Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors coming to Singapore?
Tesla Motors is an electric car maker, based in California (Silicon Valley), US. It was established back in 2003 (currently, Daimler has 10% stake in Telsa), and its first vehicle was the Tesla Roadster, which is still in production. Thus far, the auto maker has a number of models in its line-up, including the above mentioned Tesla Roadster, Tesla Roadster Sport (sportier version of the Tesla Roadster), Tesla Roadster 2 (upgraded Tesla Roadster) and a 4-door sedan, called the Tesla Model S, that will be delivered to US customers in 2011.
The electric car company has also opened a flagship European showroom in Cheval Place, London last month. Guess what? Apparently, the auto maker will start to offer its products here in Singapore, beginning from the first quarter of next year. It is not clear if the auto maker will ship down the Roadster Sport, Roadster 2 or Model S, but you can safely expect the latest Tesla Roadster, with a right-hand-drive arrangement.
The 2010 Tesla Roadster is powered by a 375 volt AC induction air-cooled electric motor with variable frequency drive. It is able to produce 248HP and 375Nm of torque, and has a redline of 14,000. Energy is stored in a microprocessor-controlled lithium-ion battery pack, and it would take about 3.5 hours for a full charge, using the Tesla Motors High Power Connector, which is pretty quick.
With all that power, the Roadster can sprint to 100 km/h in under 4 seconds, up to a top speed that is limited at 201 km/h. Most importantly, the 2-seater open top electric sports car can deliver about 354 kilometers in terms of driving range, based on the EPA combined city/highway cycle. It carries a price tag of $101,500 in the US, but expect to part with about S$ 370,000 if you are interested to go fully electric, which is a not-too-bad proposition for a small country like SIngapore.
But of course, there is the issue of charging stations, however, I feel that the Roadster’s 354 kilometers range is good enough for a full day driving, if not more. Continue reading to view more images. There is also a 2 minute 34 second-long review video by Car and Driver. Read the rest of this entry.
Tesla opens new showroom in London
US-based electric car maker Tesla, has officially opened a new showroom in Cheval Place, London, and it is set to become the auto maker’s flagship European showroom.
The new 5,000 square foot showroom offers free parking and allows Tesla customers to re-charge their Tesla cars, for free. The company’s CEO, Elon Musk revealed, “We expect the London store to dramatically increase our brand identity throughout the continent, and with right hand drive models now due at the beginning of next year, the UK market will provide a solid foundation on which to build this.”
The company also revealed that it will establish regional sales and service centres in Monaco, Munich and Zurich, and four new stores in the United States. The electric car maker will also offer a right-hand drive, entry level variant of the Tesla Roadster for the UK market by the first quarter of 2010 (£94,000 for the Signature Edition Roadster model). Tesla will also put the Model S electric sedan on the market, soon after production begins in late 2011.
Daimler AG acquires 10% stake in Tesla
German-based auto giant Daimler AG has announced that it has acquired an equity stake of almost 10% of US-based electric car maker, Tesla, which means that in future we will see more vehicles that are produced based on the partnership. Prior to the engagement, both companies have been working together in producing about 1,000 Smart cars that use Tesla’s lithium-ion battery packs.
According to Dr. Thomas Weber, Daimler board’s member, “Our strategic partnership is an important step to accelerate the commercialization of electric drives globally.” “As a young and dynamic company, Tesla stands for visionary power and pioneering spirit. Together with Daimler’s 120 years of experience in the automotive sector this collaboration is a unique combination of two companies’ strengths. This marks another important milestone in Daimler’s strategy for sustainable mobility.”
Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk added that, “Daimler has set the benchmark for engineering excellence and vehicle quality for more than a century. It is an honor and a powerful endorsement of our technology that Daimler would choose to invest in and partner with Tesla.” As part of the collaboration, Daimler will start to produce fuel cell cars based on the Mercedes B-Class later this year, and by next year, we can safely see Mercedes’ first every battery powered vehicle.
Leaked images of the Tesla Model S!
Tesla’s latest product, the 4 door Model S will be officially unveiled later today, but yet again, the official unveiling has been disrupted by a number of leaked images that were found on Flickr, and according to Autoblog, these images were found on Kevin Rose’s page, the founder of Digg.com.
The leaked images comprise of two shots from the rear end while another showcasing an unfinished interior. Looking at the exterior shots, the first thing that would come to mind would be the Jaguar XF (especially with the horizontal chrome bar and tail light design), which is a good thing. The all electric 4 door “coupe” is definitely a very handsome looking thing. I can’t wait to have a look at the front!
Nothing much can be said regarding the image of the unfinished interior, except that it seems to feature a huge LCD screen on centre dash. Most probably, drivers can reconfigure or rearrange the controls (climate, audio, etc) on this huge touch-sensitive screen. The Telsa Model S is expected to carry a price tag that is slightly lower than US$ 50,000, including a federal tax credit of US$ 7,500. We will update you with more details and images of the Model S as soon as we get them. Stay tuned!
Continue reading to view more high-res leaked images. Read the rest of this entry.
Tesla to reveal a prototype Model S five seater on March 26th!
Tesla has made an announcement via its newsletter that it will unveil a drivable prototype version of the next fully electric vehicle to join the Tesla Roadster on March 26th in California. This new model, which is actually a four door sedan with a coupe treatment, carries the designation “Model S”. I have no idea how it will look like, but looking at the Tesla Roadster, I am sure that it will be an eye catcher.
However, to get the Tesla Model S into production, the Silicon Valley based electric-car maker needs a huge amount of funds and it has looked to the Department of Energy for a U.S $ 450 million low-interest loan. The company is however in the final stages of securing the loan and has yet to receive a final word from the above mentioned department.
The company has recently revealed that it has slightly increased the selling price of its Tesla Roadster by U.S $ 6,700 and has also released a Sport variant of its roadster. I sincerely hope that Tesla will eventually receive the funds. We will bring you the latest updates.
Tesla reveals new electric powered Roadster Sport – 0 to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds!
Silicon Valley based electric car company, Tesla has revealed a sportier version of its Elise based Tesla Roadster, designated as the Roadster Sport. Apparently it features the first derivative of Tesla’s propriety powertrain.
This new model is able to propel to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, which is a mere 0.2 seconds quicker than the standard Roadster. Other upgrades include a hand-wound stator and increased winding density for lower resistance and higher peak torque and Yokohama’s Ultra High Performance tires.
Price starts from U.S $ 128,500 and buyers can expect deliveries by late June this year. No other details were released by the auto maker, other than its plans to launch a five-seater, Model S variant in 2011. Thus far Tesla has delivered slightly more than 150 Tesla Roadsters and also mentioned that 1,100 customers who are still on the waiting list can upgrade to the Sport variant.
The standard Roadster kicks out 248HP and 375Nm of torque with 220 miles of driving range as well as a 100,000-mile battery life. Expect a similar driving range and an electronically limited 125 mph top speed for the Tesla Roadster Sport.
Continue reading to view an image of the interior. Read the rest of this entry.
Lotus to follow Tesla’s footsteps and play the electric car game?
Lotus’ CEO Micheal Kimberly revealed to the Financial Times that the British based sports car maker will soon launch an electric vehicle, and apparently this can be as early as the Geneva Auto Show this year. Unlike the Tesla Roadster, which is based on the Lotus Elise, Lotus’ own electric car will be powered by not only an electric motor which would be its primary power source, but will also receive power from a conventional internal combustion engine which can help increase the car’s driving range.
Like others, we at iCars also predict that the new electric-mobile should be based on the latest Lotus Evora, and that the battery pack will take room at the rear seats area of the 2+2 seating sports car. With that said, parent company Proton may enjoy some technology sharing which can lead to Proton’s very own electric powered vehicle. Back to Tesla, it is also safe to expect a co-development deal between the Silicon Valley based company and Lotus since the later is providing platforms to Tesla.
Jeremy Clarkson answers back over Top Gear & Tesla controversy!
Top Gear’s No. 1 host, Jeremy Clarkson has given his share of mind regarding the recent Top Gear – Tesla controversy in which the motoring show mentioned that the brakes failed and that the Tesla Roadster only managed 55 miles over a full charge in a recent episode.
A spokes person from Tesla Motors then released a statement that the electric car still had ample energy (not lower than 20%) and that the conclusion that it only managed 55 miles was baseless. The representative also mentioned that the ‘brake failure’ was just a blown fuse.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Clarkson said even if it was due to just a blown fuse, brake failure is still brake failure. I have to agree with him on this. Say that the car is being driven in the city, and suddenly the brakes fail, it is still as dangerous.
Regarding the 55 miles issue, the Brit mentioned the “they calculated” that it would have only lasted about 55 miles and that Tesla Motors can’t argue with that fact. A spokes person from the BBC earlier mentioned that the BBC admitted that the electric car had not run out of power and that the car was pushed into the shed just to show viewers what would happen ‘if’ the car runs out of energy. Check out the video for yourself here.
