Is Tesla the next GM

Recently I had the opportunity to tour Tesla's final assembly and sales location and came away not only impressed but thinking, is this the next GM? Think about the emphass on electric cars. Will a generation or two from now say, "You mean to tell me that your car had flammable liquids stored in it and you had to replenish them every 1 or 2 weeks!?" There is going to be a generation that can't fathom a gasoline powered car any more than kids today never being without cell phones.

There will be a point where virtually every family will have a hybrid or electric vehicle in the garage and Tesla seems to be leading the way with a battery-only vehicle for the street.

My question was always, why a sports car? As it was explained to me, I realized what a clever idea it was. Make it a halo car that gets a lot of attention, limited availability and light enough that with the battery power available the performance compares decently with other cars in the same $100k price range. Granted it isn't a quarter-mile monster nor a road circuit track star, but it is quite quick in the more-or-less legal speed ranges. Also, being a niche two-seater means it isn't improperly perceived as the final break from our dependence on oil. Get the attention, establish credentials, raise funds, research, develop and then take what you've learned and earned to establish a mass-appeal, obtainable 4-door. Brilliant.

The motor is made in Taiwan. The chassis comes from Lotus in England where it is stretched and heavily modified to accommodate the battery pack. The body and paintwork is done by a company called in France. The battery pack which consists of over 4,000 lithium-ion cells, is made in San Carlos, CA. Final assembly occurs at the "dealership" in Menlo Park, CA.

Granted this can be an expensive build process but right now it is passed on to the buying public. This is a great example of global outsourcing to keep overhead low and use the best available sources for a final product.

Edit: Ah yes, Tesla is still ahead of the pack, selling hundreds of thousands of EVs globally, making their fans ecstatic and driving critics nuts. Great commuter cars. 

Tesla updates and changes for 2010: T1 vs. T2

Test driving the 2010 Roadster Sport was an eye opening experience. Keeping in mind the 2009 model year was skipped without a one-year break, the improvements are significant. Here are some changes from the 2008 (T1) to the 2010 (T2).

The interior has been upgraded and features a push button "drive" selector vs. a lever. The video display screen was moved to the central dash area. It gives various information such as estimated range, power regenerated, number of barrels of oil saved, etc.

Enhanced battery cooling is also part of more powerful and quicker cabin cooling (air conditioning) as well as heating and overall ventilation.

Toggling between performance and "max range" is done by turning the key, even with driving. Needless to say, during my test drive I kept in the Performance mode notated by a tiny "P" in the upper right corner of the display screen.

A variety of sound-deadening techniques were utilized to reduce noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). One of the interesting methods was the use of pellets in a chassis side rail that expand by 5,000 percent during the adhesive heat cycling to eliminate rattles. Adhesives are used throughout virtually all automobiles. If you strip the interior and sound deadening material, any car is going to have some interesting squeaks and rattles. Tesla is obviously striving for improvements for mainstream appeal rather than kit-car refinement.

The Roadster Sport 215 kilowatt motor produces 288hp and 295 ft lbs of torque and is most noticeable up to 5,100rpm. As you can see from this graph from Motorcyclist magazine , power will fall off at higher speeds. I predict one of the next major improvements will be a multi-speed transmission that not only will make for great acceleration, but potentially a longer range during highway usage. You may remember the first generation T1 had a two speed transmission put problems meant abandoning it for a single-speed fixed gear. You can see Tesla's technical specs here.

The options available seem to be areas of profit as opposed to some seeming to be package deals. Quite clever - the vast majority of buyers can afford it and I would guess they contribute significantly to the margin of revenue. Remember, low volume doesn't make for discount prices. The Executive Leather Interior is $,6000. Alternately the Premium Carbon Fiber and Leather Interior is $9,000. Keep in mind this is a two-seater. A body color hardtop is $3,200 or $5,000 for carbon fiber. Exterior carbon fiber treatment is $9,000. The most common question - how much is a replacement battery? It's $12,000. A replacement engine for a high-end car can be far more costly.

While it doesn't appeal to everyone, Tesla has established credibility, viability and continue to evolve their daily driver. Their initial product, a high performance car that never needs gasoline, a high price-point (including the options) for profitability is a proven platform for further development before going mainstream. Will the T3 feature a multi-speed transmission? Perhaps it will have artificial intelligence...

Check out my test drive of the 2010 Roadster Sport here.
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Tesla Roadster Sport driving impression

If you like your head getting snapped back with turbine-like smoothness while removing your dependency on fossil fuels, the new Tesla Roadster Sport is your sports car. This higher horsepower Sport version of the Tesla Roadster, new for 2010, is even quicker. Skipping the '09 model year, the 2010 Roadster model has multiple improvements vs. the first generation including the Sport model. I'll refer to the '08 and '10 as T1 and T2, pun intended.

The Roadster Sport is a $19,500 option over the standard $109,000 Roadster. Adding 40hp to a total of 288hp, the 2,690lb car is very quick. Tesla reports a 0-60mph time of 3.7 seconds which is entirely believable. Considering the power delivery from a dead stop and rear-biased weight distribution, owners can expect this with regularity as traction is excellent.

The "Very Orange" model I drove also had the $9,000 Clear Carbon Fiber Accent Group which made for a very sporty appearance. This paint would be perfectly at home on a Lamborghini. The carbon fiber on the rear spoiler, hood vent and roof cross piece were nice accents complimenting the black finished forged alloy wheels.

The drive selection lever from the T1 is has been replaced with lighted buttons; park, reverse, neutral, and drive. At low speed the first thing noticed is the silent and smooth drive-off, much like a golf-cart. Turning the steering wheel at low speed and you immediately notice the unassisted effort. A larger steering wheel would probably work if the extra leverage could be felt.

Eerily quiet at first, punch the accelerator (no longer the gas pedal!) the response is immediate. This is truly a point-and-shoot type of car. There is no build-up of acceleration, no downshifting, no lag, no hesitation, nothing. It's like always being in 1st gear. The 3.7 second 0-60mph is so easy and even turning off the traction control, I couldn't get the aggressive Yokohama A048s to break loose on dry pavement. Believe me, I tried. A brake torque doesn't do anything either.

Like the Lotus, the steering wheel wiggles over bumps but smooths out at speed unlike my impression of the Lotus. However, around triple digits it loosens up again. But this car isn't about high speed cruising. The motor whine is noticeable and a little loud but what I found more disturbing was the excessive wind noise around the A-pillars and removable soft-top. I'm told the hardtop reduces the noise noticeably.

Having seen a Tesla T1 crack off a 12.9 1/4 mile run, and multiple tests put the car in the high 12second range at 103-105mph, the T2 Sport is quicker but probably won't pick up any mph. I say this because acceleration noticeably falls off after 75mph due to the nature of the engine and powerband. An owner has ran a 12.643 ET, but at only 102.89mph. 

To put it in perspective, a Ford "Terminator" Cobra with bolt-on modifications and stock pulley caught up from a 2 car length deficit at low speed and streamrolled past me once it hit 3rd gear. This car rocks up to legal speeds though. To be honest, that is all anyone really needs on public roads.

The ride is very compliant and quite comfortable. The body roll is minimal and despite the weight distribution, this one was tuned to predictable understeer. The Sport model includes 10 level shock adjustments, 3 position anti-roll bars and a remote shock fluid reservoir. It has very high cornering limits, the non-Sport model recording .90 and .92 on the skidpad so despite nice seats, better side bolstering is needed.

Braking is quite good and I would be curious how the Sport model compares in an instrumented test with it's softer, more aggressive tires. The brake lights activate automatically because the car will decelerate at a rate to activate energy regeneration when off the throttle. Apply the brake pedal for a quicker stop or modulate the accelerator. Again, like driving a car that is permanently in a lower gear.

Getting in, despite a .5" narrower sill, cover, now carbon fiber, is still quite difficult for a 6-footer. Literally climbing out is hardly easier. A side-by-side comparison would be needed with the Lotus Elise, but I seem to remember it being a little easier. Remember, the Tesla has major structural revisions to cope with the battery weight. You can read my review of the Lotus Elise here, but keep in mind, it's based on a very small car. My left calf rested against a support structure on the left side and the lower center console on the right.

When my Pretty Navigator, who is used to large sedans, first saw the car she asked, "Where is the rest of it?" And then during the walk-around, "Oh Honey, it's so cute!". But that isn't so bad because when you really like your passenger, sitting shoulder and hands on thighs is kinda nice.

The view for the ventilation controls were partially obstructed by the dashboard ledge under the radio. One advantage though is the immediate response of the heater - you don't have to wait for engine coolant to warm up since an electric heater starts producing heat immediately.

Having driven about 60 miles with a lot of full-throttle bursts and 75mph cruising, despite the limitations of a very small car design with weight concessions such as soundproofing and wind noise, Tesla has done an admirable job modifying an existing platform and developing a powertrain that is undoubtedly functional, fun and reliable for everyday transportation. As of the writing of this article, Tesla Co-founder Elon Musk's '08 Roadster has over 13,000 miles on it.

Keeping mind no gas station fill-ups, no oil changes, no engine warm-up, minimal maintenance (no spark plugs, belts, air filter, pcv valve, etc. etc), electric vehicles are here to stay. This one is groundbreaking and may be the most fun EV for a long time.

Stay tuned for a future article on Tesla and the improvements made for the 2010 model year.

Instrumented tests with spec sheets: Car & Driver and Road & Track