SoCalSC4

I wonder how long it will take Tesla to pay back the $465M government loan? I have not looked into this lately, but apparently some of the terms have been relaxed to buy Tesla more time.

Even at $90K+/car (for the S model), it seems like you'd have to sell a lot of them to pay that loan back - not to mention the investment by other investors. If, by some miracle, Tesla made $25K per car (unlikely), they would have to sell over 18,000 S models just to pay back the government loan.

I suppose it could happen. Or, we might be better off lending money to Mexico. Time will tell.

*Batman*

I find the location of their retail stores is pretty poor. I went to the Lincoln Road store in Miami Beach and there was nowhere to park except a pay lot behind the showroom. Not ideal for the casual car shopper.

*Batman*

These questions are covered extensively on the Tesla Forum and the Tesla Motors Club

spwolf

i dont know why are people so hard about this, let me ask you this - did you get an discount when you purchased your car? do you pay MSRP for servicing? No you dont. Thats because there are dealers competing with each other for your business.

You are not forced to use particular bank, cellular service and many other things that are regulated, so does that mean that there should be no regulation? In this case, it is good for you, so I dont know why people are trying to like this.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

you trying to get rid of me?

ok, i'll look for answers there and see what i find. thanks.

spwolf

EU laws dont forbid company owned stores, we have plenty... they forbid any kind of monopoly being created where companies are trying to use their position in the market to force customers to pay higher prices.

Since Tesla stores dont do anything right now, i am sure they are company operated. But if they start selling well, Tesla will not be able to refuse dealers, they will have to set same rules for them (equirements, etc) as their own stores and thats it.

For instance, Hyunda Bulgaria was fined 10% of their sales for forbidding dealers to sell to customers outside their area and to compete in price to each other. This was common practice in Eastern European countries.

mmarshall

One thing that we haven't discussed much so far (since the company and the cars were named after him) is, of course, the man himself. Nicholas Tesla was a Serbian-born inventor/scientist, who, in some ways, even exceeded our own Thomas Edison in the fields of electricity, engineering, and physics. Unlike Edison, he never really got the credit from history that he deserved, although the Tesla company does bring his name at least a little more into the limelight.

Quoting myself, I'd like to add that one other (potential) problem with Tesla sales, besides price (and this is something that potentially affects all plug-in electric cars) is the fact that a lot of people just don't have adequate charging-facilities for an electric car, either at home or when they are out in a public place, For those who have a private garage at home and/or outdoor 110/220V outlets, fine......but many people just don't have that option. And, IMO, it is risky, for security or weather-related reasons, to run an indoor extension-cord to the car outside, all night long, through a window or door partially-cracked open.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

very good point! brings up a real irony.

tree huggers tend to look down on big homes, big lots, and even 'suburbs' yet those are the most likely buyers of these green cars.

and for most buyers a 110 outlet just won't cut it so they'll have to put in the pricey 220 (or even 440) setup in their garage. and then there's musk's own dream which is that people have solar panels at home, to charge the car, but of course, that won't be possible in tiny home or most apartments.

environmentalists are so full of contradicting wants.

but back to tesla...

the model x is particularly fascinating to me because it appears to be a geniunely 'better' SUV in many ways (notwithstanding the recharging challenge). the falcon doors, the amazing front and rear storage space even with 7 seat capability, the ultra-quiet AND fast drivetrain, etc.

Bildilla

The perfect place for Tesla, is Norway!

Norway has high car taxes, but not on EVs.
Norway, hydropower, not coal ....
Electric cars run free on the toll roads ..
Free parking ..
More and more free charging stations!
Almost no road tax ..
Cheaper insurance ..
220 V is the normal power SETUP in Norway!

Tesla Model S costs from 500,000 Nkr.

Toyota Prius 1.8 VVT-i Plug-in HYBRID Premium approx. 380.000 Nkr.
Toyota RAV4 2.0 VVT-I 158 Vanguard Premium CVT 4WD ca. 450.000 Nkr.

BMW 520i ca. 500.000 Nkr.

Why then do we not choose the Model S?

With a gasoline price of approx. 9.7 dollars per gallon of gasoline ....


Tesla Model S. ... send as many as you can produce!!

mmarshall

Well, almost. Norway, like adjacent Sweden and Finland, has very long periods of darkness and short days in the winter (and no daylight at all above the Arctic Circle). That, and the very cold temperatures, would help drain an electric car's current even more with added demand on the headlights and heating-systems.

spwolf

It appears that Tesla's new $600-per-year service program for its Model S is not going over well with some of the owners and wait-listers. David Noland, a Model S reservation holder and freelance writer, has dug into it the details and clarified the one he's finding most annoying. And as it turns out, he's not the only one taking issue with the program.

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/10/15...keep-warranty/

$600 is basically for them to wash your car and do a checkup.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

$600 a year does tend to offset some of the gas savings.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Tesla buys test track adjacent to its factory

Two months ago, Tesla hired Chris Porritt to be the vice president of its vehicle engineering program. Tesla's purchase last week of a 35-acre parcel abutting its factory in Fremont, California will give Porritt, formerly the boss of Aston Martin's Vehicle Engineering team (he's the father of the One-77 supercar), at least a portion of a test track where he can challenge and hone the EVs of the future.

The land was part of a parcel of more than 160 acres that had been owned by the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., the former joint venture factory built by General Motors and Toyota. When NUMMI (shown above) closed, the land was bought by Union Pacific Railroad, which sold the lot to Tesla.

While Tesla hasn't laid out its plans, we're guessing they'll eventually expand the track as the factory footprint grows; CEO Elon Musk has said Model S production could equal 800 cars per week by the end of next year. As for Porritt, from his new base in Fremont and with that new test track, he'll oversee further development of the Model S and the birth of the Model X, Roadster successor and the "affordable Tesla" due by 2017.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/07/22/t...o-its-factory/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Hopefully this isn't asking too much, as I would do it but I don't have the mod/editor tools, but if a mod would be so kind to combine the following threads in this one as it is The Official Tesla Discussion Thread. Thanks

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...te-2014-a.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ff-oracle.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...h-model-s.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...this-week.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-handling.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-in-texas.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-problems.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-doe-loan.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...middlemen.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ighlight=Tesla

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-rendered.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-features.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...autopilot.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...e-loaners.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...tery-swap.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ury-sedan.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...6-or-17-a.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...050-month.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...del-nixed.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...s-at-work.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-s-review.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...th-a-dyno.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...r-model-s.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...drag-race.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...full-test.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ying-cars.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...a-model-s.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...00-7-mpge.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ile-range.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ost-ready.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-revealed.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-roadster.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...el-s-beta.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-the-line.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...e-model-s.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...d-reviews.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-by-tesla.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...pe-bodies.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...rse-video.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...-roadster.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...he-corner.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...hes-broke.html

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Tesla's 8.4% market share beats Audi A8, BMW 7 Series

If you visualize the US luxury-car market as a carton of a dozen eggs (some reporters perpetually have food on the brain), you can figure that one of the those eggs looks an awful lot like a Tesla Model S. At least, it does according to numbers from the Electrification Coalition, which studied US luxury-car sales over the first half of the year. The group pegged the battery electric's market share at 8.4 percent, Motley Fool reports. The Model S starts at $69,900 but can easily get up to $100,000 with options.

One in twelve may not seem like a huge number until you consider that what it means is that Tesla is outselling models like the Audi A8 (base MSRP: $72,200), BMW 7 Series ($73,600) and Mercedes S-Class ($92,350). So, while it remains to be seen whether Tesla chief Elon Musk can make good on bringing the brand down-sector by introducing the long-talked-about $30,000 Tesla, the California-based automaker is certainly making its name among the jewelry-rattlers.

Of course, Tesla is not exactly loving that it is often thrown into the luxury basket. Last month, Tesla executive Diarmuid O'Connell said in a presentation that the Model S is all about performance, not luxury, according to Automotive News. Tesla will report its second-quarter earnings later today, so we should be able to update you on new sales developments soon.

http://green.autoblog.com/2013/08/07...-bmw-7-series/