Telsa unveil Model S sedan

[DanS]

I doubt the big car companies would do any better. The price is dominated by LiOn battery prices. None of the big car companies have any particular expertise with manufacturing or use of LiOn batteries. And LiOn batteries are purchased off the shelf.

The only car company that I can think of with expertise with LiOn batteries besides Tesla is BYD in China.

It's true that the Japanese car companies could apply large amounts of capital to this, if they chose.

[Aeson]

Can't afford one, wish I could. But still

[Az]

It's true that the Japanese car companies could apply large amounts of capital to this, if they chose.

This was my direction. What's the ownership structure? who's doing the part manufacturing and assembly?

[Dinner]

Pictures of a pre-production model's interior while they are assembling it.

http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-10863_7-10000603-3.html?tag=mncol;txt

[DanS]

The ownership structure hasn't been disclosed, but I'm guessing 30% Elon Musk, 70% venture fund/billionaire friends of Musk/GE Capital.

Manufacturing of the power-train and battery pack are in-house. Assembly in-house. Parts to be sourced from global parts companies. Batteries probably from the Japanese battery producers.

[Asher]

Very cool stuff. Hope it's actually practical someday with reasonable battery lifecycles.

[DanS]

They quoted 7 years/70,000 miles (whichever came first) for the Roadster. They must have figured some stuff out, because they're quoting 7-10 year battery lifecycles on the Model S.

[Az]

And what's the cost for the batteries these days? Because if battery is such a vital part of the construction, this could mean very bad news for the fuel savings.... They were supposed to counteract the car costs. If a huge expenditure on battery replacement is in need after only ~100k miles, this is bad news.

[DanS]

Best as I can tell, after 7 years of flogging the original battery, you will be able to buy a similar battery much cheaper. I think the capacity on these batteries per unit mass is increasing at a ~ 6% per annum clip and the prices are declining accordingly.

Personally, I'm more interested in the much less complexity of an electric car versus an internal combustion engine car. Probably a lot easier to manufacture with reasonably quality. And lots easier to maintain.

[Az]

true true. We ARE morons, using chemical energy to propel ourselves, and electric energy to heat ourselves.

[DanS]

We use electric energy to heat ourselves? In the states, that fad was very brief in the early 70s.

[KrazyHorse]

Not a fad. My heat is electrical (hot water too).

It's a bit expensive.

[Elok]

And a fire hazard, if you have baseboard heating (like my house).

Say, do Tesla cars come with the option for earthquake machines or death rays?

[GePap]

Not a fad. My heat is electrical (hot water too).

It's a bit expensive.

Tell me ****ing about it....

[Krill]

0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds? Holy ****, gotta love the torque on those things.