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Tesla moves forward with Whitestar sedan, opens new R&D center in Michigan
Tesla, the company behind the amazing Tesla Roadster capable of going 250 miles on a single charge and hitting 60 mph in around 4 seconds, seems to be progressing cautiously with plans for its next model, an all-EV sedan codenamed Whitestar. The fledgling automaker is apparently planning for the long-term and has already opened the doors on a new engineering center in Rochester Hills, MI. Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm has also lobbied Tesla hard to locate its future production facility in the Wolverine state.
Read more after the jump.
Also check out this great post on AutoblogGreen where the Tesla Roadster meets the Chevy Volt for the first time.
[Source: AutoblogGreen, The Detroit Free Press via Winding Road]
The Car Connection had reported last week that the dozen or so engineers at Tesla's new engineering center were working on a sedan crossover vehicle, which would be contrary to prior reports that Whitestar would simply be a sedan. Sebastian Blanco of AutoblogGreen got to the heart of the matter by picking up the phone and ringing our friends at Tesla, who denied TCC's report and confirmed again that its next vehicle will be a 4-door, 5-passenger sedan. A crossover wouldn't be that far-fetched, especially considering Lotus' involvement in the design and production of the Roadster and the fact that last year it debuted the Lotus APX crossover concept that utilizes aluminum extensively throughout its structure to keep weight down.
Tesla's engineers in Michigan will be working feverishly, however, to get Whitestar ready, as the company has announced it plans to debut the car in three years. That sort of time frame is hard enough for major automakers to work within, let alone a startup that's got only one model costing over $90,000 on back order. Nevertheless, the Tesla Roadster has so far lived up to the hype that grew before its unveiling, so we have faith the sedan will deliver the goods, as well.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Car videos 4:00PM (1/15/2007)
I belive this is one of the only electric car that is not embarrassing to drive.
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Jimborino 5:48PM (1/15/2007)
I hope Tesla and Phoenix will become mainstream carmakers sooner than Chinese can enter US market.
Also, one needs to ask why is there a need for Tesla? Why would anyone buy their cars.........well the answer is when mainstream carmakers are as out of touch with people as GM and Ford are..that's why.
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shiznannigan 12:22AM (1/16/2007)
"Out of touch with people"?
Tesla builds a two-seat, $100,000 roadster. While it seems to be a wonderful car for the enthusiast, it certainly isn't for everyone. And somebody certainly has to build mainstream cars for people with a realistic budget. This is what mainstream automakers do, regaurdless of where they're made. How is that out of touch?
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JIm 10:19AM (1/16/2007)
I admit to not having read in depth on EVs, but from that superficial vantage point something doesn't seem right. GM, Chrysler, and some Japanese makers combine their efforts to obtain a better battery. One that can give more than 40-60 miles per charge. Existing EVs have an acceptable 0-60 time, but are clearly limited in order to preserve battery life.
Now enter Tesla and blows everyone away. Not just a little but a quantum leap. 250 miles, 4 sec 0-60. It certainly got my attention. I understand light weight (it ain't THAT light), high torque at 0 RPM for electric motors, but what am I missing?
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JP 12:56PM (1/16/2007)
#4, I think the missing element here is crash safety. The Tesla roadster has not, and will not be proven to be as safe as most cars on the road. Same for the sedan if they intend to be on the market in less than 3 years.
The main reason major car companies take at least 3 years to create a brand new vehicle architecture is all the design, analysis, prototype builds and crash tests required to prove the design will not only meet the minimum federal regulations, but will actually help someone survive a crash and not appear on Dateline with a bad test result from the IIHS.
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GOT 2:59AM (1/17/2007)
So why can't all the fabulous auto manufactures in the USA with their limitless resources, power, skill and talent build something like the Tesla? I figure they could, but are like Jimborino says, they are out of touch with the people. They have become our customer (it's a dangerous situation when the service provider becomes the service receiver). Salesmanship & marketing have replaced stewardship & responsibility.
I buy the current crap on the market because I have to, not because I want to. I wish there were something on a dealer lot to be desired.
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shiznannigan 5:29AM (1/17/2007)
Once again, GOT, they probably could build something like the Tesla... but it simply isn't their game. They're mainstream car companies, spending all sorts of R&D money to develop a $100,000 roadster simply doesn't make sense.
As far as your statement "buy the current crap on the market because I have to"... No, you don't have to. You can go get a Tesla somewhere I'm sure, or a comparable gas-engine roadster. But it's going to cost a lot of money (And given your non-existent grasp of capitolism, I doubt you have enough).
Mainstream cars don't look/drive like the Tesla, because the mainstream car buyer doesn't have $100,000 to spend on a 2-seater.
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Brian 9:39AM (1/18/2007)
#5 wrote "I think the missing element here is crash safety."
Sorry, that is simply not the case. Tesla is investing in the standard safety test, including crashing several $100,000 prototypes, to ensure a safe ride. Please refer to the Tesla blog "Good Vibrations" http://www.teslamotors.com/blog1/?p=42 for more information.
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Andy 3:52AM (1/27/2007)
Why "can't" big automakers pull this off?
Answering with a question: Why would they want to spend money making a product that would contribute to the collapse of their existing life line of revenue from traditional ICE-mobiles? (See "The Innovators Dilemma")
They don't pull it off because they don't *have* to pull it off. If they don't give us an electric, we just continue buying their ICE cars and big trucks.
Tesla has to produce to survive. It doesn't have billions at its disposal. With that kind of focus, a little startup company can accomplish a surprising amount in a hurry.
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