Tesla Model S Pricing and Specs Announced

I believe there's a pretty thorough cleaning of the PEM, which gets dusty because it's air cooled and dust reduces cooling efficiency. I could be mistaken, but I think that's what they told me about the Roadster. And they run diagnostics, and check a lot of stuff. Mine's not due for service until June, so I don't have the actual list of what they do, but it's probably available on the Tesla web site, or someone on the teslaclub chat board would know. But it is long and involved.

 

I can't wait 'till I can pilot an electric aircraft.

 

You can do that today if you don't mind standing on the ground while you do it. There are electric R/C planes. But what's this got to do with the Tesla?

 

I just did some looking around on line and I see that the Model S is about eleven inches longer and about 9 inches wider than my Prius. The Prius is already a bigger car than I need. I like small. I'd like an S-type car about six inches shorter and 3 inches narrower than my Prius. Of course, I'm not in the market now. But when I'm too old and arthritic to contort myself into my Roadster. The S is really much too big for my liking.

 

Tesla has taken on a difficult task. It is really $#%^&^% expensive to develop and produce new car from the ground up. A good share of their price is because of that.

It would be much harder to sell a car with that added cost in the small car market.

 

^ That's true. It's why they began with the Roadster, even more of a niche market than the S. I'm just saying that for me, When the Roadster no longer works for me, I'll likely bypass the S and wait for them to bring out a smaller car.

 

Well, just as with the ICE powered car, when electricity becomes more portable, electric aircraft just might rejuvenate GA, since advances in power plant technology usually drive most everything else in aviation.

I don't even know why you'd bring up R/C airplanes.

 

Being a private pilot, congress has killed new aircraft design for small planes. There is unlimited length of time they are liable. Most of the cool new designs are only in kit planes, where there is not this threat of litigation. The GA fleet is very old, and will not go electric.

 

I don't agree. There is a fairly innovative Chinese design that's gotten some press, Sonex is flying electric (that's experimental category though), Pipistrel has some cool stuff in the works, too.

If Cessna could field a viable, electric Skycatcher, you'd better believe it would. Training markets would snap them up like crazy.

Eliminate the cost of the engine overhaul and $6.00 plus Avgas, and flight training costs could come down significantly. There are lots of new LSAs entering the market, most all powered by Rotax, which is a step forward from the Lycosaurus. Why not electric?

Electric will be the poor man's turbine. Doesn't reciprocate.

Heck, I just today got a call from someone stranded at a distant airport who couldn't get one of our newer $250,000 172 SPs started, likely because the engine was flooded. When is the last time that happened in your $20,000 car? Reciprocating engines are the weakest link in most GA aircraft, even newer models. Constant flow fuel injection, two valves per cylinder, pushrods, low specific output, carb ice on older models, oh my gosh.

Not every GA aircraft is a legacy design. Look at Cirrus. Look at Tecnam, Remos, the Skycatcher...I could go on and on.

Their engines, however, for the most part, are.

Once electricity learns how to travel well, GA will enter a new era.

 

Liability is the problem. This is slow moving. Experimental and kit planes can iniovate, but if you are selling a real GA plane that liability insurance is way too high for a new power train. A SR20 is $290K, just pulled it up to check. I'll bet it would be anouther $100K for future liability to put in an electric motor. I would love it if congress changed the rules. After the piper case, GA in the united states has stagnated.

I have a friend that builds kit planes, flys them awhile, then sells them. That is the only way to get around the law. It then becomes the owners liability and not the manufacturer.

 

Don't know where you're getting your figures for liability insurance—sounds like anybody's guess right now—but over time the transition will happen. It's inevitable.

Experimentals will pave the way (just as with the Rotax), reliability will be proven, electric will migrate to Part 23 certificated aircraft. It's only a matter of time.

As far as buying a kitplane built by a private party...now that's a crapshoot!

 

This is inline with my recollection of what we were told all along. $49k base price is pretty impressive for a large, fast sedan that can go well over 100 miles on electric. I hope it works out well for them.

 

You said you'd like to fly an electric airplane. There are electric R/C airplanes.

 

:focus: I don't know what those of you who saw and sat inside the Model S in person think but I was very disappointed with the interior design. They definitely have the exterior design right, very flowing lines, sporty and sexy. But, for a high end full size sport sedan competing with BMW 5 series, or Mercedes E class, the interior is horrendous don't you think???

That 17" touch screen feels really out of place and does not flow with the lines of the dash and driver position IMO. They should have included physical knobs and buttons for the climate control system and perhaps raise the center console abit higher?!

 

Why bigger battery options give Tesla Model S better performance

 

well i am conflicted on the touchscreen. its more to touch which means less eye time on the road. but it is pretty cool. can the passenger control everything? if so, that is worth the price of rice in China for sure!

my phone has a pretty effective voice control system. i can navigate, make calls (including ones not in my contact list), send texts, etc. all by pressing a single button on my phone and simply saying what i want done.

why does the car not do this? i mean, i have a "high end" phone as far as phones go but its still a $600 device no matter how you cut it. why is the car so far behind?

 

The laws really don't apply to experimentals or kits. We will see in 30 years whether you get a cerfified ga plane that is all electric. I do have software running in some boeings

I'd like to go up in an electrical experimental sometime, well after there was at least 200 hours on that air frame and engine.

 

I can do this on my $1000 aftermarket nav system. Sometimes it works better than others. I don't know on the tesla s. It looks like a nice car, but I would need to drive one before making any decision.

 

It is not clear how the final interior will be ...