Tesla's Not-So-Typical Dealership

With the recent news that Toyota will invest in electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla, we thought it would be the perfect time to check out Tesla’s new Chicago dealership. Nestled in an industrial no man’s land just off the main freeway that bisects the city, the Chicago Tesla Store has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it quality. Not that Tesla sells its lone model, the Roadster, based off of red, white and blue streamers or oversized inflatable gorillas.

Starting at $109,000, the all-electric sports car is a double-niche product. It’s a lightning-quick two-seater with no gas tank — a toy for the wealthy — yet it’s also the most environmentally friendly car currently available.

“It’s a beautiful car, and it’s different than anything out there,” said Regional Sales Manager Dustin Krause. “There are a lot of people interested for a lot of different reasons, but think of how many [Porsche] 911s are out there. It’s that type of interest, but it throws the common thinking of an electric vehicle on its head.”

Krause won’t say how many Roadsters the store has sold since its grand opening in January but assures me Tesla Chicago — one of just seven Tesla stores in the country and the only Midwestern outpost — is doing just fine. Tesla spokesman Khobi Brooklyn said the automaker has sold about 1,200 Roadsters nationwide as of April.

The formal showroom is small, with three Roadsters and a display of the electric motor accounting for most of the decor. The majority of the cars they sell are custom-ordered and shipped from the manufacturer in California, said Seneca Geise, a sales adviser in the Chicago store.

Toyota, Tesla Team Up On Electric Vehicles

No one saw this coming. Thursday night in California, Toyota President Akio Toyoda, Tesla Motors co-founder Elon Musk and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that not only is Toyota investing in Tesla but that the two companies will jointly develop future electric vehicles and build them at the recently shuttered NUMMI plant in Fremont, near San Francisco.

While the $50 million investment is relatively small for Toyota — and far smaller than the $465 million federal loan Tesla secured last year — it’s the sharing of technology between the two that is most interesting.

Tesla will use Toyota’s manufacturing expertise to get the NUMMI plant churning out Tesla’s next model — the $57,000 Model S sedan — but Toyota wants to get its feet wet in the EV market. While Toyota has been one of the forerunners in hybrid drivetrains, it has been slow to embrace EVs. Nissan will have its Leaf EV on sale later this year, and Chevy will start selling its extended-range EV in the fall. Ford has already announced that it will have an EV Focus out sometime in 2011.
 
The NUMMI plant will employ 1,000 people by the time production of the Model S begins in 2012, but Musk hopes for 10,000, including suppliers.
 
Toyota Invests in Tesla to Help Reopen Calif. Plant (Detroit News)

Tesla Goes Public but Model S Delayed

Electric vehicle-maker Tesla Motors has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the first step to sell stock for its initial public offering. In the process, it revealed that the highly touted Model S sedan would not be available until at least 2012.

As orders for Tesla’s first EV, the Roadster, continue to taper, Tesla has been accepting down payments for the Model S sedan, a more affordable all-electric vehicle. The Roadster faced similar delays when it was introduced, and as with the Roadster, some people who reserved the Model S have canceled their orders.

Still, Tesla’s plan remains ambitious: Following the Model S, it says it will introduce all-electric SUVs, vans and coupes.

The automaker has a $465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, so that might help the company get its sedan on the road by 2012.

A Look Under the Hood of Tesla Motors (The New York Times)

Real Electric Cars Not Here Quite Yet

After the 2010 Detroit auto show and the surrounding media hype, one might think we’re on the verge of zipping around in snazzy, new vehicles powered entirely by electricity. The auto show included a showcase called Electric Avenue that highlighted the future of the automobile. Cars.com writer Joe Wiesenfelder loves the idea of electric cars, but he also wants to bring us back down to earth. The truth is, electric cars still face many hurdles, and they’re still a long way away from making a sizable dent in the auto market. Read his full story to learn more about what we should actually expect from the electric future.

Beyond the Hype: Real Electric Cars Are Few or Far From Market (Cars.com)

Tesla Roadster Sets Record for EV Range

The Global Green Challenge in the Australian Outback featured a new world record for distance by a production battery-powered vehicle. Simon Hackett, owner of a 2008 Tesla Roadster, made it a whopping 313 miles, shattering the previous range record, Tesla says.

The Roadster, which uses only a lithium-ion battery pack to power it, had three miles left on its charge when it crossed the finish line in South Australia. This beat the previous distance record for an electric vehicle of 241 miles set by another Roadster in April, as well as the 244 miles the car managed on the EPA test cycle.

As a sports car, the Roadster is capable of leaping from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds, but obviously Hackett and his passenger couldn’t have tested that on this trip if they wanted to maximize their distance. They are better men than most: on an empty Australian highway, I doubt I’d be able to resist the temptation to test the Roadster’s driving performance.

While the Roadster’s $100k-plus price remains prohibitive for most, Tesla serves as an example that battery-powered cars can achieve impressive range.

2010|Tesla|Roadster

2010 Tesla Roadster: Through Ian's Lens

Nikola Tesla is best remembered for being at the forefront of electrical engineering at the turn of the 20th century. Forget the cheesy early 1990s hair-metal music references, Tesla was a groundbreaking inventor who helped create the alternating-current electric power system, and he’s also one of the first pioneers of wireless communication, more commonly known as the modern radio. His mark on modern science is indelible and indisputable. What a perfect name for an electric car company.

The 2010 Tesla Roadster’s body design is based on the Lotus Elise with a couple of unique differences. To offset the electric engine and drivetrain weight, Tesla uses carbon fiber body panels wrapped around an aluminum frame. My favorite angle of the Tesla Roadster is its profile because it reminds me of the new Ferrari California with inklings of Ford GT and even some slight Porsche lines.

Besides the lines and interior of the Roadster, the logo and badge designs are gorgeous pieces unto themselves. Tesla spared no expense when designing a brand that will hopefully be around for a long while. Check out more photos below and an interview with the owner of this beauty here. 

Q&A With a Tesla Owner

For all the hype they’ve received, plug-in electric cars like the Mini E and Tesla Roadster have made only slight inroads among U.S. drivers. California-based Tesla — and its Roadster that retails for $109,000 — is among the more prominent examples, with the likes of talk-show host Jay Leno and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seen taking a spin in it.

What’s it like to actually own one? Carl Walters of Palatine, Ill., took delivery of his Tesla in July. We spoke with Walters — a 74-year-old retired electrical engineer who admits he’s not a sports-car guy — about his ownership experience thus far. Read on for excerpts.

Tesla Wants to Rewrite the Rules with Model S Battery

The Tesla Model S sport sedan will be available in late 2011 with a battery-pack options that offer a 165-mile and 230-mile range, but that’s just the beginning, according to J.B. Straubel , Tesla’s chief technical officer. A year into the launch, Tesla claims it will have a battery option with a 300-mile range on a single charge.

Many electric-vehicle designers have major doubts about this number. To put it in perspective as to what a breakthrough a 300-mile-range battery pack would be, consider that the typical EV battery is expected to get around 20 kilowatt-hours. Straubel says the 300-mile-range battery pack will get 85-95 kwh.

Tesla’s would be the biggest battery pack on the market, and it would push well past what people think is possible with the packs, given the current technology. Tesla is working with experimental high-density cells to make it happen, but skeptics say that a pack with that range would weigh 1,000-1,800 pounds and cost as much as $45,000.

Tesla has announced a Model S base price of $57,400 (with a $7,500 federal tax credit), and Straubel told Design News that he predicts the battery pack will cost “in the ballpark” of $18,000. He also notes that battery technology has been improving at a rate of 8% a year, and the possible energy density has doubled since 2000.

We look forward to seeing if Tesla can make good on that promise because whether it pushes the price of a Model S up into the $75,000 range or not, it could also send battery-pack technology leap-frogging forward.

Tesla Model S: One Whopper of a Battery Pack (Wheels)

Tesla Opening Seattle, Chicago Stores in Weeks

Tesla, maker of a $100,000 electric roadster and an upcoming all-electric premium sedan, announced today that new retail outlets in Seattle and Chicago will open July 25 and Aug. 7, respectively.

Both locations will offer rides in the Tesla Roadster during their grand openings. Earlier this summer, Tesla opened outlets in London, where it will build right-hand-drive cars, and in Manhattan.

We assume that with the purchase of a storefront in Chicago, the company will replace the huge pest-control billboard that graces the building next door, which is visible from the highway as shown here in a Google image. Because we commute past it every morning, we can assure you there’s no Tesla signage in place yet and the building looks pretty much as it does in the picture. 

Bank of America to Finance Tesla Roadster

The all-electric Tesla Roadster comes with a hefty $109,000 price tag, but Bank of America hopes to put the Roadster within reach of more than just the wealthy.

Bank of America will finance the purchase of Tesla vehicles for qualified borrowers. These customers will be eligible for a loan of up to 75% of the car’s value and will have up to five years to pay it off.

OK, so we really meant, “Bank of America hopes to put the Roadster within reach of the kinda-still-pretty-wealthy, too.”

Ken Bensinger of the Los Angeles Times helpfully points out that a 75% loan means you will effectively end up having to put down $30,000 once you account for sales tax and registration fees (though he’s assuming you’re an L.A. resident). The $7,500 tax credit won’t kick in until tax season.

Then all that’s left is to make your payments — with monthly interest, which at an annual rate of 5% could have you spending an extra $12,000 on a Tesla.

Still, if you really want a Tesla Roadster but don’t quite feel comfortable laying out $100 grand in this economy, that Bank of America loan might be your ticket.

Bank of America to Finance Tesla Roadster Purchases (Los Angeles Times)