I just got back from flogging Tesla VP 11—short for validation prototype number 11—in a roped-off K-Mart parking lot in Bellevue. The nice Tesla folks made sure to emphasize that this is not a production vehicle, and that it has suffered quite a bit of abuse during its short lifetime—all in the name of testing, of course. In fact, one of the engineers drove it up here from the SF Bay Area last night. This is definitely no trailer queen!
The car is fast. That little electric motor delivers pure and instant power. I floored it from a dead stop several times, taking it quickly up to about 60 or 70 mph before nailing the brakes. What a blast. The traction control keeps things from getting unruly. And of course, it's really quiet. So it all feels very civilized. Handling was quite good (as much as I could test it around the parking lot) though you definitely feel the weight of the car (about 2,700 pounds vs. the Elises's 1,950 pounds). The low speed steering was pretty heavy without power assist, and this particular car was probably in need of a front-end alignment. Continue reading...
All in all I didn't find it terribly surprising. It basically drove like I expected it to. Which is to say, awesomely. And that singlespeed gearbox is pretty slick—you definitely feel very connected.
Tesla tells me the prior tranny issues are resolved and that the new and improved tranny (which was in this car) was going into production this week. They are also ramping up production from 4 to 10 cars per week. Tesla has delivered 35 cars so far. They are planning to build 600 cars for the 2008 model year, and 1,800 cars for the 2009 model year. Currently, the rollers are flown to SFO from England (which, obviously, isn't very green) but they will start using boats to ship the cars over starting with car #100.
Tesla is moving full speed ahead. They are building a new $250 million facility in San Jose so they can start production on an all-electric sedan, which should be priced around $60k. They have 289 employees with openings for 40 more—they're looking for engineers, sales and marketing folks, and service people. So if you want to work for Tesla, send 'em your resume!
I talked to a few folks there who has already plunked down very substantial deposits for a Tesla Roadster. They were all thrilled with it and couldn't wait to get theirs. Given the $109k price tag, I think I'm gonna wait a bit. Maybe I'll pick one up used on eBay in a few years.
Look for a video in a week or two—once our video editor gets done with all the footage I shot.
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