In that case, the X isn't my car either. I see no purpose to crossovers. Just chunkier and higher off the road with worse MPG than they would otherwise get.
I hunch Darell would miss his bike more than Daniel would miss his car, though it's debatable. About the spandex: it's a privilege, not a right - and Darell's earned it.
I first heard about this in mid-June from wdave (Roadster owner) on TiVocommunity. Later, all the news stories came out about it being discontinued and I think many thought the worst case. I'm unclear if Tesla has come forward to set the story straight beyond what might be in their SEC filings. Posts from wdave (from 5/18/11): And when someone asked why, his answer:
The above is mostly true except that: The original plan was to build just 2,500 Roadsters, and then to discontinue the Roadster and begin making the Model S. Tesla never intended to continue the Roadster, or to be a one-model company. Their long-range goal is and always has been to produce an affordable electric family sedan. But to reach that goal they had to start with an expensive, hand-built performance car; then an expensive sporty sedan. Their contract with Lotus was for 2,400 gliders, 100 short of the original goal. They were later able to extend the contract to the full 2,500, which is why production was extended by 100 after the above-quoted press release. I believe you can still custom-order a Roadster, but I am not certain of that. In addition, there are some "orphan" Roadsters and some Roadsters that Tesla built on speculation, without buyers, which are still in inventory. I actually bought the cheapest (fewest options) Roadster in national inventory on the day I visited the Seattle store. You cannot today buy one as cheaply as I did. But you can still buy a Roadster today. Soon, however, they'll end Roadster production and switch to the Model S. And then, when inventory is sold out, you will no longer be able to buy one new. Depending on demand, a few may sit in inventory for a long time, however. At some undetermined time in the future they will again build roadsters, but they will be an entirely different model. Hope this clarifies it all.
Do you think Tesla would be likely to partner with Lotus again, or would any future roadster be completely their own design?
My impression is that it would be in house. But that's just the opinion of one observer with no knowledge of their plans. Apparently, the glider for the Roadster came off the Lotus Elise production line, so Lotus didn't have to build anything special. For a new Roadster to have a Lotus body, Tesla would have to select an existing Lotus model that they wanted to work with. I don't even know if a future roadster would be hand made, as the present one is, or not. Again, just my opinion, but once Tesla is running the new plant, building the Model S, they'll have far more production resources than they have now, and will be in a better position to build all their own cars. OTOH, much of every car is produced by sub-contractors. So, who knows?
Daniel , Congrats on the Tesla. I see them regularly in the Bay area.But I must say,your orange color is way much cooler than any other Ive ever seen.The color makes it look larger. I 2nd the "chick magnet" comment.
Could be. Toyota's supplied engines to Lotus for years, so the multiple partnerships likely increase all sorts of possibilities.
If I was gay, this would be a great pick-up car. The only girl who's even stopped to look at it when it was parked was a teenager with her dad. When I'm driving, girls don't even seem to notice. The Xebra got LOTS more attention. Kids loved the Xebra but show no interest in the Tesla. Yesterday when I dropped off the friend of a friend after giving him a ride, a 20-ish young man walking by stopped to take pictures and commented that he'd love to ride in it, so I gave him a ride. Women seem to have no interest in it.
Actually, most of what Lotus built for the Roadster was special. Here's an article from Tesla's site called: "The Roadster is not a converted Elise" teslamotors.com/blog/mythbusters-part-2-tesla-roadster-not-converted-lotus-elise Only 7% of the Elise is used unchanged in the Roadster. The chassis has a 2" longer wheelbase, the door sills are 2" lower, the tub is stronger to support the battery weight, the rear wishbones are a new design, etc. And of course, the carbon fiber body panels are entirely Tesla (built in France and shipped to England to assembly). Final assembly of the battery and drivetrain is done in Menlo Park, CA. The windshield, dashboard, steering wheel, and airbags are carried over from the Elise, which gave some important cost savings in terms of safety testing requirements. The front wishbones are carried over, too. The Lotus "production line" is a throwback to pre-robotic days. The cars are mostly handbuilt, and models are freely intermixed along it. Tesla has said that all new models with the Tesla name will be built by them. Starting with an existing car was something they did to shorten development time and expense. It's also likely that the next gen will be at least a 2+2, and more sports car than supercar.
