Tesla model S Options and Pricing

not bad, if they were available here for that price it would be on my consideration list (though would need to do some analysis based on how expensive electricity here is and going up)
 
The base model is surprisingly affordable, however the most expensive versions costs two times as much as the base model.
My only slight problem is that the top speed is very dissapointing (ranging from 110mph to 130mph), my 1.4l Fiat does 110mph. I wonder how EVs are going to overcome that.
 
They could do it easily though gearing, but I don't think they need to as top speed is a largely irrelevant stat. Most people will never go over 110 mph, and if they do, it will be only in a short burst. Plus in an electric car, it would kill your range to try to maintain 100+ mph for any amount of time.
 
Gearing would indeed solve it, but didn't they try a 2 speed in the Tesla and deemed it too fragile to work?
And in a 'normal' or cheap car top speed wouldn't matter as much, but if you're paying nearly $100k for a performance model that runs out of puff at 130mph I'd be kind of disappointed EV or not.
Especially in Europe - Germany in particular but in other countries as well although to a lesser extent - where the cruising speed in the third lane often exceeds 100mph.

That said I actually like this Tesla. And if the 40kwh battery can deliver the advertised range of 160 miles I'll be even more impressed.
 
I think that the gearing issue is exactly that - an issue. Electric motors with their linear and huge torque from 0 rpm and the wide rev range make a one-gear-car very attractive to the manufacturer. Of course, the top speed will suffer. But as soon as the hammer falls for having a gearbox, the whole thing becomes much more complicated, no matter if it's just a two speed. You have to deal with the huge torque and with the fact that you need to rearrange the whole drivetrain in order to have the motor deliver its power to the gearbox and not directly to the propelled axle(s). In times of ICUs and cars working exactly like that it shouldn't be that much of a problem, but still you're dealing with extra weight and many more things to go wrong on a system which can be as easy as most EVs are. Still, I personally believe that an EV with a two or three-gear-gearbox should be possible, at least because it's very easy to reduce the torque of the motor in the lower gears.
 
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One of my coworkers put down a deposit for the base model S. Should be pretty cool.
 
The base model is surprisingly affordable, however the most expensive versions costs two times as much as the base model.
My only slight problem is that the top speed is very dissapointing (ranging from 110mph to 130mph), my 1.4l Fiat does 110mph. I wonder how EVs are going to overcome that.

Seeing as the highest speed limit in the countries this will initially be sold in is 85 mph, I don't think it's a big deal.
 
Will they be able to sell it as a 7-seat sedan in all markets, or are there some where the back back seats won't be legal?
 
Seating up to 7? How the hell will that work?

I must be missing something.....
 
Will they be able to sell it as a 7-seat sedan in all markets, or are there some where the back back seats won't be legal?

Here in the US and Canada, it shouldn't be a problem. Mercedes E Class still offers a rear facing third row, and Taurus did until wagon production ended sometime in the mid '00's.

Seating up to 7? How the hell will that work?

I must be missing something.....

There's a flip up rear-facing third row seat in the cargo area, estate style.
 
Yeah, but it's not an estate/wagon where there's lots of room. I wuold need to see it in person, but it seems dangerous to have that set-up in a sedan-like vehicle. Still...want. Looks like a (successfull) Kia Optima/Maserati Quatroporte/Jaguar XF mating.
 
not bad, if they were available here for that price it would be on my consideration list (though would need to do some analysis based on how expensive electricity here is and going up)

The Roadster was listed at $109,000 when production first began according to Wiki, yet looking at carsales it will cost you at leat $190,000 to buy one here.

Still, one can dream. I really like the styling of the Model S and an electric car would fit quiet nicely into my driving requirements.
 
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The Roadster was listed at $109,000 when production first began according to Wiki, yet looking at carsales it will cost you at least $190,000 to buy one here.

US$190K or AUS$190K? Plus, doesn't AUS have that crippling import tax on luxury cars?
 
Even if it is US...how does a used car's prive have anything to do with how much the dealer sold it for when it was new? Also, when production first began, it was the first model. Subsequent upgrades were made over time, the more powerful and sportier "S" model was intriduced, and therefore the price went up.
 
How are they able to sell a luxury car with a 42 kWh battery (the Nissan Leaf only has 24 kWh battery) for under $50,000? I though larger batteries were rather expensive to build (especially lithium ion batteries).
 

So you sell an "electric" car with huge heavy wheels, a heavy audio system, and overcharge for customers who want a different paint over black/white? Sounds like a ripoff to me. Plus, I seriously doubt this thing will stand the durability test past 60,000-70,000 miles too if it is being built to that price point as shown for the model S. Even offering a small 40kWh battery with an "estimated range at 55mph" of 160 miles is suspect at best. I guarantee normal people driving it for the daily grind will barely get 75 miles out of a charge. And who drives 55 all the time anyway? Nobody. Put your foot into it and you'll likely be out in 50. What's this thing weigh? What's the drag co-efficient? That gaping mouth cannot be that slippery through the air. :lol:

And lastly, like all electric cars that use a plug to charge it instead of something more green are rubbish and hypocritical anyway. Why not use solar panel technology in the roof instead to charge the battery at least part of the time? The power that is used to charge the car with that plug is almost exclusively coming from a non-renewable fuel source. A hybrid+solar panel drivetrain would make more sense here with brake power generation and solar panel tech working in tandem.
 
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The power that is used to charge the car with that plug is almost exclusively coming from a non-renewable fuel source. A hybrid+solar panel drivetrain would make more sense here with brake power generation and solar panel tech working in tandem.

Speak for yourself, the vast majority of power up here comes from hydro with nuclear as a far second.
 
What's the drag co-efficient? That gaping mouth cannot be that slippery through the air. :lol:

Wow, you must be quite the aerodynamics expert if you can determine with one look what others need highly complex calculations and wind tunnel tests for. :thumbup:
 
Do you realize how inefficient solar panels are? I don't remember the exact specs (narf?) but they are not anywhere near powerful enough to charge a battery that runs a motor with that much output. Not in a normal sedan configuration, and not without covering the entire damn car in them.
 
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