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| Arnold Rides a Super-Electric Roadster |
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Fantasy supercars like Ferrari Enzo, Bugatti Veyron and Lamborghini Diablo are each high performance sports cars (with high price tags to match), but wait! -- There's a brand new arrival for the well-heeled driving enthusiast to consider; but it ain't nuthin' like the others! --The much anticipated Tesla Motors Roadster is 'an electric rocketship' full of exciting cutting-edge technological innovation, which even California's Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, had this to say following his first test ride in the Tesla Supercar: "AWESOME! I'll be back!"
Santa Monica Airport might seem like an unlikely venue to host the debut of a brand new electric roadster, but when a car can accelerate from zero to 60 in 4.2 seconds, an airplane runway is perfect for demonstrating the breath-snatching torque and remarkable acceleration of what I want to call, the 'rocket-ride' of the future - The Tesla Motors two-seater Roadster. The unveiling of the first of three planned lithium battery-powered Teslacars took place on July19,2006, and Village Energy was there to file New Energy News 'Earth Toys' Report: |
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Tesla Motors Opens First Showroom in Los Angeles
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| Tesla Motors Showroom |
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(Los Angeles May 1, 2008) - Tesla Motors opened its very first dealership close to the crawling 405 freeway and the congested corner of Santa Monica and Sepulveda boulevards. The Tesla factory store decidedly makes a potent statement to gridlocked Angelenos about electric cars and clean energy.
The company has 600 pre-paid orders for their electric two-seater roadster and a waiting list for 400 more, but only four production cars have been built so far. A development glitch with the Magna two-speed transmission forced a rapid redesign of a simplier one-speed transmission in collaboration with Ricardo UK Ltd.
For the next several months, until the new transmission is ready, Tesla Roadsters will be built on a slowed-down schedule by Lotus Cars Ltd. in England. Early-build cars will later have their transmissions replaced in a two-hour fix.
By December this year, Tesla hopes to have 300 cars built. At that time, serial production of 150 cars a month should begin, says Darryl Siry, Tesla vice president of sales, marketing and service.
Siry said, "Next year, Tesla hopes to build its $109,000 roadster in knockdown form in northern California, with the rolling chassis shipped from Lotus."
The steep cost of having its European manufacturing base in euros and pound sterling has made business awkward and difficult. Plus, because the hefty 1,000-pound battery pack is assembled in Northern California, the logistics of putting a manufacturing base there makes good practical sense.
The new Tesla store looks more like a cool ad agency or hip restaurant than a car dealership. Its industrial look features poured concrete floors, exposed beams and ductwork, mirrored front glass and planter boxes filled with horsetail stems. The service department is out in the open to allow customers to see what is going on with their cars.
Being a factory store, the employees work for Tesla. The sales staff is salaried, not commissioned.
Company founder and financier Elon Musk defended the concept of factory stores.
“The Apple Stores have worked out well. It’s a fantastic consumer experience,” Musk said. “We wanted a nontraditional automotive experience, and we have it.”
The next Tesla store will be in Menlo Park, California, near the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters. It should open by summer. Tesla is looking to add four stores in New York, Miami, Seattle and Chicago by the first quarter of 2009, Siry said.
After that, expansion will be based on market demand and creating service points. Other logical areas could include Washington, D.C., Durham, North Carolina and Boston.
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| Santa Monica Blvd |
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| Tesla Charge Socket |
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