Model S [Official] Tesla Model S

[FC123]

It makes perfect sense for Toyota. In the future, if the accellerator pedal gets stuck, instead of accelleratiing - it will immediately deplete the battery and the car will become stationary.

How's that for safety engineering?

 

[Wolfgang]

This is somewhat Tesla related news:




Posted June 04, 2010 11:54 Pacific Time

T+ 00:09:04 Falcon 9 has achieved Earth Orbit!

SpaceX F9 Webcast

 

[Wolfgang]

Tesla's Future Model Plans Revealed During IPO Presentation

Tesla's Future Model Plans Revealed During IPO Presentation ? Automotive News & Car Rumors at Automobile Magazine

 

[Wolfgang]

Tesla Increases IPO Size

Tesla Motors Inc. increased the size of its initial public offering ahead of its initial public offering, expected to price Monday night.

The company said it and existing shareholders will offer a combined 13.3 million shares, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It left the proposed price range unchanged at $14 to $16 per share.

European Pressphoto Agency

Tesla's IPO could raise as much as $244.8 million.

The company previously had said it could sell up to 11.1 million shares, making the IPO worth up to $178 million, prior to any use of the overallotment option, which would add nearly 1.7 million shares, or more than $27 million at the top price.

In the event of strong demand, the enlarged offering could be increased by nearly two million shares, according to the filing. The additional shares would come from the selling shareholders.

All told, the offering then could raise as much as $244.8 million.

The offering, expected to appeal to both clean-energy investors and car geeks, bucks a trend of companies cutting the size of IPO plans in recent weeks due to stock-market volatility. Still others haven't been able to complete efforts and have shelved offerings.

Under the new terms, there will be 11.9 million shares coming from the company, and the rest from current owners. Telsa had projected selling up to 10.6 million.

Tesla, whose deal is expected to price after the close, has been approved to list its stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol TSLA.

The company, named for scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla, has been selling its all-electric Roadsters for nearly two years and is still the only company selling highway-capable electric vehicles to consumers in volume. It said it has sold 1,063 Roadsters as of March 31 and has unfilled reservations for another 110.

The Roadster sells for $109,000, or $101,500 after federal tax credits. The Roadster Sport edition costs an extra $19,500. Some states offer additional consumer tax breaks for buying an electric car, topping out as much as $42,000 in Colorado.

Last month, Tesla said its first-quarter loss widened to $29.5 million from $16 million a year earlier. It hasn't been profitable. Revenue was roughly flat at $20.8 million.

Write to Matt Jarzemsky at matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com

 

[Centurion]

This is the right time for an IPO. The company name is established, there is a customer base and more potential ones, purschases from Mercedes and other firms has turned the company into an OEM.

It's a high capital industry and most certainly Tesla needs to raise $500 million -$2 billion in the next 12-24 months if they are to remain on track to flourish or even survive the auto industry. Right now they have a first mover advantage with electric cars but once the Germans and Japanese have brought their mass market E-Cars to market, Tesla will no longer be a niche company and electric cars will become commodities. I predict either Fisker or Tesla to collapse in the next 3-5 years as there simply isn't enough space in the market to warrant two new manufacturers.

 

[Wolfgang]

Tesla CEO blames new model push for losses

* Sedan is reason Tesla is unprofitable -CEO
* Expected to trade on Nasdaq under symbol "TSLA"
* Tesla first carmaker to have IPO since Ford's 1956 debut
* Tesla not expecting profits until at least 2012
* Facing 2011 production gap for Roadster

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, June 29 (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc's founder said his company could be profitable if it continued to make pricey sports cars, but is instead forgoing income to build a car aimed at mass-market commuters.

Tesla raised $226 million in its initial public offering Monday night, and is set to start trading on the Nasdaq later on Tuesday morning.

"A lot of people were puzzled about why we were going public without profits," CEO Elon Musk, dressed in jeans and an unbuttoned shirt, told reporters outside the Nasdaq building in Times Square, near several Tesla Roadsters.

"The reason we are not profitable today is because we are in the midst of expanding with the Model S," Musk added. Model S is a luxury electric sedan it plans to launch in 2012 and to sell starting from $57,400.

Tesla is the first initial public offering by an American automaker since Ford's debut in 1956.

The IPO comes amid heightened interest in electric cars and as major automakers gear up to launch various types of battery-powered vehicles, including plug-in hybrids. Analysts say that the cars may be sleek, but the shares could be clunkers. The Palo Alto, California-based company is losing money and does not expect to be profitable for at least two years.

The company will go through a fair chunk of 2011 without any products for sale, thanks to tooling changes at a supplier. Production will resume only in 2012 when the mass-market Model S comes online. Tesla's Roadster is priced at $109,000, while the Model S sedan is set to be $57,400.

But investors are focusing on the opportunity instead of the risks. Musk told investors recently that his seven-year-old startup is closer to a technology company than a stodgy car maker. He called his car "a freaking technology velociraptor," ready to revolutionize the way Americans buy and drive cars.

Demand for the shares was strong. Tesla on Monday sold 13.3 million shares for $17 each, after originally planning to sell 11.1 million shares for $14 to $16 each.

Underwriters on the IPO are led by Goldman Sachs & Co, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank Securities. (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer in New York, Poornima Gupta in San Francisco, additional reporting by New York newsroom, editing by Matthew Lewis)

 

[Wolfgang]

latest insights from detnews.com

 

[Wolfgang]

Is Tesla the latest MBUSA Autohaus convert?

Tesla Hires Former Gap and Apple Executive to Make Stores More Inviting

By Jonathan Welsh | WSJ

Years from now, the dreaded dealership experience associated with buying a car may be more of a pleasure — like shopping for clothes or buying the latest gadget. At least that’s the tack Tesla Motors is taking.

The electric-car maker said it has hired former Apple and Gap executive George Blankenship to head store development and design. Tesla has long said it seeks to make buying a car more like shopping for other high-end, high-tech products. Hiring Blankenship is a significant move in that direction.

Blankenship, 57 years old, has decades of international retail and real estate experience including the time he spent with Apple developing the company’s retail strategy for designing and opening stores that became a model for retail success. Retail expertise will be critical for Tesla as it prepares to broaden its distribution and roll out a wider range of cars including the Model S sedan.

Tesla Hires Former Gap and Apple Executive to Make Stores More Inviting - Driver's Seat - WSJ

 

[Centurion]

Let's be honest here. Cars are machines and the overwhelming majority can carry out the job successfully. Branding is what truly sets them apart. Aston Marting is a prime example of how the surround marketing activities can eclipse the quality and reliability of a car.

Tesla and Fisker have rather weak branding -- or non-existant. Their cars are poorly presented on the website and so is brand message. Not to discredit Elon Musk and Henrik Fisker. They are both individuals I deeply respect but they are inventors rather than "marketing magicians" who can sell sand to arabs, gloves to a man with no hands or sex to a prostitute. It's great idea to delegate that to experienced professionals who knows how to pull customers into a retail floor space.

However, marketing should be the lowest priority as both cars are tugging investors in order to get their critical sedans to markets. It's truly a two man horse race between the two in getting the Karma and the Model S manufacturered. IMO Telsa has a stronger edge thanks to the engineering background of Musk while Fisker is fighting an uphill struggle from a technical point of view.

 

[Wolfgang]

Tesla shows flat Model S battery packs:








Tesla Model S: The battery pack | The Car Tech blog - CNET Reviews

 

[Sunny]

I wonder how long before the electric revolution will change the way cars look. For a long time it is been based around a cell for engine/transmission another for passengers/cargo and some space for a fuel tank. But with the electic cars that is not so any longer. Electric motors are much smaller and instead of having one big one, you can have smaller ones closer to the wheels. Flat battery packs like this will replace fuel tank. Till now few electric cars we have seen are not been taking advantage of all this probably deliberately to make it more acceptable. But sooner or later it will completely change the way cars look.

 

[Wolfgang]

Daimler-Topmanager Guillen goes to Tesla

Google Translate

 

[Wolfgang]

Elon Musk says Tesla-powered RAV4 is good for Model S

 

[Wolfgang]

Report: Tesla says Model S to go on sale in Q2 of 2012

 

[Centurion]

Henrik Fisker will ruin his undies when he sees this video. Tesla Model S just got real at the misery of making Karma S look more and more like vapour ware.

Watch this video of a production ready unit. The car is dead gorgeous. With every press release relating to the car my admiration for Elon Musk increases. The guy is truly a living Tony Stark.

Model S Alpha Hits the Road on Vimeo

 

[Beemer B773ER]

Wow... the car looks very impressive cruising around those country club roads!

Every angle of the car looks attractive, and the innovative technology will make this car's prospects even more attractive!

 

[Kowalski]

I really like the look of it and looks very planted going around corners. Great. But how long does it take to fully recharge the battery pack?

 

[Centurion]

But how long does it take to fully recharge the battery pack?

The spec sheet is still a work-in-progress as the car is still in development. We probably won't see the final spec sheet until late this year.

I'm very excited about this car. It is THE electric car of out dreams and not a gimmicky electric SLS or a cramped G-Wiz. Tesla had developed what the average man wants, a mid sized saloon with space for four adults + luggage, running on electric power.

The Germans aren't anyway ready to start selling an electric 3-Series, let alone a hybrid Golf. Model S will truly be a one of kind car and expect all rival manufacturer to be on the list for 1-3 units. While Tesla takes the first leap, rivals will be taken notes to study everything about the Model S, how owners use it and the problems that arise.

Electric is alien even to the most respected giants. There is so much that's not known, like how well the cars operate when warranty has experienced. A petrol powered car is painless to repair. You don't need a degree in mechanics to repair a 1990 Toyota Corolla. But electric products are a pain. Just think of all the times a cellphone, MP3 player or a gadget has all of a sudden just died. There's nothing one can do about it and diagnosis is difficult unless you have a lab with proprietary tools and spare parts. People are dependant on cars for their businesses or to get to work and Hybrids are currently the best compromise. If the electric motor cease to function, the petrol engine will keep the car rolling.

 

[Sunny]

I pass Tesla HQ on the train when I got to work. And I have seen this car numerous times, but from far. It is beautiful, sort of little Jag like at the rear.

 

[JadeVetti]

I think I want a Tesla. Model S, please.

My main concern is the maintenance that will come with chartering unknown territory here. The car has over 7,000 cells; what happens when the car has an issue? Compared to the Volt, I am interested to see how they pan this out. No one wants to spend, say, $60K only for it to spend its time in and out of the repair shop.


It looks like a cross between a Maserati, some GM, and a Jaguar, but they were able to execute it well. I have high hopes for this market and I dream of the day I can have something in my garage that is exempt from gasoline.