Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors
Tesla officially announces plans to start European sales of the Roadster
After recent speculation that Tesla Motors would be launching European sales earlier than planned, VP Darryl Siry confirmed the news today. Apparently the combination of the declining dollar and a change in European homologation rules has prompted the change. The Roadster is assembled in England at the Lotus factory and virtually all major components are sourced outside the U.S. As a result, the Roadster wouldn't benefit from the lower cost of an American product that results from the weak dollar. However, since the company does business in dollars, selling the car to European customers at a Euro price would yield higher revenues for the company. The homologation rules change that takes effect in April 2009 means that the company can essentially get the Roadster certified once for sale throughout the EU. Shortly after that rule change and presumably after the first 1,000 or so cars that have been ordered already have been delivered, Tesla plans to start European deliveries with a special edition model similar to the first 100 units reserved here for those that paid the full price up front. The initial euro models will get tagged at €99,000 or about $155,000, a bit more than they cost here.
{Source: Tesla Motors]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GoodCheer 9:43AM (4/09/2008)
That price is the same as a Porsche 911 Turbo in the UK (http://www.porsche.com/uk/).
The 911 Turbo costs $126,000 here (http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/911/).
So I would say that if you think the Tesla is worth the money in the US, it's a better deal for Brits, and also presumably a windfall for Tesla, who will take in $50k MORE profit per sale, and save (I would guess a couple thousand) more on shipping.
Everybody wins!
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Dave 9:43AM (4/09/2008)
Not smart to start selling the Roadster in other countries before delivering to American customers who placed orders two years ago. I'd be pissed.
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kert 9:59AM (4/09/2008)
Ok, will they throw in an extra gear for the extra cash ?
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wmorin 10:26AM (4/09/2008)
Bring it to Canada :) I'll trial the car to see how it holds up in Canadian Winters. This is a guaranteed test to ensure the robustness of the car. California, UK .. pfft too easy.. Try Canada thats a real test.
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BlackbirdHighway 10:32AM (4/09/2008)
By April 2009 they should be caught up on the US backlog for the 2008 model year. They would be fools to ignore Europeans who want to throw money at them.
Plus, more money coming in should help them get the Whitestar out that much sooner. Meanwhile, Europeans get to enjoy a fine ride, create less pollution, and avoid those congestion charges. It's all good. Special bonus for French drivers, since their electricity generation produces about 1/8th the CO2 of US generators.
As far as being more expensive in Europe, we don't know if that price includes VAT, and according to the Tesla website, the US pricing for the 2009 model year is TBD. So it might be more expensive, or maybe not.
I'll bet that the Euro price DOES include VAT, and the 2009 US price for the 2009 model is $125,000. That would still mean a premium for Euro buyers, but not such an extreme one. But that is pure speculation on my part; I have no information to back that up.
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BlackbirdHighway 10:39AM (4/09/2008)
@4, they already drove it on a frozen lake in Arvidsjaur, Sweden, near the Arctic Circle, so Canada shouldn't be a problem.
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog4/?p=55
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Tonik 11:23AM (4/09/2008)
"The limited edition 2009 car is priced at 99,000 Euro excluding VAT - ed."
"Since tax and registration varies by country we are quoting a price excluding VAT and other taxes -ed. " (http://www.teslamotors.com/blog3/)
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Kardax 11:31AM (4/09/2008)
From what I know about the EU's tax structure, the Tesla Roadster might have a higher base price than other sports cars, but tax benefits would make up the difference.
Even if it's still more expensive, selling 250 of them should be easy. There are lots of rich people over there :)
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BlackbirdHighway 11:46AM (4/09/2008)
So much for my wild speculation on the VAT, that was way off. Want to hear my stock picks? No?
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steven 2:14PM (4/09/2008)
When are they going to officially announce they've delivered a car to a real customer?
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texmln 7:48PM (4/09/2008)
More BS hype from the company that can't yet deliver a working car to anyone not affiliated with the company.
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My'09C63 GT-R 9:06PM (4/10/2008)
@11, WRONG. My brother's friend doesn't work for them and recieved his, he works for Anheuser-Busch. Last time I checked, they weren't affiliated in any way with Tesla.
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My '09 C63 will pwn the GT-R 9:10PM (4/10/2008)
Any word on what the Whitestar will be?
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Kevin Nugent 5:57PM (4/11/2008)
Well good luck to tesla. Their 1000 a year goal i think is a little far fetched more like 800 . But 800 times 136 dollars is well over 70 million dollars ! That is not bad for a first years profit!
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Thomas 8:37PM (4/16/2008)
Dont you think its unfortunate, that only people who can afford electric vehicles with decent range and performance,could give a damn about the cost of gasoline.If you can buy a $155,000 dollar car,whats $5.00 a gallon to you?
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