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Pics and Video Inside Tesla Motors Silicon Valley Showroom
greenhome.huddler.com — More than a dozen pics and a video tour of the brand spankin' new facility - open to the public today! It's amazing...there, I said it.
mobiledigg- 651 diggs
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- mobiledigg, on 07/22/2008, -1/+17They're definitely catering to a premium customer to get off the ground, but the technology that comes out of this company has unreal potential. Huge number of great pics - worth a look and a digg methinks.
- redcolumbine, on 07/23/2008, -1/+9Besides, Americans will only take a product seriously if the rich use it. Once Britney crashes one DUI, all the high-school kids will be clamoring for them.
- IphtashuFitz, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1That actually brings up an interesting question. How will rescue crews deal with this new technology when they have to respond to a crash. Up until 10 years ago every car was effectively the same as far as fire departments go. It's got a gas tank, a 12 volt battery, etc. Need to rip off the door with the jaws of life? No problem - just start cutting. But now with airbags, hybrids, etc. they have all sorts of nasty things to worry about. They have to be careful not to trigger the explosives in airbags that haven't gone off. They have to be careful of the high-voltage lines in hybrid cars, not only in making sure the jaws of life don't cut through the wrong cable but also putting out a fire might create a deadly short circuit with the water. I know that hybrids are making the high-voltage cables red or orange so that first responders know to avoid them. I wonder what sorts of things they need to watch out for when responding to inevitable crashes involving Teslas...
- RAGEdemon, on 07/23/2008, -4/+1I don't see why people see this thing as some kind of a technological milestone.
It's just powered by a big battery... WOW noone thought of running cars on batteries before... i mean, not like every ***** car in the world doesn't already have one :/
Second thing... its not clean energy. It's powered by electricity and charged by household electricity. How is most electricity generated? Coal burning, Oil burning, and even nuclear power plants.
All the hype is from non-engineers who just buy into the marketing but don't actually understand what is going on.
- redcolumbine, on 07/23/2008, -1/+9Besides, Americans will only take a product seriously if the rich use it. Once Britney crashes one DUI, all the high-school kids will be clamoring for them.
- snowhite7185, on 07/22/2008, -2/+23Every time I see a Tesla, I get a little flutter....they are such hot little cars. And the showroom's not bad either. Now I just need to find $100 thou somewhere.
- Radan, on 07/22/2008, -0/+4Good to see that they are starting to come around. It's too bad they don't have any Tesla centers in Europe yet as I would really love to actually see one of the cars in real life.
- WorldRTomi, on 07/23/2008, -2/+4The Tesla roadster is a rebadged and uglified Lotus Elise with electric engine. If you just want to see it, this is already done as there is already so many elises on the roads in europe. The interesting bits are the internals because they made it uglier than the Lotus counterpart.
- Radan, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Yeah, it's actually the internals that I'm interested in seeing. The cockpit is by far the biggest dealbreaker here for me seeing how my BMW Z4 that costs half as much has a considerably nicer cockpit, at least judging by the photos I've seen. This is something no one should accept when buying a car that costs nearly 160 000 dollars.
- DarkShroud, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1It looks like a Lotus but its not the same body. The dimensions have been changed by Tesla.
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.s ...
- phore, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1@Radan
I don't think the BMW Z4 and the Tesla are even comparable. They are in completely different leagues unless you are driving an Z4 M. People buying a Tesla are buying a race car. I don't think the apperance of the cockpit matters at all. The only car I can think of that can accelerate as fast as a Tesla in the same price range is an Ariel Atom. 0 to 60 in 3 seconds is something Ferrari and Porsche 911 owners can be jealous of. This car is aimed at a the kind of driver who wants to take his car on the track. Probably makes a great daily driver too.
BTW, I don't mean to sound like I am a BMW hater or anything, I own an M3 and its a joy to drive. Just my 2 cents.
- WorldRTomi, on 07/23/2008, -2/+4The Tesla roadster is a rebadged and uglified Lotus Elise with electric engine. If you just want to see it, this is already done as there is already so many elises on the roads in europe. The interesting bits are the internals because they made it uglier than the Lotus counterpart.
- TerrenceLP, on 07/22/2008, -1/+16Yeah, $100,000, that is unreachable for 98% of the people. But here is the deal... Milk the rich, then make it affordable ;-)
- hollering, on 07/23/2008, -0/+3I wouldn't call it 'milking'...it's smart planning on their part. They know that they can't get the cost low enough for the mass consumer yet, so they sell it to the people who can and will buy it while they try to find ways to drive the cost down. Brilliant!
- IphtashuFitz, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Time is what will drive the cost down. Over time the manufacturing costs should decrease, especially as new technologies emerge and they learn how to streamline their current processes.
- hollering, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1Not to beat you up over wording, but time doesn't drive many things down, only technology will drive it down, which requires time, but also hard work and money.
- hollering, on 07/23/2008, -0/+3I wouldn't call it 'milking'...it's smart planning on their part. They know that they can't get the cost low enough for the mass consumer yet, so they sell it to the people who can and will buy it while they try to find ways to drive the cost down. Brilliant!
- maria728, on 07/22/2008, -2/+3It's a nice looking showroom for sure. Minimalist chic. The flowers are a nice touch too.
- MattgUP, on 07/22/2008, -1/+2They'll probably open one in NH soon right?
- secrity, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Of course they will. How are you going to heat it in the winter time?
- thegreengunner, on 07/22/2008, -2/+4even if the common man cant afford this bad boy the technology is essential. often over time the technology becomes cheaper, then we all can tear ass around the planet in eco super rods!
- Fangsinmybeard, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Not bad, but will they have enough of the clientelle that can support the burgeoning business?
- deMonkey, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1I think the bigger problem is can they make enough cars to stay in business. There are tons of people in California that can and will buy a car that does what the Tesla claims to do.
- VideoHost1, on 07/23/2008, -8/+1Yea but well does it drive on Weed ?
http://2.0web.tv/index.php?option=com_seyret&task= ... - petaganayr, on 07/23/2008, -1/+3Why are Tesla cars expensive? Is it because they're electric cars?
- buba1243, on 07/23/2008, -1/+2No it's because they are made completely out of carbon fiber materials. Also it has some brand new control systems for its battery to counter the heat problem with using Li-Ion battery's.
- jaredcat, on 07/23/2008, -0/+40-60 in 3 seconds might have something to do with it
- gummialien, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2They need to get back all the research and development money that they put into making them.
- petaganayr, on 07/23/2008, -3/+1Thanks for the replies. But if I have a 100K to burn I'll purchase a GT2 instead. Teslas are ugly:)
- DarkShroud, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Cheaper cars are coming. A $60k sedan was recently just announced.
- petaganayr, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0That's still expensive. Is it really worth it to buy a $100K or $60 car to avoid high gas prices? I don't know what's the ROI on these electric cars, but I think they're still impractical to buy.
- maeon3, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5I was hoping for video of the roadster interior and engine space. Nice walls and flowers though.
- IG64, on 07/23/2008, -3/+5I was expecting an awesome video of giant Tesla coils shooting lightning everywhere. Instead it's just a nice-looking car that I will never be able to afford.
- dchoward1977, on 07/23/2008, -1/+0Nice. Can't wait to see how the upcoming sedan turns out, hopefully they spend a little more time on the styling. The Roadster looks good, just the head and tail lights seem unfinished, like they're preproduction parts or something.
- krnldmp, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4Where's the motor? How about a nice picture of the power electronics? Trust me, big inverter transistor arrays can be as sexy as carburetors.
- centran, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Here ya go... http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/tesla-roadster ...
Not much to look at but it is an electric induction motor. What did you expect? These things aren't much to look at but man can they pack a punch.
- centran, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Here ya go... http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/tesla-roadster ...
- biblee, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Dugg for the Tesla schwag gear.
- BelatedHero, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Such a beautiful car. Lotus designed it and it's based on the Elise. And while I love the Elise, this thing has a more refined/mature look to it. I hope Tesla & Elon Musk can pull this off.
- Shatfacedpanda, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2I'm all about going green when I get more green to afford it.
- hollering, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5I'm sorry, but if you are loaded and can afford to own one of these and you pass it up, you are crazy! I hope so much that this technology is developed to the point where it can reach the mass market.
- bshock, on 07/23/2008, -5/+1Yes, that's right: the electric cars you need, at prices you'll never afford. American Industry once again gives Americans the finger.
- deMonkey, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2It will take time before the technology's there so everyone can afford an electric car. And it's not like everyone *needs* a car that does 0-60 in under 4 seconds.. that's already reserved for the wealthy with gas cars, so how's this any different?
- Zammo, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2why would you have to pay $5,000 for a test drive? Wouldn't they just do a credit check first like other high end car dealers?
- leerayIG88, on 07/23/2008, -3/+1I like cars because they go fast.
- cwright213, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1The price will drop when Japanese Car makers roll out the knockoffs. You know it's coming right?
- berkeleylady, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0hahaha YES totally. i'll wait for that, thank you very much
- AlexandraF, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2A sexy electric car showroom with no sexy eclectic woman lounging on any of the cars = Sexy women all over the owners who buy the cars...
- rob2oo4, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1I hope they mass produce these guys, I would love to charge my car like a cell phone
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