Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery from Tesla's Flagship Store grand opening

Tesla Motors has found enough time in between suing and getting sued by its suppliers to open its first dealership in Los Angeles, CA today. Located on the corner of Santa Monica and Sepulveda boulevards, the $2 million dealership sprawls 10,000 square feet and features poured concrete floors, an exposed ceiling of ductwork and beams, mirrors and potted plants. This is no Chipotle, however, as the first Tesla dealership will be staffed by salaried Tesla employees, not traditional salespeople who work on commission. Another dealership is in the works near Silicon Valley closer to the company's HQ, but we're not sure when that one will open.

Clearly modeled on the highly successful Apple Store experiment, the Tesla factory store is as much about educating the public and building brand awareness as it is about selling Tesla Roadsters. And that's a good thing, as there are no Tesla Roadsters to sell right now. The fledgling automaker has already sold 600 cars and has a waiting list 400 strong, but to date only four have been built. The first car went to Tesla Motors chairman and chief financier Elon Musk, while car #2 is earmarked for forced-out co-founder Martin Eberhard who has delayed delivery of his Tesla Roadster until its custom pain job is ready. Car #4 has been spotted at the Top Marques Monaco show with U2 frontman Bono behind the wheel, while car #3 should be on its way to an actual customer's garage.


[Source: AutoblogGreen, Photos by Vince Bucci/Getty]

If you plunked down six figures and expected to be motoring around in your emissions-free Tesla Roadster by now, chances are there might be a few ants in your pants. The all-EV Tesla Roadster has hit a few speed bumps on its road to production, and in order to address these concerns, the fledgling automaker held a town hall meeting in San Carlos yesterday that was available to anyone who made a deposit for a car via conference call.

The skinny is that Tesla is having a difficult time developing a transmission strong enough to "survive the process of shifting gears while the motor remains at full torque", according to our own Sam Abuelsamid who has been following the Roadster's development from Day 1 and has actually rode shotgun in it. Two suppliers are currently working simultaneously to find a solution. Meanwhile, the company has gone ahead and built the first production model at the Lotus factory in Hethel, England. The first car belongs to Elon Musk, Chairman of the company and one of its initial investors. His car is fitted, however, with a transmission that he knows will fail in a few thousand miles.

Tesla also revealed that it is considering shipping some preordered Roadsters to customers early with similar transmissions that will be temporary and later replaced with the stronger transmission once it's developed. For those really eager to own a Tesla Roadster, this might be an option, but would you want to drive around a car with a gearbox that was guaranteed to fail after a few thousand miles?

Also of note is that the Tesla Roadster's range estimate has fallen a bit again from a previously reported range of 245 miles to something in the 220- to 230-mile range. Still impressive, but let's hope it doesn't fall any further.

Click here to read more about the town hall meeting over at AutoblogGreen.

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

Gallery: Riding in the Tesla Roadster

Tesla Motors has been operating with an interim CEO since last August when its founder, Martin Eberhard, stepped down as head of the company. Today the start up that promises to herald in a new era of EV motoring (if it can stay on schedule) announced the appointment of a permanent replacement. Ze'ev Drori will now be at the helm of Tesla Motors as it tries to guide the Tesla Roadster through the production process. Drori has a history of turning around small companies, having founded a computer chip company called Monolithic Memories and later running Clifford Electronics, an automobile security system company, until it was bought by Allstate Insurance in 1999.

We've always wondered whether that's been the plan for Tesla Motors all along: get the all-electric Tesla Roadster to market, build the brand and sell the technology to the major automaker with the highest bid. Bringing on a guy like Drori lends some credibility to that hypothesis, though it's just as likely Tesla plans to remain independent as it builds an entire lineup of all-electric vehicles in the coming years.

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

Brother blog AutoblogGreen just relayed a tidbit about Tesla Motors new dealership strategy that's set to be the most significant change in the way we buy cars since Saturn arrived on the scene. Tesla Chairman Elon Musk posted a new entry on the company blog explaining the new Tesla Stores in detail. He describes them as a place that "combines the feel of an Apple store, a Starbucks, and a good restaurant." He goes on to say that he envisions Tesla ownership as a type of club membership that offers access to VIP lounges around the world, just like airline frequent flier programs. Sounds good to us, but where are the cars? Taking the restaurant analogy a step further, he wants technicians to be accessible, just like chefs at finer dining establishments with nothing to hide, welcoming the attention and the chance to share the process with their clients.

The theory grew out of frustrations with existing dealership practices. As previously reported, Tesla Stores will be company-owned, unlike typical franchise dealerships. They're also planning on bringing the service area right up front. Another dealer oddity is the fact that employees will also be shareholders. It's an interesting plan that typically gives workers more incentive to perform. You can read the rest of Elon's blog post by clicking here.

[Source: Tesla Motors via AutoblogGreen]

Reports came out yesterday that Tesla Motors had sold out its first batch of 100 Signature models, which retail at a price of between $80,000 and $120,000. It's not surprising to us that Martin Eberhard, Elon Musk and company succeeded in selling their first 100 cars. Musk, the company's chairman, told AutoblogGreen that after the car's introduction on July 19th, "We have 100 collector's edition cars for sale that require a $100,000 up front deposit for purchase and only a few units are left." So it took them a few weeks to unload the remaining that weren't sold at the unveiling, but as Engadget notes, Tesla Motors just raised $10 million in capital in less than a month. CNET reports that only a few cars have actually been built so far and there's no word from Tesla Motors on when the next wave of orders will be announced.

[Source: CNET via Engadget]

Related:
Tesla Roadster Unveiling in Santa Monica
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Tesla Roadster Unveiling
Exclusive Q & A with Elon Musk on the Tesla Roadster and the future of EVs

AutoblogGreen continues its excellent coverage of the Tesla Roadster unveiling from last week with an exclusive one-on-one chat with the chairman of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk. The discussion tells us much more than the press releases revealed, like how far Mr. Musk and Tesla Motors want to take this whole "electric vehicle" thing, why getting power from the grid is still cleaner than driving a Prius, and what happens with the battery pack at the end of its 100,000-mile life cycle.

Below are a few Elon Musk quotes we snatched straight from the Q&A. You'lll have to click over to AutoblogGreen to read them in context.

"...it would be really cool to do a DOT-approved GT version with a 0-60mph under 3 seconds. That would even beat my McLaren F1."

"If you travel less than 350 miles per week, you will therefore be 'energy positive' with respect to your personal transportation."

"I think we will one day see truck batteries with a 2000-mile transcontinental range."

"I think electric cars will be the primary, but not exclusive solution."

"The Tesla Lithium-Ion battery pack is actually non-toxic and landfill safe, although dumping it would be pointless, since it can be sold to recycling companies (unsubsidized) at the end of its 100,000-mile design life."

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

AutoblogGreen's intrepid editor, Sebastian Blanco, was a busy man last night at the unveiling of the Tesla Roadster in Santa Monica, CA. Check out our exclusive video (iPod format) of the unveiling that features interviews with Tesla Motors CEO Martin Eberhard and the company's chairman Elon Musk, as well as footage of the car in motion from both inside and outside the cockpit.