Archives

A third-party company "will make available" an all-electric car based on Tesla's technology that will be "comfortably below $30,000." (http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/tesla-coughs-up-sedan-price-details-on-economy-car-5344.html)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Tesla_logo.JPGMichael Kanellos - Greentech Media (http://www.greentechmedia.com) - Dec 9, 2008

The Model S is about $25K too expensive, but a definite step in the right direction!! -- Ed.

For $49,999, you and your family can drive an all-electric sedan off the lot, says Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk.
Advertisement

Musk, speaking at the Tesla dealership in Menlo Park, California, said that the price of the Model S, the five-seater, four-door all-electric passenger car, will be $57,499. The government, however, will give $7,500 in tax credits to people who buy low-emission electric cars. That makes the price $49,999.

The revealed price is slightly lower than earlier projections, even without the tax credit, that the car would cost around $60,000. The price figure, however, must be qualified. The Model S has been delayed a few times already and is now slated to come out in 2011. Tax credits could be withdrawn, but in some jurisdictions, such as Japan, they could even be larger. Still, it's a more granular price than the company has offered before. It's also a positive bit of news for a company that has faced delays, management turmoil and financing problems in the last few months.

If you take into account the $10,000 to $15,000 you might spend on gas with a conventional car, the Model S drops to $34,000 to $39,000, he said. That's around the price of a mid-range Lexus.

Tesla, he added, will have a drivable "mule" for the car by the end of the year and a working prototype by the end of February 2009. The mule will have the same drivetrain as the prototype but the styling will be different. The prototype will essentially resemble the final commercial version of the car. Tesla may unveil the prototype in February, he added. Some exterior and interior styling points are… http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/tesla-coughs-up-sedan-price-details-on-economy-car-5344.html

I like the idea of the tax credit but AMT makes the likelyhood of someone both qualifying for the credit and qualifying for the financing slim to none. Since my wife and I both have small businesses, and are agressive with tax deductions, we couldn't get any of the 5k in hybrid tax credits that we hoped for in 2007. I'll get behind the idea when it becomes a "Rebate" instead of a Tax Credit. That is unless they took AMT off the books in the last few months that I'm not aware of.

11011011

Now this is the kind of car that I could use. I need to seat at least 4 passengers. The price is also going in the right direction and if the Volt costs $47,000 - $49,999.99 then I might be inclined to go with the all electric Volt assuming it gets out of concept stage and eventually becomes a real car.

Though this is not an apples to apples comparison I like the greater all electric range on the Tesla Sedan. That said GM will beat Tesla to the market with the Volt assuming GM survives in some form to actually make the car.

This is the kind of company I feel we should invest our hard earned tax dollars in. The government might also fund WPA type jobs for Tesla, or any company working on a way out of this mess. Companies working on batteries should be helped. Companies with PHEV's in the works should be subsidized so as to get them to the car buying public ASAP, RUSH, RUSH.

And of course the government offer to Mr John Q. American and his family is the ultimate prod to get us "on the wagon" and off oil. The first company to come up with a good reasonably priced PHEV should be subsidized so that virtually anyone working in this country could afford one.

I do not think most in this country realize just how critical it is for America to get off of our foreign oil dependency. I rate it far, far ahead of ANYTHING else.

Nothing is more important.

Nothing.

AMT is alive and well. Obama has indicated he would repeal it, I think, albeit at the expense of raising the top rate. So, Dan is correct: no way large numbers of people can both afford the car and qualify for a significant usable credit.

THat sounds like great plans that TESLA is putting forward! Seems like they might be able to show GM where to put it. They have their head in the right direction. I believe they got off to a decent start especially for the state of the economy. All electric by 2011? I'm all for it!

Hi All,

But will it have a CNG, or Propane heater for the batteries and pasenger compartment? I think that is needed to make it winter ready ?

Hi All,

But will it have a CNG, or Propane heater for the batteries and pasenger compartment? I think that is needed to make it winter ready ?

I am quite sure they'll have a car that can face winter conditions..otherwise it wouldnt be marketable to any extent. It just snowed in parts of texas...