
Tesla’s Musk Says Model S Sold Out; Should Turn Profit in 2013 - bane
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-28/tesla-s-musk-says-model-s-sold-out-should-turn-profit-in-2013.html
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pork
For those who doubted Tesla's ability to turn a profit, this is my anecdote. I
used to be one of you. Selling an absurdly priced boutique sports car that can
only run 250 miles did not seem like a viable business strategy. The battery
packs had their issues. The range was terrible. The car was tiny and cramped,
even smaller than some small sports cars.

And then I chanced upon a LivingSocial deal that let me drive a Roadster S for
a day. For the record, I've driven a handful of supercars and more than my
share of regular sports cars. I have almost _never_ felt what I did in the
Tesla (with the exception of the Gallardo), mainly because of the instant
thrust available at any RPM. It was not like anything I ever felt before. As I
drove, I felt inexplicably that this was the car of the future -- as a tech
aficionado, I was finally driving a car that _felt_ like the future. The lack
of an engine roar was strangely soothing (and I LOVE engine roars!). The
pickup meant that I could smoke most Maseratis on the 0-60. The thrill of
pressing down on the accelerator and feeling the thrust in your chest was
unparalleled (again, with the exception of the Gallardo). As I drove past
clubs in San Francisco with their Porsches and Bentleys outside, I felt above
it all in my tiny all-electric sports car. _They_ were stupid flash-mongers;
_I_ was one with my machine. There is something pure and beautiful about
driving a Tesla Roadster, well beyond the gas-free aspect. This was the
thoroughly impractical car that my inner child always wanted from the future.

It thrilled me to drive that car in a way that I cannot fully describe. I am
an eminently rational man. I have children, and am not prone to being wild and
reckless. But now, as a result of driving that beautiful machine, as soon as
my GOOG stocks vest, I will be driving down to Menlo Park, CA with my
checkbook in hand to drive out with a Roadster.

That, dear friends, is how Tesla will turn a profit, in the face of ridiculous
product shortcomings like range. They enchant, and they delight, and because
of that I will gladly open my pocketbook for Elon Musk.

~~~
Arjuna
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I am also a car enthusiast.

Have you driven an Ariel Atom [1]? Granted, it is less practical than the
Tesla Roadster; however, the cost is considerably less, and you could easily
afford a secondary car to supplement it.

 _"This is driving nirvana. You can forget anything you've ever driven.
Anything. There is no car, nothing on four wheels, that's as fast as this.
Nothing."_ [2]

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Atom>

[2] <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v4YNkurhLk>

~~~
bane
The Atom has long been on my list of a car to buy once I have more than enough
truly disposable income (and an OK from the wife).

~~~
hugh3
Thankyou for a well-timed reminder that I really should buy a sports car
_before_ I get married.

~~~
lanstein
Or, the longer you wait to get married, the more you get to do. Just saying.

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steve8918
I really hope that Tesla can actually become a profitable company, because
it's time we had some real innovation in terms of car technology. I'm not a
car buff or an environmental buff, but having a real zero-emissions car that
will help get rid of our dependence on oil just makes sense.

However, can any experts educate me on the status of the Li-ion battery? My
understanding is that Li-ion batteries lose 30% of their capacity over 2-3
years. So what does that mean for the range of the Tesla cars? My Honda Accord
lasted 11 years and 200k miles, it doesn't sound like Teslas have nearly the
same durability and range. Is this a ticking time bomb, or is there a solution
to this?

~~~
jroll
Lithium ion batteries can last well over 100,000 miles while still retaining
75% or more of their original capacity. See: Chevy Volt.

I'm anxious to see if Tesla can compete in this regard.

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rsuttongee
6500 sales is actually pretty significant. By way of comparison the Nissan
Leaf (which is much cheaper) has only sold 7217 cars in North America since
launching in Dec 2010.

To be fair though, Nissan originally had 17,000 pre-orders but had trouble
filling them due to production issues. It remains to be seen if Tesla can
actually deliver their first run, but let's hope that Tesla is able to get
some magic done in that NUMMI plant.

~~~
hop
Saw a leaf for the fist time up close yesterday. Damn it's ugly. They could
really murder sales with a Deiter Rams/Johnny Ive aesthetic design instead of
this fake space age plastic crap they cover the car with.

~~~
vinhboy
I can never understand why car companies put out such ugly cars. Is there such
a huge price difference between making a decent looking car and an ugly car
that they have sacrifice design? Or does someone at nissan actually thinks it
looks "space age".

~~~
malloreon
I don't have the research on hand, but it's generally accepted that the reason
the Prius was so successful as a hybrid was because it LOOKED very different
than other hybrids, so people who bought one could conspicuously show off that
they were hybrid drivers before it was cool.

Models like the Honda Hybrid Accord and Civic didn't do nearly as well because
aside from the badge and carpool sticker, they didn't scream "I'M A HYBRID
LOOK AT ME SAVING THE WORLD"

My hunch is that the Leaf was an attempt to capture some of that "conspicuous
hybridization" momentum. Agreed, though, it's an ugly car.

~~~
Roboprog
The Prius is shaped like an upside down boat hull. It's a shape that offers
little drag through a fluid.

I find the Prius OK, not beautiful, but not ugly either. Don't have one yet,
but would likely consider one as a practical replacement vehicle.

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richiezc
Are they really "sold out"? An employee told me they pre-sold 6,600ish, but i
believe this includes people who reserved the cars with a $5K deposit, those
who prepaid the entire amount, and those who out down a $40K deposit for the
signature model.

Personally my allocation number is the 4,XXX range, I put down the $5k deposit
and have yet to truly decide if I'm going to buy it, but I suppose it also
presents and opportunity to flip the spot to the guy who has to have it now. I
went to he factory event a few weeks back and it was a pretty wide
demographic.

~~~
icefox
Are you allowed to sell your spot?

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tikhonj
I visited the Tesla store recently, and I can definitely see why it's sold out
--the car is gorgeous, it has a 17" touchscreen in place of the dash and, in
some ways, it's actually more practical than a comparable normal sedan (it has
storage space in the front and the back, for example).

Especially for people who do not drive long distances too often, this really
is a great car to have. I would definitely see getting one of these over a 5
series or the like; for daily use, you wouldn't be sacrificing quality by
going electric.

~~~
colanderman
_17" touchscreen in place of the dash_

In all honesty that's an idiotic trend that I hope ends soon. Touchscreens
(especially ones with menus) are impossible to navigate without taking your
eyes off the road. In my old Toyota Echo I could find _every_ control (and its
state) by feel alone.

Now, if they added tactile feedback to the touchscreen (say vibrations as you
moved over controls on the screen, and requiring force to "click") and got rid
of menus, at least that'd be usable (if not still silly).

...That said I'd still buy the car if I had that kind of disposable income.

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robterrell
Damn, the carrot I was dangling over my head for a breakout success over the
next 12 months has been a model S. Now I need a new carrot. The Leaf's not all
that carroty.

~~~
InclinedPlane
<http://www.ussubmarines.com/submarines/phoenix_1000.php3>

(Ok, that might be a BIT more pricey, how about this?)

<http://www.brammo.com/enertia/>

~~~
robterrell
The Enertia is out -- when getting married, to close the deal, I had to agree
to never get another motorcycle. But she didn't think to rule out submarines!

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HankMcCoy
Wow, I'm really excited! But it still looks like a "car" :)

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vaksel
selling out the inventory is not that hard when the volume is this low + the
price is pretty low to make it affordable to a lot more people than the
roadster

~~~
jbooth
Building the car and selling it at a low price point without making a loss is
pretty hard.

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suking
Should turn-profit translated to non-Wallstreet speak = Will not make a profit
because something unforeseen will happen.

