Tesla Motors Model X Smokes $40 Million In A Day

by

Tesla envisions the Model X as direct competition for other luxury SUVs — and not just electric or hybrids. The Tesla, expected to retail for between $60,000 and $85,000, could go head to head with models such as the BMW Mercedes-Benz R-Class, the BMW X5 and the Lexus RX 450.

tesla-model-x-picture-9-450x314

image via Tesla

The most impressive feature of the Model X is what Tesla is calling its falcon-wing rear doors. These doors, which allow access to the car’s second and third row of seating, rise up and over the car like a gull wing. Since the doors are articulated and hinged in the middle, they lift perpendicular to the ground making access in tight parking spots easy.

Tesla will offer the Model X with three drivetrain options—rear-wheel drive only; dual motor, all-wheel drive; and a dual motor, all-wheel drive performance option. Tesla will also offer the option of two battery packs—the standard 60-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery or a larger 85-kWh version. Because the Model X is heavier than the Model S, expect its range to be a bit lower, topping out somewhere in the area of 270 miles.

Pages: 1 2

Posted on February 17th, 2012 · Comment ↓

Tags , , ,

Posted in Electric Vehicles, Transportation

  • Redfirekla

    Teslas car are top notch… the only problem Tesla might face is production… they need to ramp the production and start making 50,000 cars a year gas prices will only go up so they don’t need to worry about selling them but producing such a fine car takes resources they need to get into the turbo mode which they are lacking right now… They have a perfect car yet they don’t have the capacity to produce 50,000 a year they need to get those former factories in full spec.

    • rycsailor

       They are “perfect”? Ask the folks at Consumer Research, they are waiting for their specimen to come back from the repair shop after croaking in less than 200 miles.

      • Redfirekla

        I saw the exact consumer research you are talking abou that was for the Fisker company and not Tesla the press realease on that was miss comunicated to some as Tesla not sure if purposely done… Also the roadster has been out for years i work know someone personally that owns a roadster they have purposely left the car outside in -45 degree weather and have driven the cars for years their daily commute is 155 miles and they’ve had zero problems so Tesla cars are perfect you have no maintenenace issues after puting 128,000 miles on it he still hasn’t replaced the brakes on it due to the regen technology.

        • rycsailor

          Would you care to tell me where the vehicle was left out in -45 degree temperatures and exactly what the performance was like without preheating? Unless they live in Alaska or Siberia, I have my doubts about this being any more than urban legend.
          Having spent a goodly portion of my life in scientific research fields, I’ve developed a health skepticism of hand waving claims that aren’t documented and peer reviewed.

          • Redfirekla

            This was in Anchorage AK, & u are correct about one thing he lost about 20 miles that in range because the battery self regulates and keeps it’s internal temp above freezing.

          • Qonc1

            And you are not above making false claims against Tesla by confusing them with the Fiske, either.

    • Jeffhre

      GM, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen etc make millions of cars per year. It will take those kinds of sales for dedicated EV platforms to garner those types of economies of scale for EV’s.

  • http://www.facebook.com/keith.b.rosenberg Keith B. Rosenberg

    And where is the electric car for the ordinary consumer? Tesla does not make it.

    • BigBuck

      At your Chevy Mitsubishi or Nissan dealer.  If you want one, if you want to get out from under the thumb of big oil, you can buy one and pass the gas stations by.  

      Want to be a pioneer, do something about it, or just complain?! 

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZIL4KEDI7TFBKNUDAIWWYOA4CM Larry Gibby

         
        ELECTRIC cars could produce higher emissions over their lifetimes than petrol equivalents because of the energy consumed in making their batteries, a study has found.
        An electric car owner would have to drive at least 129,000km before producing a net saving in CO2. Many electric cars will not travel that far in their lifetime because they typically have a range of less than 145km on a single charge and are unsuitable for long trips. Even those driven 160,000km would save only about a tonne of CO2 over their lifetimes.
        The British study, which is the first analysis of the full lifetime emissions of electric cars covering manufacturing, driving and disposal, undermines the case for tackling climate change by the rapid introduction of electric cars.
        The study was commissioned by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, which is jointly funded by the British government and the car industry. It found that a mid-size electric car would produce 23.1 tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime, compared with 24 tonnes for a similar petrol car. Emissions from manufacturing electric cars are at least 50 per cent higher because batteries are made from materials such as lithium, copper and refined silicon, which require much energy to be processed.

        • pdxpete

          This comment misstates the LCVP-commissioned study. While the study does make the point that work needs to be done to reduce the EV carbon footprint produced at the factory, it nevertheless concludes (quoting directly from the LCVP site): “A typical medium sized family car will create around 24 tonnes of CO2 during its life cycle, while an electric vehicle (EV) will produce around 18 tonnes over its life.”
           
          The information in the comment repeats virtually verbatim that contained in a story written by Ben Webster in The Times of London that has been directly rebutted by the study’s authors, who said, “all current evidence suggests that volume produced EV’s will offer a lower carbon alternative to fossil fuelled vehicles.”

          Those curious about the LCVP study are encouraged to read
          the press releases about it and the study itself.

          http://www.lowcvp.org.uk/news/1644/lowcvp-study-highlights-importance-of-measuring-whole-life-carbon-emissions/

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alec-Sevins/100001026837377 Alec Sevins

          That looks like the propaganda from the famous “Dust to Dust” article by CNW Marketing Research about the Hummer vs. the Prius. The falsely included the ramp-up costs for the hybrid as part of the in-production costs, while neglecting to do the same for the SUV. Cherry-picking, in other words.

          • jawshoeaw

            Saving 6 tons of carbon isn’t bad, but I think the general public still hasn’t quite grasped that electricity is not (usually) all that “green”. It might be, but probably it’s not. A simpler equation for me is: if your current car/truck gets 20mpg average, and a different car gets 40mpg, then you are roughly cutting your carbon footprint in half. Which means a jetta diesel might be “greener” than an electric car

      • USAmerican100

        I did something about it 20 years ago, for $4000 bought a Lightning F-40 SRB that goes as fast as a car in city traffic and has the same range as a Nissan Leaf, and uses no energy.  The only drawback is it’s one person.   http://www.lightningbikes.com

        • dddavid

          The only drawback?  So you don’t count having to pedal, no air conditioning, no heat, no protection from rain, and no cargo capacity as drawbacks?  You obviously live in a very different climate than I do.

          • USAmerican100

            Well it’s true I live near Santa Barbara which has a mild climate, but I have ridden it in temps from 30 to 100 degrees, just wear some Thermax for heat, or Coolmax and unzip it for cooling. It has cargo capacity, about 5 cubic feet.  And it’s waterproof.  Pedalling is an advantage, keeps me fit and young with no health club fees!!  With the money I saved from better health and no auto expenses, the thing paid for itself in a couple years, it has probably saved me $40,000 overall. 

    • Styx

      Its called a Nissan Leaf

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Everett-Cox/1292875124 Everett Cox

    Where are the cars for the 99%?? It’s obvious Tesla is not building them.

    • tomhoser

      And they probably won’t build them. If you look at the (gas powered) auto industry  it was not until a manufacturing breakthrough (assembly line) by Ford brought the price down to the mass consumer level. Automobiles had been around for many years but the technology was new, demand was small, single units costly to construct. Tesla is the leader in the technology, someone will come by, incorporate parts of it into a scaled down, mass produced vehicle, it’s just a matter of time.

      • Raymond in DC

        It was mass production and the assembly line that helped make those early Fords finally affordable by the masses. But those production techniques are already available to Tesla, yet the price remains out of reach for most. So what’s to bring those prices down? They’re still paying through the nose for batteries, whether sourced off-shore or built locally (usually by Korean companies), and for the needed rare earth metals sourced in China. Steel and rubber aren’t getting cheaper, nor are the engineers needed to design these vehicles.

        • rj

           The reason that the Ford was affordable to the masses was that Ford paid above average wages so that the employees could buy the cars that they produced.

          • Dave

             My God, are you really stupid enough to believe that bullshit?

          • USAmerican100

            They teach that “bullshit” in business school.  

          • TheThinker

             Do they also teach that the famous $5.00 a day wage was also tied to an employee agreeing to allow Ford’s “social department” to make sure they weren’t drinking or gambling and that they were taking proper care of their home and family?  The wage was not offered simply to enable employees to purchase cars.  Henry Ford was also trying to create a utopian society.

          • USAmerican100

            Utopian society?  More like having sober employees that show up on time.  Yes they did teach there were strings attached to getting $5 a day.

      • Surucucu

        There have been golf carts for decades.  Those are the Teslas for the rest of us.

      • Jeffhree

        Ford did not invent the assembly line, just made it a lot more efficient.

    • Franklovesfl

      Why should they? You want it for free!

    • Huebeattie

      ford focus electric is coming next year. Mitubsi imev is just come out. they are affordable.

  • Wombat

    All this is very nice BUT so far it’s all just a pipe dream..just like that other little solar panel company in California. I notice no car magazines have tested this thing, no independent organizations like consumer reports is willing to come in ans say yep they’ll go 270 miles on a charge or nay of that. It’s all just plan for, expected to etc. Look at the Chevy VOLT, car mags are getting an electric range of about 40 miles. Wow that won’t get you across L.A. or even Houston Texas without a boost. And on combined servise..gas and electric they struggle to get 40 MPG while a good VW Diesel or Audi Diesel will get 45 MPG with good performance too now that the diesels are turbo charged. All seems a bit like a big ripoff just like some other GREEN companies have been. Until there is some new, magical battery technology, electrics will be better off used on the golf course.

    • Pete

      I think you might have misunderstood the story. With the Model X, Tesla is unveiling a car it will be selling in TWO YEARS. That’s why “no car magazines have tested this thing.” It basically doesn’t exist yet. And whether it ever will exist or not could very much depend on the success of the Model S, which goes on sale for the first time later this year. So we should be seeing lots of reviews of it in the months ahead. Will be interesting to see if the car mags rave about the Model S the way they did about the Volt. Initial indications are very positive:
      http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1110_2012_tesla_model_s_first_ride/viewall.html 

    • Magnolia Foonman

      So you rely on Consumer Reports??  Is that the same Consumer Reports that Ranked Toyota/ Lexus first in quality for 9 years, while their vehicles were sending drivers and passengers to hospitals and funeral parlors because of unintended acceleration?? THAT Consumer Reports??  Is it maybe the Consumer Reports that ignored that Lexus /Toyota didn’t have to endure safety recalls because they were such wonderful vehicles. It seems that CR and the NHTSA ignored a few realities such as motorists deaths and injuries….and how does that happen?? Well, it seems that a few manufacturers realize that if you spend a portion of your profits in the right place you can change reality and even more effective for the ol’ reputation, you can change history.  Uh, Well, maybe yesterday that little item raised it’s ugly head again.  Paste This link into your address bar……http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/01/us/toyota-memo-acceleration-concerns/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

      • Kent Hamilton

         Toyota bought a big stake of Tesla in 2010 :)

      • rycsailor

         Please provide verifiable documentation that proves the “unintended” really occurred, everything I’ve read indicates that the causes were mis-applied feet. Going back to the Audi days, this argument has been proven to be a load of BS created by lawyers with a profit motive.

    • Jeffhre

      You can never justify lower cost as a reason to buy a new car. A used Yugo will always cost less than any new car. Volt and EV drivers are essentially breaking contact with Hugo Chavez and OPEC instead of buying New Tahoe’s or BMW’s.

    • PeterGrfx

      Consumer Reports has tested both the Tesla S and the Chevrolet Volt.

      • Craig Brunetti

        No wonder you’re involuntarily retired. Where are your sources?

        Next time, in making a statement like that, back it up with a link to the fact.

        • PeterGrfx

          Your snarky comment about my employment statusf hasn’t done anything for your reading skills, I see. My source is, as I clearly stated, Consumer Reports. Look it up yourself. Do you really need a link to find your way there?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=809760955 David Bolander

    Tesla is all BS!  Where are the cars and who can afford them?  

    • styx

      I see Tesla’s on the road and in aprking lots a couple a few time a months here in SoCal. 

  • Surucucu

    Just got home from driving my daughter to class.  I doubt if there were more than 10% of the cars on the road worth more than $20,000.  Most in the $10,000 range.  Who is going to buy these things?  Unless a significant number of electric cars take over our highways, there will be no impact on the environment.  They are only a curiosity, like those big square things – Huggers or Hummers, whatever.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alan-Light/100000834867305 Alan Light

       I remember when only doctors had pagers, because only doctors had both a compelling need and the cash to afford them.  Mobile phones had to be installed in an automobile.

      Less than twenty years later, the mobile phones could fit in your pocket and pagers were for people who couldn’t afford a mobile phone.

      All new technology becomes available to the rich first, and then becomes more affordable over time.  The Tesla is a good product with a proven market – and it will lead the way for all the rest of us to be able to afford electric vehicles – and I’m predicting that in twenty years time the average worker will be able to buy a self-driving, fast-charging electric vehicle for less than one month’s wages.

  • http://www.thegreenjobbank.com/ Bernard Ferret

    Tesla is as real today as GM was almost dead 2 years ago, and well alive today. Tesla sold 1,800 Roadsters, and the orders for their Model S sedan are up 30%. And don’t forget that in the market Tesla is going after with the model X, price is not an issue. If you can afford a $70,000 gasoline car (BMW X6 or MB R-Class), why not put in an additional $5,000 or $10,000, get an environmental friendly car and get the head-turner, hottest crossover in the market? 

    • Naenae1973

      well put, if the haters would just use their heads other than hating……….

    • jawshoeaw

      It’s not established that electric cars are environmentally friendly. In some parts of the country they are not necessarily cheaper to drive either, although with gas at $4/gallon, we’ll see.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1061546908 Jeff Hearrell

        Well it is established that gas burning cars aren’t environmentally friendly, so what do you propose?

    • USAmerican100

      In other words, the X is a fashion statement, not practical transportation.

      Which is OK, that is why people buy Lamborghinis.  Just not very many of them.  

  • http://profiles.google.com/timothy.bendel Timothy Bendel

    How long does it take to charge a battery pack?

  • http://www.barackobozo.com Barack_Obozo

    Progressive Fascist listen to the roar of Capitalism

    • urmakingmelol

      I’m sure you are much more qualified to make these decisions, why don’t you take over you bigoted, regressive pinhead?? I’m sure you would absolutely hate a Chevy Volt if you owned one…you’d be just like all the other socialists, saving money and the (ugh) environment.  Don’t you realize that a volt will eventually pay itself off through gas savings?? I guess math is for the socialist liberal elite….or whatever new unfounded “insult” you morons are throwing around this week…

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1061546908 Jeff Hearrell

        The Volt will never pay for itself in gas savings, unless gas gets to over 10 bucks a gallon.  Buy a Chevy Cruz at 40mpg instead.  Chevy even admitted that the Cruz would be a better buy for those looking to save money, the Volt is a novelty right now with hopes of catching on.  Future generations of that platform may save money, but you can’t justify 40 grand on a gas saver when 20 grand on a Cruz is an option.

        • PeterGrfx

          or 25 grand on a Prius – even less on the new, smaller, Prius C

      • Ericross 7

        how exactly will a volt pay itself off through gas savings?  i thought it was designed to use less gas in the first place… what you’re not taking into account is the increase in electricity rates, and so you’re spending even more in that case… i still don’t understand how you liberals sit here and knock people for “calling you a name” and then you do the same thing…

    • Dan107

      Six of my neighbors got up and went to work at GM this morning.  They fed their children, paid their mortgage and started the American dream again.  No thanks to a nimrod like you.  Blow it out your clown hole.

      • Cirbuck1

        Ask those neighbors if they will see to it that I get back some of the money I loaned their unions and bosses against my wishes before they start glad-handing each other and giving out bonuses.  What is the American Dream now, to work in a communal kibutz, have the party take their share out of your paycheck first, and be a good little socialist?  I don’t know what the long view picture is for America because I haven’t had some government employee tell me what to think all month.

        • Dan107

          The money’s being paid back as we speak.  Let’s remember it was GWB that loaned the money to Chrysler, and not Obama.  If you would like information on other republican bailouts look back to the 70′s when Ford bailed out the railroads.  If you would like to see millions more homeless Americans continue with your fears of living on a Kibutz.  Otherwise your fears are typical republican scare tactic hogwash.  Your narcissism is stinkin the place up.

          • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1061546908 Jeff Hearrell

            Did they really need the bailouts?  I mean, would GM have really folded?  They supposedly paid that loan back in record time, that tells me they didn’t even need it.  Another company looking for a handout.  While your 6 neighbors are still living the American dream, how many are still expecting to work for GM at retirement age?  How many more bailouts do they plan on getting?  I know just as many Ford employees that are living the “Dream” and didn’t get a bailout. 

          • Balance

             Don’t you like to ignore the fact that the money was given so they would not go to bankruptcy and even after getting the money they still did.  And don’t rush so much with the payback happiness because $20 billion of that money is considered to be lost and will not be collected by the government.

          • Logan5x5x5

            ‘Going bankrupt’ was ALWAYS a part of the plan for GM. They had to, to get rid of the stupid union obligations that included way over market wages and crazy-ass benefits. I am very serious here, without the bailout GM would have died hard and with it over 2 million jobs (not all direct, but suppliers, and money in those communities).

            I am not for bailling out companies, but if you have a crisis that could result in a 25 year depression, you do what you have to do.

          • Mastercope

             25 years really? Who cares if the big 3 fail, and their Leeches. within a year there would have been 20 start ups filling the void.

          • Mastercope

             Thats right, that 20 bill was used and distributed to the bigwigs, well most of it 17.4 billion was used up.

          • Mastercope

             Yeah remember it well,,, when almost everyone had a job and there was 1000 times less a national debt, sigh miss the good ole days

      • presence

        On the null and void subject…. If Uncle Sam had shown bleeding heart compassion for the millions of American workers in typewriter factories back in the 70′s we wouldn’t even be having this digital conversation. 

      • Ericross 7

        acronymically offending someone doesn’t really help your “cause” or whatever
        you are in a dream land

        quit fantasizing about nancy pelosi and get a grip on reality

      • http://www.barackobozo.com/ Barack_Obozo

        If they were union I hope they choke…leeches.

        • http://profile.yahoo.com/WJUWLOKV7PGENYPFCZ5XST74LQ l.

           Here we go, should we go back to the days when we had children running machinery that was dangerous enough that a grown man of today would refuse to operate it?  Let me guess you prefer it when we had GWB, and we were losing jobs at a record pace?  Or how about tax cuts for the wealthy? You say capitolism, I say Plutocracy.

        • Mastercope

           got that right, legalized organized Crime INC.

    • Noone

      Just in case no one has taken the time, please let me be the first. What an asshole.

      • http://www.barackobozo.com/ Barack_Obozo

        Just be quiet while you wait for your EBT card to arrive that the rest of us pay for.

      • http://www.barackobozo.com/ Barack_Obozo

        Just be quiet while you wait for your EBT card to arrive that the rest of us pay for.

  • rotorhead1871

    but you cant go more than 100 miles on a return trip…so you really cant go anywhere…what a joke…..

    • pdxpete

      Not sure which Tesla model you are referring to, but the Model S coming out this year offers three battery sizes, with the estimated driving range for the 40-kWh battery 160 miles; the 60-kWh 230 miles; and the 85-kWh 300 miles. The Model X, as the story above notes, is looking at a range of around 270 miles with the larger battery.
      (Pete Danko, EarthTechling)

      • rotorhead1871

        thanks pete, but the whole battery only car is not for the road, you get out there say half way between phoenix and LA, with full AC running and that baby runs out of juice, you are done…the whole design is flawed, you need swapable  battery packs, as the charge time is just way too long. they will be fine for running short distance…and returning to base,  but long ranges are just out of the pic…which will kill  them for the most part..

        • pdxpete

          No doubt we are at the early stages of building the kind of EVs and having an EV infrastructure in place that will satisfy all types of drivers. But for someone like me, a city dweller for whom 95 percent of car trips are under 20 miles, an EV could be a good option, even now. The hope is that as the technology evolves — greater range, faster charging, more charging options — and, importantly, becomes more affordable, the pool of potential buyers will grow. We’ll see. Thanks for your comment.

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Curry/1295391111 John Curry

             pdxpete, your point is valid IF you are a homeowner. The parking garage at my apartment complex has 3 standard electrical outlets (there are 80 parking spaces) There is no way to charge an EV.
            As for installing infrastructure to allow you to recharge you vehicle in public, UC Davis has several. My brother is a CHP officer and gets daily calls about “someone unplugged my car while I was in class” So, they are stranded waiting another 6 hours to get enough “juice” to get them home.
            As rotorhead stated, unless they make swappable battery pack, 100% EV’s are NO solution.

          • pdxpete

            Good point on apartment-dwellers — those living in multiple-unit housing definitely can have a challenge with electric vehicles. A good argument for apartment, townhouse and condo builders builders to prewire for electric vehicles, as this builder is working with Nissan to do in California – 
            http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/08/california-home-builder-prewires-for-evs/

            As for the unplugs, fortunately, many people are able to charge in spots that are more secure than the people who are calling your brother every day (I’m assuming he refers their calls to the UC Davis Police Department!). Also, I’ve seen that some charging stations come with locking devices. Additionally, many people are — and all before long will be — able to take advantage of technology that tracks their charging status in realtime and delivers the info to their smartphone, allowing them to be alerted to any disruption in charging. All of these factors, taken together, would seem to make the unplugging issue not a major hurdle. And then there’s the rise of wireless charging that we’re seeing. Can’t unplug what isn’t plugged in. That might be off in the distance, but even the most optimistic scenarios don’t have EVs becoming big for another decade or so.

            As for the swappable vs. charging station issue, I can see the arguments on both sides. It’s not an easy call and, honestly, I’m suspicious of anyone who is 100 percent certain that one way is better than the other. My own feeling is that we don’t know enough about the behavior of electric vehicle drivers with either technology to be certain which is the best way to go. Now that I think about it, I don’t know that I’ve seen any good research on the issue (unbiased academic research, not something put out by a company with an interest in the outcome). I’ll have to Google around for that; I bet some helpful information is out there. But a big part of the problem is that the parameters of the discussion are always shifting as the technology evolves. There is a lot of work being done on batteries that could lead to greater capacity and quicker charging. How might that change usage patterns?

            Is it possible that swappable is a better long-term solution? It might be. I find the argument that swappable — the Better Place solution — could be a vastly superior route in terms of managing grid impact to be quite interesting — see: http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/07/home-ev-charging-costly-claims-better-place/. Then again, a truly smart grid could use plugged-in vehicles as badly needed energy storage vessels. See: http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/10/vehicle-to-grid-power-project-from-nrg/

          • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1061546908 Jeff Hearrell

            Isn’t there a “pad” you can drive over that is similar to the Energizer or Duracell charging pads?  I read about that somewhere…

          • Pete Danko

            Jeff — You might have read about it here at EarthTechling:
            http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/02/plugless-ev-charging-getting-real-world-test/ 

          • frymybrain

            people will complain about the health effects of the electromagnetic field generated by the pad. We can’t even get wireless smartmeters installed in California and people keep talking about cell phone brain tumors.

          • Gtr3404

            I have a pacemaker, so I am wondering about the effects of such a pad.  I don’t have to worry about to much, but have had problems with magnets in the past

          • ekw

            Fry, you have a good point here: the very same people squalling for EV everything ARE the same people running around scared to death of dying from high-tension wire proximity and cell phone brain tumors (you’d need to have the cell phone implanted in your head and then have it on all the time for forty years and maybe THEN you might get a small tumor. Maybe. My point – and yours, I think – is that the same people who are environmentalist vegan nuclear-power haters are going to find themselves between a rock and a hadron collider eventually. They are going to find their brains overloading on deciding what to fear most and how insanely to react to that fear. THAT will give them brain tumors.

          • fltnsplr

            The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, straddling the San Diego – Orange County line in California, is consistently rated as one of the most dangerous such facilities (out of about 140) in the entire U.S.  That is to say, it’s been ranked at the bottom or next to the bottom for safety and reliability every year since the rankings began.  It may not be generating any power this summer because of those safety violations.  Those are facts, Jack, not some nameless fear like the ones you keep talking about. Get a clue.

          • fltnsplr

            Actually, so-called “smart meters” (which aren’t) have been installed in profusion, and people are fighting them left and right because of health problems, not to mention the problem of overcharging.   Where do you live, anyway?

      • rycsailor

        That range is with a new battery, check with them about the range with all auxiliary features operational, like air conditioning, windshield wipers, blowers, etc. I’ll bet it isn’t any of those advertised ranges. 

        • Morison9

          Plus, just what we need in city driving, a silent car that can go really fast. I can see a lot of pedestrians getting scraped up.

    • Jeffhre

      If you drive 100 miles to get groceries and 100 miles to get home, you might consider relocating. Especially since the “average driver in the US” drives about 38 miles per day = 13,900 miles per year.

  • rotorhead1871

    The Tesla, expected to retail for between $60,000 and $85,000, could go head to head with models such as the BMW Mercedes-Benz R-Class, the BMW X5 and the Lexus RX 450.
    WHAT A JOKE!!!   THOSE CARS CAN ACTUALLY GO SOMEWHERE…THEY TESLA IS NOTHING BUT A GROCERY GETTER…

    • PeterGrfx

       Really? Does your grocery-getting take you on a 300-mile roundtrip (the Tesla’s range)? And the range will keep improving, even on cheaper electric cars. “Refueling” will also become simpler and cheaper as wind- or solar-powered fueling stations become commonplace.

  • Dan107

    It’s ugly!  The article says they took in $5k deposits on a plus $100k vehicle.  And they counted the entire $100k as “advanced sales”.  In other words they received two million dollars.  Not exactly Earth shattering in car sales terms.

    • pdxpete

      It’s a good point, Dan, that these are deposits, and not completed, whole sales. However, Tesla has said the Model X will retail for between $60K and $85K (largely depending on battery size).

      • Dan107

        You may be correct, the article I read just said the price hadn’t been set yet and I assumed it would be similar to their car price.

      • ekw

        which means, pdx, that very few people will ever be able to buy them. And the prices will not necessarily come down, either. I don’t know this answer, but have any of the current hybrids gotten cheaper in the past 5 years? I just do not see it.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/HYXU2EBRQ6MPHR3QSTOOCKYU2M Yiddish

    Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles including the Roadster, Model S, and Model X.

    • John De Herrera

      All of the energy systems in this discussion are obsolete!  Open your eyes, there is a new energy system in production:  http://rossifocardifusion.com/2012/01 jdh

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KWBQVMZQREPWGFSFJK7G4E3VPI allen r

    You guys are squacking about the government supporting basic industry. With cars go other basic industries like building grain harvesters, highways, manufacturing that support electricity getting to your home. The technilogical world is building ever upward but basic industry in a vast nation like the US must be encouraged and at worst aided by the people who benifit from sewers and water and advanced medicine.  That is what governments do.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KWBQVMZQREPWGFSFJK7G4E3VPI allen r

    Driving to me is about going places. You can not go anywhere in the current e vehicles. Like the small barbeque gas tanks the batteries will have to be removed and replaced at an e service station. You will still need a wash or wiper blades.

    • jawshoeaw

      I love a good road trip. But “going places” might become something we choose to give up, at least going >100 miles in a car. Or you rent a gas car for those special trips and own an electric to commute. 

  • stompk

    Anybody putting down electric cars is an idiot, unless you enjoy spending your hard earned money at the pump..let’s not forget, no oil changes. And if you don’t like a slight increase in your electric bill, you could opt to install some solar panels, which the federal govt will pay 30% through tax rebates.

    • rycsailor

       Wait until you have to buy replacement batteries. Also, batteries lose efficiency in cold weather, have a decreasing efficiency with the number of charge/discharge cycles and won’t 100% recharge after some use. Furthermore, the energy density of  the best existing battery technology is 400 whr/kilogram of weight, while gasoline is 13,200 whrs/kilogram so you’re hauling around a lot of weight for the privilege of spending 8 to 10 hours to recharge your short range vehicle.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1061546908 Jeff Hearrell

        If I can afford an 80,000 dollar car, the price to change the batteries will be a drop in the bucket.  I think its funny when people complain about the cost to replace a battery. Batteries can be recycled now, gas can’t.

        • rycsailor

           That “drop in the bucket” is a good part of the cost of that car, that’s why it costs so much. Why don’t you check before making an ignorant comment.

          • jawshoeaw

            I suspect he meant a drop in the bucket of his personal ability to pay. Besides which, people who buy $80,000 cars don’t usually drive them into the ground. They trade them in every few years because a newer shinier toy has been created.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Joey-Laura/100000690837568 Joey Laura

        oh so its the Electric is more expensive than gas argument.. How huch is clean air and water worth for the future?

        • rycsailor

           I really don’t know how much “clean air and water” will be worth, what I do know is that if we don’t utilize the energy sources that are currently available we won’t have to worry too much about future sources because, contrary to PC opinion, the market place is a better judge of technology than politicians and hand-wringing eco-freaks.

          • Jeffhre

            Perhaps you would enjoy the billions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuels each year to be eliminated so that the marketplace can effectively judge technology.

      • Danny Corrigan

        Actually, batteries gain efficiency in cold weather. The challenge is to keep batteries cool. Next time your battery in a digital camera dies but you need a few more pics, throw the battery in your freezer for 10-15 minutes. Depending on resolution, you can get anywhere from a few to several more shots.
        Also, deep cycling batteries, which is built into the battery chargers of the vehicles today will extend the life of the battery and maintain the efficiency greatly. A battery that is deep cycled at the proper times will last 10-20X longer than one that is not.
        Also, well over half of the power used to generate electricity is wasted because people aren’t using it. Think about a 5hp electrical generator you are using to power a compressor for a house you’re framing. The compressor calls for the electricity when air pressure is low, the electromagnetic field on the gen is excited and you get electricity. But when the compressor isn’t calling for electricity, the 5 hp motor that powers the generator is still running. You end up running a 5hp motor for 5 hours but it only produces electricity for a total of 1 hour. A powerplant is the same way. If every single person on a grid turned off every bit of electrical load, the turbines wouldn’t stop running.

        • rycsailor

          Before you expound on batteries and their characteristics, I suggest a course in chemistry and not advertisements.

          I would like you to cite a technical reference to your claim, all my experience with batteries have shown that batteries lose power with decreased temperature. Unless you have altered the law of physics, the following applies:

          “All batteries deliver their power via a chemical reaction inside the
          battery that releases electrons. When the temperature drops, the
          chemical reactions happen more slowly and the battery cannot produce the
          same current that it can at room temperature. A change of ten degrees
          can sap 50 percent of a battery’s output. In some situations, the
          chemical reactions will happen so slowly and give so little power that
          the battery will appear to be dead when, in fact, if it is warmed up, it
          will go right back to normal output.”Your reference to the 5hp generator is meant to signify what? It is irrelevant to the subject of battery life and battery efficiency in cold weather. As for “deep cycling” a battery, you had better not do that to a starting type battery. It only applies to specific battery types and is possible because the battery plates have been designed with larger cross sections so they don’t warp from the heat generated during charging. That is the reason they “cool” batteries during the charging process.As for “throwing” your digital camera battery into a freezer, just take it out of the camera, put it down and it will recover somewhat anyway. Most batteries exhibit load removal recovery.

          • Jeffhre

            You are both correct. Hot batteries will function better when cooled and cold batteries will produce more current after being warmed.

    • Rjw32a

       Calling someone and idiot is a strong indication of yourself.

  • Oncall2

    Sure I will order two of these babies one for me and one for the wife. Just what the American public needs a second Mortage on a car.

  • Kev

    Folks, this is a tremendous next-step in EV tech.  Remember, we didn’t go from the Model F to a Corvette overnight.  
    Sure, you’re limited to as much as 300 miles on an 8-10 charge, but that will only get better and better.  We need this alternative to oil slavery.

  • Freedom Lost

    At my University, we found that the production of electricity by the local power co-op actually created MORE hydrocarbons than if we had just filled our hybrids with gas & driven across campus..we talk the talk but cant walk the walk, yet they still boast about being green..it’s just a shell game until hydrogen & solar are used!

    • EngineeringGirl

      This.  It is similar with lithium production.  The same amount, if not more, toxins are being released into the air/water system.  However, it’s being made in China, so the US can wash their hands of any responsibility.

      • Redfirekla

        Lithium batteries don’t have fume vapors coming out, all batteries can be recycled so they do not release toxins even during manufacturing in a controlled enviroment.  Electric cars are the future zero toxins released from driving your car..

        • Pdxguy

          What part of a manufacturing process do you not understand?  Ever been to China and seen what their factories look like?  Didn’t think so.

          These batteries do not grow on trees, they are manufactured first by mining – you know, tearing into the ground.  Second, they are assembled in a production facility…that generates contaminants that are disposed of in ways you would not want to live down stream from. 

          In other words…electricity is NOT a source of energy…it is a transference of energy.

          • josefbh

            Yeah, there are still  polluting production problems but they are solvable and the batteries can be fully recycled. It is also true that generating electricity to power these cars, depending on the source, can also add more pollution than the car saves, but again, these are solvable problems. Sadly, solving these problems means electing people with a spine which is proving to be a less solvable problem. 

          • Kissafatdogsass

            … because less than a third of the country actually agrees with your policies. you are completely out of touch with reality look at rural areas these people literally burn their trash I don’t see any recycling going on there with those batteries some things just won’t happen like they will not convert to solar no matter what you try to legislate the only way that could happen would be if they actually came up with a solar panel that generated electricity without taking up multiple acres of land and the average person would rather have a secure job than “save the planet” by sacrificing all the major oil companies to go off into some new technology that will cost trillions to convert and develop natural gas is a much better alternative its clean cheap and the technology is here

          • builder7

             It takes so much to produce energy, like it uses 8 times as much energy to produce a pig or cow than it does to produce a crop.  Or, the most efficient type of energy that we have now is nuclear, so we should be building nuclear, natural gas, solar, and wind power plants now, not to mention some new generation coal and oil plants.

          • Craig Brunetti

            Wait, so, supposed contaminants leaking from battery-producing facilities (do you have a link for news of a leak from a manufacturer here in the US?) is WORSE than the pollutants produced from burning coal and oil for power?

            So yes, stuff like lithium is mined. But so is coal. And yes, battery manufacturing facilities could have leaks, but coal-burning plants DEFINITELY leak. 

            What could your point truly be?!?

      • Jeffhre

        Please explain this, keep in mind lithium is not a toxic material with the explanation?

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tom-Locklear/100000184797954 Tom Locklear

      it’s no mystery that products like the Tesla cars will have to be marketed in lockstep with solar panels or wind generators when and where ever possible. so keep talking about how the dirty methods we use to produce electricity are inefficient

  • Chimmey

    Electricity vs. Gas both are evil and requires fuel.  lets see if they can make a car that runs on water, your water bill will go up or maybe even air they will find a way to charge you for it… Wake up people nothing is going to save you money, you just will have a choice on who you spend it with.  Supply and demand!  what we need is tiny nuclear fusion cell which can be purchased to run our homes and cars… a one time expense. Remember America was not built on free shit, just free labor. And if you look at all fortune 500 business models right now, labor is their biggest expense, and they are finding ways not to pay it or reduce it. which leads us to Modern day slavery, which will include un-educated or under educated people of all races. Have you been in Wal-mart lately. 1 cashier per 50 people on a busy day, my average wait time now stands at about 20 minutes and this is in the 20 items or less lane. I use to work for a mom and pop store in the eighties and made $11 per hour as a teenager. The biggest company in the world pays it’s cashiers $8 per hour in 2012. news flash the mom in pop store to Wal- Mart is Target and JC Penny. The Arabs own all the corner stores and gas stations and hotels, if they decided to blow them up together, America will burn to the ground.  Nothing against Arabs, just saying.

     People Power! and Power to the people!  

  • Not Sure

    Steve saying the falcon wing is like a gull wing seems dumb.  Yeah, the Tesla falcon door has some extra articulation to allow the door to open in parking situations, but maybe he’s thinking people might get “falcon door” confused with the door from a popular Ford compact from the ’60s. 

  • bnjmn

    This is the most impressive coal-powered car ever!!

    • Redfirekla

      Not all electricity is produced with Coal, we are heading towards renewable energy sources. Lets say all power was produced with coal it’s still cleaner then driving your SUV

      • Jeffhre

        40% of US electricity was generated from coal in 2011. Wheel to well EV’s on US made coal are cleaner than a Prius on gasoline. EV motors are over 90% efficient vs 22% efficient for internal combustion engines. Electrical transmission losses are about 11%. The grid gets steadily cleaner, and EV’s become cleaner with it. Unless the EV owner is generating power from solar panels.

        Petroleum must be refined into gasoline using about 5 kWh of energy, before gasoline is even delivered to stations and pumped electrically into drivers tanks.

        EV motors use power from US sources, with no added charges from OPEC and Hugo Chavez.

  • Howdy

    Lets not Kill the Messenger. Electric cars best candidate for the future. Old Power Stations
    are like History, much like the Model T (Terrific Vehicle).

    • rycsailor

       They said the same thing during 1898……..did beat the horse though, didn’t have to shovel s–t.

  • 911driver

    My 12 year old 911 goes 175mph.  This thing is about 2/3 the speed of my 911.  Stupid press release is trying to trade on someone else’s name.  *bonk*

    • Redfirekla

      What good is 175mph when you can’t legally drive that fast to begin with, & when gas prices go even higher your extra money you got gets lower, with the TESLA you will have all that extra money to go out and eat watch a movie or do whatever instead of watching your wallet shrink at the gas station. Use logic my friend

      • rycsailor

         A report about the Tesla said that should you run the battery flat and not immediately recharge it, it becomes worthless and must be replaced at a cost of, get this, $40,000.

  • bob

    I’d rather drive on Wyoming coal than Iraqi oil

    • arguethefacts

      Why not on solar power? Spain now leads the world in solar power stations (which store up enough power during the day to run 24/7. They have no downtime. Their latest one costs $260 million and can heat 30,000 homes at the equivalent price of $30/barrel oil (which doesn’t exist). Compare that to an equivalent Nuclear reactor at $8 billion dollars with no where to store spent fuel rods.

      100 total square miles of solar power positioned around the country would power the entire country without using one drop of oil. Increase electric capabilities in cars and get their energy from those solar plants. Have solar rechargers at parking meters with a universal plug for cars and that bill the car through smart billing. Have them at theater parking lots so people can charge their cards while watching a film.

      What happens when a nuclear power plant (or two or three) are destroyed? Look at Fukushima from last year. A 30 kilometer radius around the plant is a dead zone, and that zone is expanding. 

      What happens when a solar power  station is destroyed? Broken mirrors.

      The technology now exists to do all these things without another penny of R&D. The world is doing it. Spain is doing it. They hope to be down to zero oil imports within ten years. And they’ll reach that goal. And just think if we put as much money in R&D for solar as we spend on oil production in the gulf. There are currently 1891 submerged oil wells in the gulf of mexico. Turn those into floating solar collectors instead. For the equivalent amount of money getting the oil out of miles deep wells in the ocean, you can meet the energy needs of every souther state (including Texas).

      Fracking is causing Earthquakes around the world where there never were any. Instead put up solar power stations to power those communities instead of sending rides miles down and then off to the right and pumping in water to extract the gas. Much easier to put up solar collectors.But the big energy companies are vested in oil, gas, and nuclear. It will take the government to make them go solar.

      We have the solution to the energy crisis. And the added benefit is most of the patents are owned by US companies which means everyone in the world using those patents has to pay US companies for that right. Our economy would turn around in 4 years (one presidential term) if Pres. Obama would have the guts to say no to big oil, gas, and nuclear. For all those conservatives out there the Obama administration has just approved the building of the first nuclear power plant since 1988. It will cost $8 billion and not produce as much power as a $260 million solar power station.

      • Somewhere in the middle

        From what I could find, Spain need a little over 289 billion kilowatt-hours a year. Their solar program, as of 2007, produces less than 500,000 kilowatt-hours a year. That kind of a drop-in-the-bucket thing. You would have to cover almost the entire country with these solar cells. Say goodbye to farmland, vineyards, etc. They would have cheap energy but couldn’t afford the food they would need to import.

      • ‘merica’ TFM

        I honestly don’t believe a word you say 100 square miles of solar panels would power the nation? seriously?! why not just convert our cars to natural gas since its so cheap it doesn’t even pay to produce it and we have it all over the place plus that its clean burning fork lifts run on natural gas and they run inside closed buildings! think about having to through away all our old cars to go and buy ev vehicles who’s gonna pay for that plus imagine over 300 million cars being dumped across america where you gonna put that many cars? it flat out would not work people wouldn’t go for it. oh and whats this about president obama saying no more foreign oil you big mean companies they would go bankrupt and I don’t know what your smoking to think thats a good Idea because that industry is the largest in the nation employing more higher paying jobs with better benefits than any other industry in the world. plus that he doesn’t have the authority to do that they would laugh in his face and he would never get re-elected so why don’t you just go whine about it to ralph nadir 

        • builder7

           Anything that is cheap should be considered good for business and America.  This notion that the market has to jack things up real high first before they are sold is BS.  We need a free market in all things energy so that its price will be low, which can fuel the economy.  High prices do just the opposite, except for a few.  They don’t realize that they could make more by making energy cheap and abundant, like solar and natural gas!

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tom-Locklear/100000184797954 Tom Locklear

          you are both right. switching from one kind of car to another would take a generation. all the more reason to already have started. natural gas in the cars we have is the fast track for national prosperity. and it is the segway technology while we move into the future which rightfully shouldn’t include internal combustion. we need to give rein to innovation while we pursue immediate pragmatism

        • j0eschm0e

          someone has to get the ball rolling. and its been 40 years in the making since the 1970′s gas shortage. no ones had the berrys to start the ball rolling.

      • Signal99

        Spain going to ZERO oil imports?  I call BS.  Sunshine can’t make plastic, or lube machines, or preserve materials. Fracking is creating earthquakes where there have NEVER been any?  I call BS. The entire planet rides on hot molten rock and semi solid plates that float around on the liquid rock. The technology is not efficient. The only time wind and solar work is when a liberal trie to blow sunshine up my A$$.

        • PeterGrfx

          “Researchers think an increase in wastewater injected into
          the ground by drilling operators may be the cause of a sixfold
          increase in the number of earthquakes that have shaken the
          central part of the U.S. from 2000 to 2011, according to a U.S.
          Geological Survey study. … Links between disposal wells and earthquakes in Arkansas,
          Ohio and other states has raised public concern, according to
          Scott Anderson, senior policy adviser for the Environmental
          Defense Fund in Austin, Texas.”

          http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-20/fracking-linked-earthquakes-spurring-state-regulations

          • Vise357

            Who are these “researchers”? Should we always trust the opinions of “researchers”?  I search the web a lot, i guesss that makes me a “researcher” also. Now my opinions will always be taken as 100% fact! Look out, here comes a RESEARCHER ! ! !

          • PeterGrfx

            Try to read what you’re commenting on before you start typing. My comment specifically cited “a U.S. Geological Survey study” and “Scott Anderson, senior policy adviser for the Environmental Defense Fund in Austin, Texas,” based on an article in “Business Week” – hardly an enviro-lefty publication. Apparently the only “research” you trust is your own navel gazing, yielding you an uncontested expertise on your own fact-free opinions.

          • Ghendrickson865

            Do you have a PHD? I didn’t think so.

        • allavailableoptions

          Do you know more than the poeple at the U.S.G.S.? ….NO! Did we have a foreseen problem with natural gas being bonded to our drinking water before fracking?….NO! Talk about liberals blowing sunbshine up your azz, that is the problem …..green energy is seen as a “liberal’ platform, insteasd of an “American” platform which it is. Solar is growing around the world, and the fossil fuel loving untra conservatives here in the U.S. cannot stop that…FACT. Blow that up your azz!

      • Jeffhre

        In southern and high insolation areas people can power their own homes and cars with receiver stations for a nuclear powered sending station located 93 million miles away. Seems complicated, but lasts over 30 years and avoids relying on 100 sq miles of some big companies solar panels, and prices have come down 70% in the past year and a half alone. 

        Spain got about 3% of it’s electricity from solar in 2010 and 16% from wind.On November 6, 2011 a new record was reached with 59% of Spain’s power generated by wind power. 

        • rycsailor

           While your doing your homework, check on what has happened to the price of electricity in Spain since the introduction of “alternative” power, you might be surprised.

        • Steelercity1

          SPAIN’S use of coal as an energy source almost doubled last year, according to the country’s national grid.

          Although nuclear power remains the largest single contributor to
          Spain’s power supply (21 per cent), the contribution of coal-fired
          plants increased from eight per cent to 15 per cent.

          The significant 96.3 per cent increase is due to both a decline in
          hydraulic production and an increase in subsidies for the coal industry.

          The environmental cost of the increase is a 25 per cent rise in CO2 emissions in 2011 compared to 2010.

          The combined contribution to the power supply of Spain’s renewable
          sector – including wind, hydraulic, geothermal and solar – fell from 36
          to 33 per cent

        • ekw

          I have a problem here with your proclamation that 59% of the entire country of Spain was able to power itself solely with wind power. It seems to be the most far-fetched notion I’ve read since the joker that said that 100 sq mi of solar panels could power the entire United States. These kinds of statements are never backed up with fact. I’m no engineer, but it just seems so off the rails that I think you and others are just making s*it up on the spot and putting out here. Show me a link to a science site that has the data to back up your statement.

      • rycsailor

        Spain’s electric costs have skyrocketed, check on them before talking. Solar and wind power are worthless until we learn how to store energy in large quantities. The nuclear plant you speak of will produce power for when it’s needed as opposed to solar which doesn’t operate at night when working people need power. So much for your one square mile of solar power.

        You obviously drink too much of the Obama Koolaid and don’t check beyond the hype and smoke.

        • builder7

           Where do you get this talk about Koolaid and hype and smoke?  Are you one of these rednecks that are still thinking about the 60′s?  Things have changed so come down off of your highest point in your life now!

          • rycsailor

             No,  I have degrees in Electrical Engineering, Physics and was a technical manager in a very large research laboratory. My credentials are more than adequate to support my statements. Now what are yours besides having the audacity to put down the messenger because you don’t like the message? When you mature sufficiently, you just might begin to separate political fantasy from fact.

          • builder7

             You must be about 75 too because people don’t talk like that anymore!  Why don’t you talk about the issues instead of ad hominem attacks that make no sense!  I don’t know what crowd you run in but you must be smokin’ too much of that wacky tabacky!

          • rycsailor

             Still on the anti-messenger kick must mean that you haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about. The reason people may not write like I do is because many of them never graduated from high school and consequently will believe any poser that come along. Stick with the KoolAid, it suits your choices.

          • builder7

             I have a couple of master degrees, but you are the one who hasn’t graduated from high school – literally!

          • rycsailor

            They must be in basket weaving. The problem with people who claim new technical causes are they assume the characteristics of religious converts, no knowledge, all faith. 

            Instead of bashing the messenger, try refuting the message…..that just might test your “masters” to the hilt.

          • builder7

             Still doing the ad hominem eh?  Let me know when you want to have an intelligent conversation!

          • rycsailor

            Can’t, there isn’t anyone available to have such a conversation with.Try refuting the facts instead of spouting inane comments.
            FACTS……..

          • builder7

            Are you talking to yourself again!

          • j0eschm0e

            what an idiot, 2 masters degrees?? muahahahaha do oche bag

          • fltnsplr

            You can shut up now.

          • j0eschm0e

            yeah you really sound like someone that has 2 masters degrees, I call BS, you dumb fracking a hole

          • builder7

             Hey Joe Slow Moe, shall we start here:

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jake-Blanton/100001675138371 Jake Blanton

            In general, it’s not a question of whether someone has a degree, but rather what they have the degree in…

          • fltnsplr

            Master degrees?  If you had one, you’d have called it a master’s degree – not to nitpick. 

          • fltnsplr

            You’re an idiot.  

          • Prplhz80

            sooooo you’re just a dick?

          • j0eschm0e

            no, builder7 is a dick

          • Craig Brunetti

            All those degrees, and you don’t know how to use the intertubes? I say, maybe you should think about getting your money back.

            Fact is, technology like molten salts and dry batteries are what will be key to helping green systems produce power steadily. That isn’t KoolAid, it’s being built, right now, under the Obama administration’s time.

            Open your eyes a little. You always have the option of understanding that you might be wrong.

          • rycsailor

            Molten salt technology has been around since the mid 1990s and has not seen much use. Because it exists doesn’t mean it’s practical. Just because Obama is a greenie doesn’t mean he knows what he’s backing. Check all the greenie solutions he’s backed that have crashed while your doing your google science class.

          • fltnsplr

            Grow up, builder7.

        • builder7

           The issue:  We need every type of power development including nuclear, natural gas, coal technologies, solar, wind power, oil that is completely burned, all forms of energy users to become more energy efficient!  The problem with you energy types is that you tend to stick up for the particular industry that employs you – Smell the flowers!

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Patrick-Wright/1058131425 Patrick Wright

          I don’t need much electricity at night.  Nobody does.  Solar power is available during the hot part of the day when everyone’s air conditioner is on and demand is high.  Also, it is stupid to assume everyone who like electric cars and solar power is an Obama supporter.  Obama hasn’t done anything a Republican president wouldn’t have done.

        • j0eschm0e

          obama admits he is a muslim, check on google

          • Guest

            sigh and your a muslim too….

        • John

          I guess you never heard of storing electricity. Maybe you should drink some of that Koolaid!

          • rycsailor

             Tell me, oh wizard, just how you intend to “store” megawatts of electricity….in NiCad batteries you bought at Walmark? If you don’t know what you’re talking about, don’t talk, because your ignorance is demonstrated.

          • Craig Brunetti

            Actually, a town in Texas is doing just that:
            http://www.techvert.com/texas-town-builds-largest-battery-in-the-u-s/ 

            Also, storage of the heat which is used to produce electricity can be done with generator that employ molten salt.

            Therefore, the only ignorance is yours, because simple web searching would have found these answers for you.

          • rycsailor

            This is an energy conversion process, not a electrical storage process. There are significant power losses involved. Your google searching ability is admirable, your technical intelligence is pathetic.

      • Bubba

        actually the production of solar panels uses many “drops of oil”.  Point taken none the less. 

      • juan737

         i often wonder why geniuses like yourself don’t start a corp. and do what you say is doable and save the world. govt. has already wasted 100 billion looking for energy utopia. if it were doable china
         would do it, india would do it, germany would do it.  
        juan737

        • Craig Brunetti

          China and Germany ARE doing it. Their solar-based power production is leaving us in the dust (see wikipedia).

          But that’s not the point. As a nation, we are burdened with reliance on oil, which must come from other nations. In the least, this is a security problem, and we need to find our own path before the taps get shut off.

          Solar, wind, natural gas, geothermal, tidal, these are ideas being chased to help us with problem number one, Oil. We are not looking for a Utopia, we are looking for a path towards self-reliance, and it doesn’t need to be a single technology. 

          There does not need to be a silver bullet. All we need is progress. So, either get on board, or get out of the way, because comments and thinking like yours doesn’t help anybody.

        • Craig Brunetti

          China and Germany ARE doing it. Their solar-based power production is leaving us in the dust (see wikipedia).

          But that’s not the point. As a nation, we are burdened with reliance on oil, which must come from other nations. In the least, this is a security problem, and we need to find our own path before the taps get shut off.

          Solar, wind, natural gas, geothermal, tidal, these are ideas being chased to help us with problem number one, Oil. We are not looking for a Utopia, we are looking for a path towards self-reliance, and it doesn’t need to be a single technology. 

          There does not need to be a silver bullet. All we need is progress. So, either get on board, or get out of the way, because comments and thinking like yours doesn’t help anybody.

      • Robert Morton

        Yes, let’s talk about the facts.  Solar power is DC, and can be stored by batteries, but must be converted to AC to apply to the grid. 
        And if you want something that will stop solar power, you need only look for a cloudy day.  Yours statements are exagerations at best, and outright lies at worst.  There is no magic bullet, LEAST OF ALL solar, which is incredibly inefficient. 

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ABSCSFPRSEQYPDSKOKHVBPICQU GaryH

        Does this person have any actual knowledge what is going on in Spain?  they massively subsidized these solar power stations and now they are broke.  they have had to end solar power subsidies.  The country is in ruins with 24% unemployment.  Two prominent Spainish professors have estimated every green job cost over $800K and for every green job gained, two other jobs were lost. 

        aurguthefacts does not even begin to get their facts straight.  You need to do some research, because no one has found the green jobs unicorn and no one will.  The biggest growth industry in the US is in brown jobs.  Their is a natural gas boom in the US and around the world, and natural gas prices have plummetted, to the point that home heating prices have been cut over 20% in some east coast states.  Only the green states that want to promote AGW fear and green energy are seeing price rises. 

        Connect back to reality arguethefacts!

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/James-Stutsman/1618664398 James Stutsman

      PERHAPS WE CAN BLOW UP YOUR MOUNTAIN NEXT BOB?…..COAL IS “OLD SCHOOL”….

    • fltnsplr

      Hey, Bob – you evidently have a short memory, since Cheney (from Wyoming) engineered the drive for Iraqi oil by planning 9-11.  He was part of the energy gang that’s living in the past. By the way, if you had a brain you’d be dangerous.  

  • http://twitter.com/westendartist Kim Hunter

    For a prototype, this technology show brilliant promise. We will soon be free from the tyranny of oil. We are all the change. Save your pennies, affordable available clean energy is just over the horizon. We just need to remove a few tyrants in the way. Peace.

  • dddavid

    Reading the comments here is exhausting!  Listen people, electric cars are still in their infancy, and these first generation models cannot be expected to be either affordable to the masses, or a perfect solution to all of the worlds problems.  It is by going through this process, and proving the concept, and learning from it, that adaptations can be made to the  designs of the batteries (or even better, fuel cells), and the infrastructure can begin to be put in place to support this type of vehicle.  Does this happen overnight?  Of course not.  Does a little government assistance help?  Of course it does.  No one is forcing anyone to start buying only electric cars, but quite clearly eventually, something of this sort will have to be done.  (Oil cannot last forever, it will run out eventually, that is guaranteed!)
    Something else that I see a lot of people complaining about is that this type of car cannot be used to make cross country trips, but many families own two cars.  Do both cars need to be capable of long distance trips?  People also state that creating electricity creates pollution too, but there ARE ways that this can be cleaned up, and there are renewable ways to create electricity.  Still a bit more expensive than burning coal, but the price of photovoltaic solar panels came down drastically last year.  In a few more years, the price may be very close to, or perhaps even less than, purchasing your electricity from coal burning electric plants.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_26FDFE3HB6MZGW4MR55QUAEWVY Rob

       Plus we don’t need to import plutonium or coal or rivers. Most people just want to complain about something instead of finding solutions.

  • 1disillusioned1

    Obviously, the folks who are buying them haven’t read the independent test reports about breakdowns and electronic failures. I really hope they do well.  anything that cuts down our dependency of fossil fuels is a blessing.

  • Rricheson

    This is nice start to get off the fossil fuels,but why are they so expensive. They have to be made inexpensive enough so that everyone can buy one. This is why the all electric cars are not selling that well.

  • pleasestoplying

    How does plugging in to an outlet save anything? All this does increase the cost of coal and electricity and the amount of consumption. Profit is everything and the guise of environmental stewardship is great to bilk to the American public out of millions of dollars( apparently 40 million so far), deplete natural resources and destroy vast tracts of land for the comfort of a full pocket book.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ROIZ2FAFYMM3Z73W4FYWRLLH6Y Nolilshow

    Variety is the spice of life Right? So you either pay for A new battery=modernday tune up for EV’s or buy an tried and true version of the same but different Oil changes,air filters,sensors Galore and of course a transmission here and there then the computer goes out for your Hybrid minds as well throw the car away it’s out of updateable software capacity. I think I can budget on the Known factors verses the unknowns,Hybrids means one mechanic blames a electrician so to speak to many varables. 

  • filmless

    WOW…. I read most of the comments below and I think it shows how far apart people really are on this type technology.

    Myself, I think we should nuke the middle east, then send oil workers over in radiation suits to get the oil. Think about it, free oil until it runs out all for the cost of a nuke and a few replacement oil pumping stations.   Works for me.

  • gary adams

    Who can afford one of these electric vehicles at 40K when most of the people cant afford a 25K vehicle

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_26FDFE3HB6MZGW4MR55QUAEWVY Rob

       How much do you spend in gasoline each month? I get around 23 mpg in my 2009 Escape. About 2 gallons/day To and from work then another 2 running around on the weekend. So I burn about 50 gallons of gas per month, at $3.75 that is $187.50 per month. The increased electric cost for charging is approx. $33.00 per month. So that is an extra $150 per month you can put toward the car payment, instead of burning out the exhaust pipe.

  • Alexpage41

    GE has the ad on youtube clearly 100 square miles of solar panels would power the entire 48 continous states of america and easily hawii and alaska thank you for taking the time to wake up 

  • DB Cooper

    Coal??  What are you driving a Steam Locomotive?

  • mobetta

    So the glitterati of the world can cause more coal toxins to be spewed out rather than gas fumes…

    • Guest

      Hydro, solar, wave and wind.

      Not to mention, we buy American coal putting money in American pockets.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Fechter/100001457278019 David Fechter

    $20k………………….please!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Becky-Strohl/100001323521077 Becky Strohl

    Cool, cool :)   I want one!!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_V2VLJ3HPUAI64TSBDZ4UNFVMKU S.A.R

    Does anybody remember an invention called the ‘Hydristor’?   Fellow named Tom Kazmer invented it a few years back and basically it is a hydraulic tanj that can be mounted under any production vehicle allowing it to store energy produced by the transmission for use at highway speeds, as a sort of fluid overdrive system. The inventor proved that his Hydristor could increase the overall miles per gallon of the average SUV by thirty to fifty percent.

    This is HUGE development and Kazmer has been courted by Ford and the Army, yet the story and production of the Hydristor has never made it to the worlds consumers.

    Hate when that happens!  Google it, man!

  • Ruby

    This is a great step forward.  I hope that innovations will continue and everyone will realize that the world cannot continue to be polluted by all of the things people do and still be a nice place to live.  Everything positive we do will help, including working together to solve the problem.  I am very disturbed by most of the comments I have read below because they have only to do with the commenter’s ego and bashing someone.  Trolls, get a life.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jim.hyder Jim Hyder

    I love the idea of an all electric car.  Too bad the American models are not as good, yet.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_26FDFE3HB6MZGW4MR55QUAEWVY Rob

       Tesla is a California company.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZR24SE4C4PZY3GAI2HJX7PYUX4 nelore

    and sooooo ugly..looks like a Mazda

  • chefjim

    Looks like a sleek bowling ball.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-E-Henson/1184950225 Jim E Henson

    Dis information, the oil lobbies to fill ur head with gotta have it,you will always need it.We cant use it anymore. done research and development of solar is the future You know it place your bets,thirty years from now,it will go the way of the prop driven airplane,when was the last picture tube sold .the day of oil must come to an end we cant sacrifice our health for their wealth.Ram the gas pump up their cracks and filler up. then lite it.

  • Shell_Back

    So with charge times ranging from 4 hours to more than 30 (depending on the cable you choose to purchase and whether it’s installed at your house or a travel charger), you could add a serious lag to your vacation trip if you live more than 300 miles from where you’re going. Tesla’s are a good fit for a daily driver to work and back, but for those who do a lot of driving (which are the ones who need it most) it still is not a good fit. What is needed is for the manufacturers to take a lesson from gas companies and from propane grill companies. To make this truly compatible with everyday life, standardize on one battery, get a few companies to manufacture this battery, and then open service stations that you can pull into when the battery gets low and just replace it. Manufacturers can make sure the battery is located where an attendant can easily remove and replace it from under the hood. That is really the only way electric car companies are ever going to be able to compete with other technologies. The charge time is the killer with them.

    • Shell_Back

      To clarify, in this scenario, the battery that is purchase with the car goes into a pool. When the battery is low, take it to a service station, get it replaced and pay a nominal fee to cover the cost of recharging the previous battery and cover the operational cost of the station (as with current gas stations and propane bottle exchanges).

  • Jacquesmuseo

    GET ‘EM TESLA!

  • mrdon

    Nothing can be quite as exciting as taking an electric SUV off road and praying to God that you don’t run out of juice.

    For an added thrill, take it off road in real cold weather.

    Or not.

  • EdgarDoe

    LOL at this whole comment thread…I imagine this is what it would be like to read through a transcript of a congressional session…

  • Crusty Rear

    What a crock of carpola. The sun is a gigantic fusion reaction. It’s NUCULAR! The more solar power we have the more we are relying on nucular energy. I say put the wackos to work and rely on Bi-Polar energy.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FUIL7AIS4GOT42KI4NVFJ7F6OM Ernie A

    I still gotta have a little Rumm Rumm in my 4.4 seconds and the bald grille it’s like “what do we put there…  nothing?”

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KNQPECOVKP2PJELLHBUHCFOC6I Alchemy2000Master

    Electric Vehicles ARE NOT supposed to reduce Carbon emissions… just move these emissions off the freeway at rush hour to a less populated area where the power is produced.  Now, if we begin to build Nuclear plants again, drastically increasing the % of nuclear in our power mix, then we WILL be able to claim that EVs actually help reduce carbon emissions.