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It seems that a lower priority was placed on the motor because it is lighter than the battery. (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090202/164959/)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Tesla_Roadster_BEV_with_Arnold_Schwarzenegger.jpgMotohiko Hamada - Tech-On! (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english) - Feb. 4, 2009

Is this criticism well founded? Who else actually has something like the Tesla on the market? -- Ed.

"This is not acceptable because the motor is positioned too high," I said thoughtfully, looking at the tail of the "Roadster," an electric vehicle manufactured by Tesla Motors Inc. It was exhibited at the 2009 North America International Motor Show (Detroit Motor Show).

Tesla Motors, funded by an IT tycoon, is a company at the center of many discussions. It sells high-priced, 100% electric sports cars to wealthy customers. And its vehicles are assembled using commercially available parts, just like the way PCs are assembled.

Also, the company is clever at holding down investment. For example, it uses a chassis manufactured by Lotus Cars Ltd, which is well-built but not widely used. So, Tesla Motors is one of the automakers that should be taken into account in forecasting the future of automobiles.

However, the exhibited chassis seemed to be imperfect from a hardware perspective. The vehicle gives the impression that… http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090202/164959/

OK, I see his point, but nobody is gonna buy a Tesla with the intent of entering it into some serious road-race, nor likely even the local Saturday slalom runs. This is a pretty face for sunny-day drives to the local mall (and even then, only when there are lots of parking spaces at the edges of the lot).

Trying to hold a Tesla to the same performance standards as a Porche Boxter is silly. The green-motive-power IS the reason why someone would buy a Tesla. I'm surprised someone hasn't offered a Mazda Miata with a mini-diesel or hybrid motor in it. That would appeal to the same crowd for half the price as a Tesla.

"Is this criticism well founded? Who else actually has something like the Tesla on the market? -- Ed"


I think this analysis was offered as constructive criticism and should be taken as such. However much we might want a project such as the Tesla to succeed, realistically, it will not succeed if it isn't done right.

The writer had a lot of "blab" about should-have-been and why.
But, did you notice that he only "thought" it wouldn't handle well. Looks like he wasn't able to take out and try it. I haven't been looking but have any of the motor sports mags taken one of these to a track and put it through it paces with 0-60, 0-100, 100-0, 60-0, and lateral Gs? Its possible it handles much better than this writer thinks.

This article points up the paradox of the concept of a "green" performance car. If one is accelerating and braking hard, driving at high speeds, and whizzing around corners, one wastes energy whether the source is electricity or gas. So is it to be a "performance" car or a "green" car that looks sporty?

As pointed out above, perhaps Tesla is producing a sporty-looking green car?

Other thoughts:
(1) How much does this Hamada know about electric car design? He's judging from accumulated knowledge from gas-powered cars? Performance electric cars is a relatively new field.
(2) The fact that electric motors have high torque at all rpms may affect the transient behavior of the car when accelerating out of a corner, so the design parameters may be different from the typical gas performance car?
(3) Tesla is working with an established chassis (Lotus Elise I think) rather than a blank sheet design so packaging may have entailed compromises?

STM Hamada needs to pose these questions to Tesla and see if the responses are helpful. It's easy to say that a design looks stupid if one ignores the reasoning and compromises behind it.

Prime example: the faceted shape of the F-117 Stealth plane looked "wrong" but was necessary because the computers of that area couldn't calculate the radar reflection signatures of curved surfaces. Rather than wait for advances in computer power, the plane was built with a compromise design.

A 200HP, 2L, aluminum block, aluminum DOHC head, with 6 speed transmission/differential weighs in just under 400 pounds.

The electric motor in the Telsa weighs in at 115 pounds. Last I knew they deleted the transmission and just have a simple differential.

Yeah, I think they get a little more flexibility in placement.

-mr. bill

The article nit picks. Hey it's the first go-round and it's not too bad! Show me a car that can't be improved and I'll show you a liar.

One of my racing experienced work co-horts approached Tesla to use this vehicle as an endurance road race vehicle. A tall order for an EV. To make it work would require a quick change battery pack. They finally heard back from Tesla, Tesla didn't want to play.

Too bad. A racing series or at least some well put together teams would help develop the car and give the brand cred. But maybe they thought they had enough cred already.

Hi All,

Paradigm shifts result in sometimes odd configurations. For example the tall highly fuel economic car (Prius) - why? Its because the battery has to fit behind the rear seat, and under the rear deck, and that means the seats have to be more vertical, and thus the car is taller.

Similarly with an electric-only vehicle. In a traditional car the engine is very heavy. So getting it lower is best. In the electric car the motors are 1/5 the weight of an equivalent accelleration performance engine (including the stuff tacked onto the engine). So, putting it higher is does not have the same impact as mounting an ICE higher.

But it might be a problem having a motor too low. Water ingestion into an engine does not occur until the car is significantly more enveloped. So, having the engine lower is not as much a problem as for an air-cooled electric motor. Batteries can be boxed in water tight compartments, and have coolant flow through. Motors with rotating parts can only be splash cooled, or air cooled.

Hi All,

Paradigm shifts result in sometimes odd configurations. For example the tall highly fuel economic car (Prius) - why? Its because the battery has to fit behind the rear seat, and under the rear deck, and that means the seats have to be more vertical, and thus the car is taller.

Another reason the car is taller is for aerodynamics. Toyota is using a technique developed by Reinhard Koenig-Fachsenfeld decades ago to minimize drag by shifting turbulence as far back along the top of the vehicle as possible, hence the high roof with gentle taper that suddenly cuts off near the tail end of the vehicle. (Honda's new Insight doesn't copy the Prius so much as it goes to the same, much older, source for its design.)