We still haven’t recovered from oogling over the photos of Tesla’s new Roadster Sport when the electric car makers decided to satiate our appetites even more by releasing all-new photos of its other ‘new’ car – the Tesla Model S.
Normally, we’d have to pause and catch our breaths after seeing such stunning photos like those of the Roadster Sport but in this case, it’s like getting desert one after another. And knowing us, we’ll never turn our backs on mouth-watering treats.
So here are the new photos of the Model S, which is being tested by no other than Franz Von Holzhausen, the man who designed this car in the first place.
Unfortunately for a lot us, this is the closest we’ll come to seeing a Model S out on the road until 2011, the date where the car is set to roll out of the lots. In the meantime, the two-year wait should be excruciatingly long, especially after seeing these photos that only makes us a little bit more eager to see the car out on the road.
It looks like Tesla’s sales plan is paying off. The electric carmaker Tesla Motors have already booked over 1000 orders for their Model S sedan, a vehicle that can carry up to seven people for a range of up to 300 miles. The Model S starts at $49,900 after tax rebates, but Tesla claims that the operating costs are so low, that it is rely the equivalent of owning something like a $30,000 vehicle.
Tesla has already put more than 400 examples of their $100,000 electric roadster into the hands of customers. The Tesla Roadster is capable of running from 0 to 60 MPH in only 3.9 seconds, besting most sports cars, while being twice as energy efficient as the Toyota Prius. Roadster owners also benefit from a far lower cost of ownership than comparably priced sports cars, with none of the traditional internal combustion maintenance and the added benefit of the cost of electricity compared to the fluctuating price of gas, an amount that could be back up to $5 per gallon by the end of summer. Tesla believes that owning an environmentally friendly Roadster can add up to a savings of around $26,000 over the lifetime of the vehicle as opposed to say, a $100,000 Porsche.
Tesla Motors CEO, Chairman and Product Architect Elon Musk believes that “despite the enormous environmental benefits, lower total cost of ownership will soon become the primary motivation for consumers to evolve from gas guzzlers to EVs.”
Tesla’s Model S just debuted last week, and the company is already reporting 520 reservations for the all-electric sedan. Hopefully it can keep up with production demands when the sedan appears in 2010. Tesla has produced about 320 of the 1,100+ orders of the Roadster since production began about a year ago.
We saw first Tesla’s Model S Sedan last week, and yesterday we got up close to the touchscreen dashboard. Now watch as Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk takes out Steve Jurvetson for a test drive in this $49,900 (after federal tax credit) all-electric sedan.
Last week Tesla revealed its Model S sedan, but one interesting element that was left out of the debut material was the dashboard. The whole car is controlled through one large touchscreen. Everything from climate control to navigation is on this one panel. It also offers a 3G data connection to keep up with things like Google Maps and streaming radio.
While this is all very impressive, we’d expect nothing less from an electric car company with a internet millionaire as CEO.
Tesla gave the full reveal today on the all-electric Model S. The company’s first sedan will start at $57,400, but that is reduced to $49,900 after applying a federal tax credit of $7,500.
Tesla is promoting this as a family car, and that’s not hard to believe with seating for up to seven. This sedan has normal seating for five full adults, but it also is taking a page from the old station wagons and has a child-size set of reward facing seats.
Just like the rest of the domestic automakers, Tesla’s Model S comes with a list of options. The standard car comes with a lithium-ion battery pack that is good for 160 miles, but there will also be battery packs good for 230 and 300 miles. The base Model S will do 0-60 mph in under six seconds, and a optional sport version should shave about a second off that time. All cars will be electronically limited to a top speed of 130 mph.
Tesla says the Model S can be charged in any 110V, 220V or 440V outlet. While the 440V takes a convenient 45 minutes for a full charge, we may be a little displeased with having to devote a room in our homes just for the new electrical set up required for 440V service.
Tesla is gearing up for the official debut of the Model S sedan on March 26. The design shouldn’t be too much of a surprise considering the latest teaser image we saw last month has already given us a pretty good idea of what the all-electric sedan will look like. Instead the big news from Tesla today is the pricing. The Model S will start at $57,400, but that is reduced to $49,900 after applying a federal tax credit of $7,500.
Production of the Model S should begin in 2011. We expect Tesla’s sedan to have a range of at least 160 miles from its lithium-ion battery pack, and all this will likely be confirmed at the unveiling next Thursday.
Back in October Tesla lifted the car cover to show us the Model S sedan’s rump, and now the company is back lifting the same same tarp to show us all there is more to this electric car than just its ass. Tesla is in a similar predicament to many of the other larger U.S. auto companies, and it has its hand out to the U.S. Government for aid. Because of this the company is looking to get as much as publicity as possible, the Model S sedan has been promised to make its debut on March 26 — right around the same time it will hear about its loans from the Department of Energy.
If all goes right the Tesla’s sedan will hit the streets 2011 to the tune of about 20,000 units per year. The price is expected to start under $60,000 (more than half off the Roadster Sport’s $128,500.) Range for the all-electric sedan is expected to start at around 160 miles but may possibly be available in a model that has an extended range to as much as 240 miles.
Tesla wants a piece of the bailout pie. It got a $40 million shot in the arm back in October, but now it thinks $350 is the magic number. The original plan was to be in full swing production of the Tesla Roadster by now, but only 100 of 1200 orders have been filled. Now Tesla is trying to entice Government aid by releasing more details on the next step, the Model S sedan.
Although the Roadsters are still in jeopardy, plans to start showing off the five-passenger sedan are still being announced. The Model S may be revealed within the next few months. It is rumored to do 0 to 60 mph in less than six seconds, while the range is 240 miles on a single charge. Tesla is believes that the sedan’s $57,499 price will provide a more everyday electric alternative to the $109,000 Roadster.
Will an electric for the people be enough to bring the Government on board? Time will tell, but the Model S’s planned debut in 2010 will put it against some stiff competition like the cheaper Chevy Volt.
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