainly reduced overhead expenses a bit, but not overall man hours to assemble a roadster.
Fifth, if anything, the total cost of material and labor has probably increased over the last few months.
Sixth, I'm not sure of the impact of the dollar vs euro valuation has on all this. Some one will have to fill that in for us.

I'm guessing that the Sport option was simply a way to increase the roadster price without a significant increase in cost to Tesla.

They are apparently in rough shape with costing right now. I would hope they soon give us a better explanation of why this move is critical.

dpeilow

Does anyone know whether Tesla or Lotus are responsible for buying the carbon fibre panels from their French manufacturer? Certainly the pound vs. euro has taken a bit of a battering recently.

Lancelac

Regarding Tesla's exposure to the Euro/$ exchange rate: If you aren't hedged in today's world, you're an idiot and deserve what you get. I speak from experience working at investment banks and being told to shut up when asking why the mortgage book is only 0 to 25% credit hedged and 0 to 80% directionally hedged. Look to the difference between profits of any major airline and Southwest for one of a million more examples.

As for the battery idea, it seems useful for anyone that plans on driving the car quite a bit, although it seems like a big gamble since you don't know what the replacement will actually be when needed. Will you get the $25,000 top end replacement (MUCH better than today's battery), or the one equivalent to the one you are replacing (probably around $5,000 in 5-7 years). Seems impossible for them to guarantee anything since Tesla doesn't know what will be available down the road or its cost. Lucky for me this option is pointless as I only anticipate putting 4-5k miles per year on mine. If I like the car that much, I'll be replacing it with a new one long before the battery pack gets to even half the expected life in miles.

dpeilow

The speed at which the pound/euro and pound/dollar plunged took a lot of people by surprise. It's possible that if Lotus were buying the glider panels from France, they have seen an effective price increase that is now being passed on. How far ahead do you hedge? Just speculation.