Tesla Motors Finally Turns a Profit

Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Guest

Guest
My roommate works for Tesla, and has been working around the clock all month to hit that record goal of 100+ cars. Congrats to him and all the other peeps at Tesla that are making non-fugly electric cars a reality!
 

Kaiser_25

Distinguished
Jul 9, 2009
90
0
18,580
GOOO TESLAAAAAA, i want one so bad ive been debating on buying a model S, but there goes my life savings. They are what a car company should be.
 

visa

Distinguished
Oct 6, 2006
44
0
18,580
Curious, though, how long is the battery life on these things? I would imagine if the battery dies after 5 years it'd kill whatever you saved on gas..
 
G

Guest

Guest
If I'd ever win one, or get one, I'd seriously consider selling it, and buying one or more Toyota's from the money.
It's far above my standard of living.
I couldn't afford one, and even if I had one, a small accident could destroy it, and make me broke to get it fixed.

Having 4 toyota's for that price seems much more sane to me.
 

Kaiser_25

Distinguished
Jul 9, 2009
90
0
18,580
[citation][nom]visa[/nom]Curious, though, how long is the battery life on these things? I would imagine if the battery dies after 5 years it'd kill whatever you saved on gas..[/citation]
Tesla is saying 7 year warranty on batteries, and expected life of 15+ years. This company rocks.
 

visa

Distinguished
Oct 6, 2006
44
0
18,580
[citation][nom]kaiser_25[/nom]Tesla is saying 7 year warranty on batteries, and expected life of 15+ years. This company rocks.[/citation]

I'd buy that fer a dollar!
 

Ho0d1um

Distinguished
Jan 9, 2009
13
0
18,560
[citation][nom]visa[/nom]Curious, though, how long is the battery life on these things? I would imagine if the battery dies after 5 years it'd kill whatever you saved on gas..[/citation]

This car is more about carbon emissions than money saved on gas. Its all about going 'green'. Granted I don't know how 'green' the battery is.
 

tayb

Distinguished
Jan 22, 2009
663
0
18,930
So does this "profit" include the $500 million loan that we, the tax payers, gave to Tesla? And is it really a loan if there is no expectation for a repayment? Sounds more like a gift. A tax payer gift.

Battery technology isn't ready. Sure 250 miles on a charge is pretty good and it will get you most places you need to go but what I'm referring to is battery longevity. Five years from now what is the miles per charge? 120? 150? Worse? What about resale value? What happens to the old batteries when they need to be replaced?

There are still a lot of questions about electric vehicles and I will maintain that we are still one or two orders of magnitude away from being able to fully realize what an electric car can and should be able to do. 250 miles on a battery that will be worthless in 10 years isn't a sound investment. I'm not waiting in line to buy one of these.
 

agentjon

Distinguished
Jul 30, 2009
39
0
18,580
[citation][nom]Rab1d-BDGR[/nom]"Twice as energy efficient as a Prius and faster than a Porcshe, the company claims the Roadster is the only highway-capable electric car offered in North America or Europe."Now that's the sort of "green" technology that I could get behind! :)[/citation]

Yeah, but you do know that your power coems from coal or nuclear fuels right?
 

Greg_77

Distinguished
Nov 11, 2008
103
0
18,630
It is not faster than a "Porsche". Porsches can go up to 200 mph. Even the Boxter goes 186 mph. I believe the Tesla goes 160 mph. I would still prefer it to a Porsche, but since I can afford neither, I guess thats a moot point. Actually, you said it is faster than a "Porcshe" so you may be right. Never heard of that car ;)
 

marokero

Distinguished
Feb 12, 2009
25
0
18,580
Congrats to Tesla! But first I would like to set up the infrastructure to generate solar power at home, and then get an electric car - that would be the perfect scenario for me. By then these cars will have much grater range, be even more efficient, and hopefully cheaper too.
 
G

Guest

Guest
if you ever saw this car being driven on "top gear" you know it has a long way to go before ever being practical
 

WheelsOfConfusion

Distinguished
Aug 18, 2008
341
0
18,930
[citation][nom]agentjon[/nom]Yeah, but you do know that your power coems from coal or nuclear fuels right?[/citation]
Getting electricity from those sources is more efficient than getting power from an onboard internal combustion engine, the fuel for which comes from pumping stations that themselves get fueled by tanker trucks. Then there's are also hydroelectric, a major contributor to our grid supply, and you can increase the amount of wind and solar power that feeds into the grid without having to re-engine the car or buy a new one. The "green" is already there, and has the potential to get greener without the car's owner doing anything else.
 

dfusco

Distinguished
Oct 29, 2008
75
0
18,580
Well it will once again be around 100 degrees here in the Dallas Metroplex. So what is the range of a Tesla vehicle when the AC is running flat out?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.