Tesla Inside

and does it come a cordless version?

77 = GG

$92,000??? Are they completely nuts???

Back in Black

do you think it's priced too low?

Went for a test drive in the prototype build... It starts indoors…

With no emissions and only the sound of a fan, the car can sneak up behind you. So I had to pitch the idea of downloadable “engine ring tones” coupled to the drive electronics and stereo. Their ice driving test video sounds like skiing…

(and, no, that is not a long extension cord running to the car ;-)

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Comments

sam_ says:

That car is so sweet. I saw it a few months ago in Wired.
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

richard winchell says:

Hot damn, that is one good looking car. Lotus did a great job of styling that thing.
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

onelungbreathin says:

i make it a point to never be jealous of anyone ... well u sir, have made me a tad green with envy ... something like the hulk .. lol .... that is an awesome awesome car ... i cant wait to see more pictures !!!!
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

Jef Poskanzer says:

I think all electric cars should make the Jetsons air-car sound.
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

Carleton! says:

"Engine Ring Tones" would be awesome!

I can see it now: "Hmmm...I feel like Mercedes E55 today...or maybe Shelby Cobra."
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

...or a Harley... or a Sikorsky... or a Saturn V... ;-)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

richard winchell says:

or Jack Black making car shifting noises.
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

Erik Charlton says:

Totally badass!
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³ says:

and "bigass" too... I thought of a bumblebee when I first saw it.

Bzzzz. =)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

mahyongg says:

well rather a superbee, from the acceleration :-D

go get one, all of you.
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

BenODen says:

Vera cool! Did it zoom? did it make the miles pass majestically?
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

jonrawlinson says:

incredible car

i want one now!

are you getting one jurvetson?
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

nhr says:

That car looks so interesting that I Googled around a bit, and I found this quote from this article:

"The Tesla Roadster costs a penny per mile to drive," said Tesla CEO Martin Eberhard.

Tesla Motors estimate the energy consumption of this car to be about 128W.h/mile — i.e. 460800 joules/mile — and the range to be about 250 miles.
My rough back-of-the-envelope calculation of the cost of the Lithium-ion batteries (type 18650, 3.7v 2000mAh available e.g. on eBay, or direct from manufacturers like Panasonic and Sanyo if you're an industrial client ordering large quantities ;-) needed to store that much energy is about US$ 40000.

If we assume that these Li-ion batteries (identical to the ones used in many laptop computers' battery packs) will last about 300 charge/discharge cycles, i.e. 75000 miles, that gives a cost of 53.3 pence per mile.

That's, er, about fifty times the cost figure quoted by Tesla Motors' CEO.
Hmm (^^;
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

BenODen says:

I don't know about expense, but there have been huge strides in durability and speed of recharge. 85% left after 15,000 full cycles (That even happens at 10C charge/discharge rates.) is pretty amazing and would probably be something you would buy for one care then plug into your next car if battery technology hadn't moved on. See peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Lithium_Ion_B atteries

With such extreme durability, it should be possible to get the real cost per mile down below ten cents per mile (not just energy costs, which I assume is the 1 cent per mile.)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

right, the penny is energy cost. We don't typically factor in car purchase costs when talking about the price of gas.

And the Tesla batteries are liquid cooled. The laptop usage cycle and temperature regime ruins the batteries over time.
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

BenODen says:

True about the car purchase costs and normal gasoline endowed cars, but if there are ongoing maintenance requirements that cost more than the car over the life of the car, buyers count the maintenance requirements into the cost of the car and that goes into purchase decisions. This particular car, being a sports car (At least in appearance), is less susceptible to such cost calculations, however.

I'm very glad to hear they've licked battery longevity issues though. Are they advertising battery life expectations for the car, yet?
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

Nik Cubrilovic says:

a real tesla would teleport, not drive :)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³ says:

@nik: heh, let me know when *those* real Tesla are manufactured. ;-)

@steve: if you were here in Buenos Aires now, I would be pulling your ear... like 40 times, asking you to make a wish while lighting up a candle on a big (cup)cake (me modest cooker, no good chef) ^_^.

And handing out a big huge package which says: "for Steve, Happy B...!"

But as you are there, and it is still feb 28, I can´t say anything yet, neither do the aforementioned.
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

nhr says:

Steve Jurvetson wrote:
> right, the penny is energy cost. We don't typically factor in car
> purchase costs when talking about the price of gas.

Gas is a hydrocarbon, which chemically reacts with oxygen in the engine to yield useful motive energy. The process also creates a waste product (carbon dioxide). As you drive your car, the quantity of available hydrocarbon in your tank decreases, and the amount of waste produced increases.

As a Li-Ion battery goes through charge and discharge cycles, irreversible chemical reactions in the electrolyte, the anode and the cathode progressively decrease the available quantity of lithium ions that can carry a charge — i.e. perform useful work, — and increase the quantity of waste (degraded chemicals) in the battery.

From a chemical point of view, gas and Li-ion processes (progressive transformation into waste of a substance that can yield useful energy) are thus quite similar.

The difference, of course, is the time period over which this transformation into waste occurs, and whether the associated cash cost should be expensed — i.e. factored into the per-mile cost — or capitalized — i.e. ultimately accounted for as a depreciation, separate from operating expenses.

Alan Greenspan proposed a few years ago that software development costs should be capitalized. A lot of industry practicioners, on the other hand, prefer instead to expense software development costs.
Both views are reasonable, and would essentially hinge on one's assessment of the time period over which the added value delivery, as well as the depreciation, take place.
As for Li-ion batteries, one's view might be skewed by the first-hand experience of the surprisingly and irritatingly short life of these battery packs in mobile phones and laptops, compared to the manufacturers' optimistic claims... (^^;
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

johnbr says:

As far as the ringtones - I had the idea for engine ringtones about 6 months ago, when I read an article about too-quiet hybrids causing pedestrian accidents. So we started brainstorming - why stop with other cars? Why not a Tie Fighter, or a train, or a galloping horse? At christmastime, you could give your Tesla a "sleigh" sound.

Or the jetsons car, as a previous commentor mentioned, or a Semi tractor, or a motorcycle.

Or it could be a song, or the sound of electrical humming, or a bear growling, or a fog horn.

The list is quite long, and a lot of fun when you think about it :)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

BenODen says:

I have to say, as far as happy/goofy ones, a duck engine ringtone, where it sounded like a duck sorta quacking or muttering along, sorta correlated to speed, would be fun to have.

(Edit: or a flock of ducks or geese!)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

hlovy says:

Hello, Steve,

Hope you don't mind, but I "stole" your picture for my blog to promote an article I wrote for the Michigan Business Review on ethanol vs. all-electric, and to tease to an upcoming Q&A interview I did with Martin Eberhard.

Don't know if you remember me, but at one time I was news editor for Small Times magazine and I always remembered what you told me about what makes a company VC-worthy -- and that is it needs a product that can be incorporated into existing products and processes.

The Tesla, it seems violates that rule. What Eberhard is doing seems more revolutionary.
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

Cobby17 says:

normally a photo is worth a thousand words... in this case, your photo launched a thousand words... neato!
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

erik_found says:

This is the best car, ever.
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

msc-ρңσtσđєѕіgη says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called i500 Automobile Photography, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Posted 32 months ago. ( permalink )

TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³ says:

An Argentinian Plane from the AAF (argentine air force) flew today with soya biofuel.. They say it smelled around as a kitchen, like a giant was frying potato chips
Posted 32 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

now that's a flying flier

hlovy: yes. Changing an industry is difficult, especially in the context of an oligopoly, with capital intensive operations, and ever growing minimum efficient scale. Electronics is a classic example (I think molecular electronics was the example we discussed at the time).

The auto industry would appear to be identical to electronics in these respects, and so startups have not been abundant. But we recently invested in two electric car companies (Tesla at the high end, and Reva in India for the mass market). We had to think about each of the constraints, and how smart entrepreneurs might work around them. It seemed that starting a whole new car company was actually an easier route than trying to introduce radical change as a component supplier.

In the auto case, the "hydrogen economy" requires more of a change to “existing products and processes” than an electric car with sufficient range to allow individual purchase decisions without having to wait for new infrastructure.

johnbr: great ideas. I have come across a number of people who have the same epiphany. A few years back, it was the first thought I had when riding in a fuel cell car. (comment link)
Posted 32 months ago. ( permalink )

melcir.meri says:

Nice shot! - If this leads the 2007 'SUSTAINABLE DRIVE!' line-up, there's garage space in "FIRST - THE EARTH!" Photo-ART Competition / EXHIBITION. -- So this is an invite! ** Closes APR. 17th ... Judging Day - EARTH DAY - APRIL 22.** Details re 'Invite only' Judging Group, on sneak-peak EXHIBITION site - www.flickr.com/people/melcir-selfportraits-20 06/ . - Mel
Posted 32 months ago. ( permalink )

'SomewhereinAK' says:

I think I'm in love.

This world-class image was found in Global Village 2
Commented with SIC
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

DanMan77 says:

This car is amazing!! I wish I could afford one.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

thingermejig says:

that’s a ride
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

aminorjourney says:

I would love permission to print this photo in our non-profit magazine published once every two months. It's called "Plugged In" and is the member magazine of the BVS, the UK equivalent of the EAA. Do you think we could use it for a Tesla article if we cite you as photographer and send you a copy? Please!?
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

certainly. You can send the copy to me at DFJ
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

karl.simpson says:

You drove this!? Man are you lucky.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

Donna62 says:

Thanks for sharing

A great image, much admired by Donna62 --,
a "FIRST - THE EARTH!" member - www.flickr.com/groups/first-the-earth/
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

cosmosjon says:

An incredible feat of engineering, the Tesla. But I'm not too sure about the whole 'driving in near-total silence' thing. A car that looks like that ought to GROWL.

So here's my solution. When I was about 9 years old, we would clothespin a baseball card to the front fork of our bicycles, so that the card would flap against the spokes. Seeing as how I was a bit of an experimenter, I calculated that if ONE card sounded cool, what would 25 cards sound like?

Well, it may have been a little harder to pedal (there was a lot of resistance against the spokes), but it sounded like a Harley on steroids! I was the envy of the neighborhood.

And there's your solution for the too-quiet Tesla! :-D
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

nj dodge says:

Very cool. Found in top-f25. I am enjoying following the discussion (and our 13 year old will enjoy the car...).
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

this just in... Motortrend took a similar test drive (March 08 issue):

"I'm almost grimacing as I release the brake and pound the accelerator to the floor. Whrrrrrrr... There's no wheelspin, axle tramp, shutter, jutter, smoke whiff, cowl shake, nothing. I'm being eerily teleported down the barrel of a rail gun, head pulled back by a hard, steady acceleration. Bizarre. And before too long, profoundly humbling to just about any rumbling Ferrari or Porsche"
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

the other Martin Taylor says:

I actually saw one in real life on the 101 heading to SF last week. Great to see it finally in the wild and the driver seemed to be having a lot of fun tearing through traffic - certainly couldn't keep up in my old car.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

ideastoday says:

"down the barrel of a rail gun". My kind of car!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

=)

P.S. if you want to see some cool insider Tesla photos, check out one sock's stream:

Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

ideastoday says:

Thanks for the heads up. I'll check it out.

I wonder what kind of cost reductions Elon envisions for this technology over the next ten years, either through economies of scale or technological improvements.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

jurvetson says:

P.S. Looks like the downloadable engine ringtone idea is catching on...

"Drivers of electric cars might in future even be able to select different engine sounds, and maybe download them like ringtones."
– Economist, May 7, 2009
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Tesla Inside

Comments

sam_ says:

richard winchell says:

onelungbreathin says:

Jef Poskanzer says:

Carleton! says:

jurvetson says:

richard winchell says:

Erik Charlton says:

TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³ says:

mahyongg says:

BenODen says:

jonrawlinson says:

nhr says:

BenODen says:

jurvetson says:

BenODen says:

Nik Cubrilovic says:

TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³ says:

nhr says:

johnbr says:

BenODen says:

hlovy says:

Cobby17 says:

erik_found says:

msc-ρңσtσđєѕіgη says:

TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³ says:

jurvetson says:

melcir.meri says:

'SomewhereinAK' says:

DanMan77 says:

thingermejig says:

aminorjourney says:

jurvetson says:

karl.simpson says:

Donna62 says:

cosmosjon says:

nj dodge says:

jurvetson says:

the other Martin Taylor says:

ideastoday says:

jurvetson says:

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