-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Originally there weren't a lot of MBAs working at Tesla Motors, but rather there were just a lot of really talented engineers trying to build an amazing electric sports car. And they pulled it off, but since there were no bean counters employeed at the time, they ended up selling a $120,000+ machine for $30,000 less than it cost to manufacture. Four significant things (at least) have happened since then which completely changes the picture:
1) The price of the base model Roadster was increased by $15,000, and another $15,000 worth of options was made optional.
2) The Roadster Sport -- $20,000 more for $5,000 or so extra cost to Tesla.
3) The car itself has actually gotten cheaper. The "upgrades" to each model have been mainly very low cost sorts of things such as slightly changing the design of the bumper, center console, seats, etc., while at the same time taking very expensive things made of carbon fiber such as a solid CF center console, CF trunk, etc., and replacing them with plastic. This is just one example, but many areas of the newer versions are actually much cheaper to make saving perhaps $5,000 or more per car.
4) Cheaper battery pack: sure it's the same pack, but in the past 4 years the price of the cells used to manufacture the pack have come way down. This has perhaps saved anther 10 or 15k on each car.
And there you have it. What magic a few MBA's can work in a organization like Tesla, and sometimes we wonder why these guys get paid so much! A $30,000 loss per car is magically turned into $35,000 gain!
price increase: $15,000
options: $15,000
Roadster Sport: $15,000
battery: $15,000
parts: $5,000
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL $65,000 gain per Roadster Sport, $50,000 gain per base model
Not bad at all for a few minor changes!
For what it's worth, airbag exemption expiration is what killed the Saleen S7 and Shelby Series 1. So there is precedent. Getting the "advanced" airbag exemption was the direct holdup for the Wheego. Currently awaiting approval for airbag exemption extensions are Koenigsegg, Morgan and Spyker. Terrafugia is also waiting for approval for their Transition plane/car.
The NHTSA is very serious about these advanced airbags, and by their own admission are not keen on granting many more exemptions. Advanced airbags are expensive to develop, and very difficult to upgrade into a vehicle that was not previously equipped. So to me this is most likely THE big reason that the U.S. will not be seeing any more new Roadsters.
Well, that and the whole thing about Lotus not building any more gliders. The two are probably connected, you know?
The NHTSA is very serious about these advanced airbags, and by their own admission are not keen on granting many more exemptions. Advanced airbags are expensive to develop, and very difficult to upgrade into a vehicle that was not previously equipped. So to me this is most likely THE big reason that the U.S. will not be seeing any more new Roadsters.
Well, that and the whole thing about Lotus not building any more gliders. The two are probably connected, you know?
Last edited:
As I remember, The first price increase was $93K to $98K. Then before delivery of cars greater than VIN214 they made $7,200 worth of promised included items like a HPC and spoked wheels into "options" raising the effective cost of the car that amount more for buyers that had supposedly locked in pricing at those numbers.
Not sure when the price went to $109K
S-2000 Roadster
#1244
That price was for the Roadster 2.0 2010 (then called 2009) model year cars.
I am a little disappointed they never updated the cell chemistry during the entire Roadster production run. Couldn't they have at least been an option or included with the Sport model? The engine alone wasn't enough for me to get the sport model but I added back in everything that was part of the sport package.
Last edited:
I'm hoping they'll do this when the batteries from the oldest cars start to die, say around 2015. They'll either have to let the cars become useless (which would be bad press and possibly illegal), continue building the old style battery packs for a long time or upgrade. I'm guessing upgrade if for no other reason than that the old cells will probably be hard to get as their manufacturer decides it's not worth producing the old tech anymore.
tomsax
Member
I believe Tesla's battery management is very closely tied to those specific batteries. I'm sure a ton of research went into optimizing everything: charging, discharging, controlling pack temperature, maximizing range, maximizing power, etc. Although the changes to the firmware for an updated battery pack would likely be straightforward, knowing how to change the parameters would take a lot of research.
When it comes time to update the Roadster battery packs, I hope they can leverage what they know about the Model S (or later) batteries in bringing our battery packs up to date.
Of course, when that time comes Tesla will most likely either be selling hundreds of thousands of vehicles per year or bankrupt. I'm voting for the former, but I hope Tesla doesn't grow so large that they can't be bothered to support a couple of thousand early vehicles. With their current focus on Model S and waning interest in Roadster updates (J1772 conversion, smart phone remote control, firmware bug fixes), I can't say I'm super optimistic.
I agree. Even for tiny things like a sector 111 style rearview mirror for taller drivers (with day/night switch), iPod dock...etc, they don't seem willing to make the move. I just got my firmware updated to 4.6.3 but not sure what the changes are.
Last edited:
Still though, there is a theory that during this "lull" between last Roaster delivery and first Model S key handover, is that Tesla will be offering a plethora of upgrades and accessories to augment service's quiet days.
There will be Model S alphas in the showrooms to keep salespeople busy. Do they keep one Roadster to show what EV driving is like or do they keep the one car plugged in every non driving second?
Posted Wednesday in the Federal Register:
Federal Register | Tesla Motors, Inc.; Receipt of Petition for Renewal of Temporary Exemption from the Advanced Air Bag Requirements of FMVSS No. 208
Tesla's original advanced airbag exemption was set to expire on January 28 of this year. The petition for extension of this exemption was filed on November 24, 2010. Note that the mere act of petitioning for an extension provides for continuance of the exemption during the review process. So in other words, Tesla applied for an extension so that they would be exempt until Roadster production was completed. Whether they get the exemption extended or not, they have achieved what they needed.
Lotus applied for an extension on Elise/Exige advanced airbags on the exact same day, for likely the same reason. Just enough to finish the run. U.S. Elise/Exige production is ending this summer one way or the other, as reported today in Automotive News, and others. From the wording in the Federal Register, I don't expect the NHTSA to grant either extension. But by the time they decide, it won't matter. That's it folks, no more Roadsters.
Federal Register | Tesla Motors, Inc.; Receipt of Petition for Renewal of Temporary Exemption from the Advanced Air Bag Requirements of FMVSS No. 208
Tesla's original advanced airbag exemption was set to expire on January 28 of this year. The petition for extension of this exemption was filed on November 24, 2010. Note that the mere act of petitioning for an extension provides for continuance of the exemption during the review process. So in other words, Tesla applied for an extension so that they would be exempt until Roadster production was completed. Whether they get the exemption extended or not, they have achieved what they needed.
Lotus applied for an extension on Elise/Exige advanced airbags on the exact same day, for likely the same reason. Just enough to finish the run. U.S. Elise/Exige production is ending this summer one way or the other, as reported today in Automotive News, and others. From the wording in the Federal Register, I don't expect the NHTSA to grant either extension. But by the time they decide, it won't matter. That's it folks, no more Roadsters.
Last edited:
tomsax
Member
Plus a quote from EM himself describing the whole thing as a "bait and switch". Priceless.
Adm
Active Member
NigelM
Recovering Member
Deals don't usually happen overnight so I would expect that Tesla has known for a while that they would get these; in fact they only bring the total up to the always promised number of 2,500 in any case....
Similar threads
