Cracks Form in the Tesla Story as Germans Assemble Luxury EV Assault

[SmartElectric]

Still - independent of the battery location, very few EVs actually are able to provide the frame hugging skateboard Model S does (which I count as including the motor, chargers etc)..

Battery in flat pan on bottom of car. Stressed member. Inverter and motor beside eachother. Looks same as Tesla Model S to me.

 

[mike-415]

Battery in flat pan on bottom of car. Stressed member. Inverter and motor beside eachother. Looks same as Tesla Model S to me.

Both are glorified golf carts, not cars.

 

[theschnell]

Battery in flat pan on bottom of car. Stressed member. Inverter and motor beside eachother. Looks same as Tesla Model S to me.

Is it not Tesla who supplies the drivetrain for the Smart EV? I am almost certain it is. Hence the similarities to the Model S design.

 

[thegruf]

Unlike many of its rivals, BMW decided to do its plug-in cars properly by developing standalone platforms for the i3 and i8. The result was the creation of two excellent plug-in cars, the i3 and i8, which have left positive impressions with consumers at opposite ends of the luxury car spectrum. The BMW i5 is slotted to fill the gap between the i3 and i8, and rumor has it that Bimmer’s Model S fighter could make its debut as early as 2018, rather than 2020 as earlier rumors suggested. BMW i5 Could Arrive As Tesla Rival By 2018 - Gas 2

Agreed they were right to do a separate (imaginatively named) i series.

However if we look at todays models, the BMW i3 is a decent city EV, there are several of these about and the i3 is one of the better ones, even if the frunk does fill up with leaves.
The i8 however is a joke imo. The reality is if the batteries run low, its got no oomph, can barely recharge them on the go and the real=world average mpg is more like 30mpg. Friend of mine in Cambridge,UK just sold his calling it the worst conceived pile of cr*p he had ever wasted his money on. He then went on to say he didnt waste any money at all as he sold it for the same as he paid for it! But respect for BMW trying to make it look different. And they will get better.

Talking about 2018 models from the Germans is okay, if they happen, but by then in 3 years time Tesla wil have moved the game on themselves. (Yes Apple and Microsoft are excellent parallels)

And did somebody mention Tesla Supercharging for free for life? 50KW chargers wont cut it no matter how good the cars are. You need the whole vision not just a part of it.

Being a visionary is about being able to realise an entire imagination of a possible future, and then inspiring those around you to achieve it, not necessarily being a technical genius.