Over at the Tesla Motors blog, future Roadster owner Ken Jacobs has written a guest post about his recent visit to England. While he and his wife were in the UK, they hopped over to Hethel, the home of Lotus and primary assembly site of the Roadster. They were given a tour of the factory and the assembly line where Lotus employees take the thousands of bits and pieces that comprise a Roadster and bolt them together. The regular Elise assembly line has been modified to simultaneously accommodate both the Roadster and the Elise. At the moment, Roadsters are still only being started at the rate of around 4 cars per week, although that should increase rapidly later in August as Tesla prepares to switch over to the updated drivetrain. Lotus assembles "gliders" whose motor and battery get installed once the rolling chassis arrives in California. Tesla is ships the cars by boat from England, a trip that takes several weeks.

[Source: Tesla]

Over at the old gray lady, Joe Nocera has cast a jaundiced eye upon the phenomenon that is Tesla Motors and comes away with the conclusion that the Chevy Volt will come away as the winner. In fact Nocera seems very skeptical that pure battery electric cars will be a viable mainstream prospect anytime soon. Certainly based solely on the example of Tesla, it does not seem likely that a start-up will succeed in producing an EV for the masses profitably anytime soon. As I've said here many times building an affordable mass market car is actually a lot harder than building a high-dollar sports car, and Tesla has clearly shown that even that is no easy feat. Tesla hopes to build the Model S sedan in about two years at a cost starting at $60,000. The model S is unlikely to match the nominal range of the Roadster at the base price, especially when you consider that it will be a much larger heavier car made of aluminum rather than carbon fiber (over an aluminum structure). Even the Roadster only achieves a little more than half its nominal range of 227 miles when driven hard. Contrary to Elon Musk who thinks hybrids and ER-EVs are a red herring, Nocera feels that the Volt is a far more viable candidate for success.

What Nocera doesn't touch on is the small Japanese EVs that are coming from the likes of Mitsubishi, Subaru and Nissan. Mitsubishi in particular seems extremely confident about the iMiEV. Only time will tell.

[Source: New York Times]

click the photo of Eberhard and his car for a high res gallery

We are now happy to officially confirm what yesterday seemed a likely fait accompli. Martin Eberhard, co-founder of Tesla Motors, has now happily received his very own "Founders' Series" Tesla Roadster. The car,shiny gray with double orange stripes and a matching interior, was silently delivered by Tesla employees early on Saturday morning to Eberhard's solar panel-equipped home. After signing off on all the paperwork and getting the official walk-through of the Roadsters special features, Martin and his wife, Carolyn, were left holding the keys as the rising sun highlighted the orange accents of the beckoning electric sports car. Time to go for a ride!

The trio spent the morning together traveling the very roads for which the Tesla was designed. We suspect Martin's grin only grew wider every time a slower-moving vehicle appeared in his cars sights, giving him yet another opportunity to experience the "never-ending torque" the Roadster delivers while overtaking. You can read all about Martin's first day with his roadster at his blog, Tesla Founders Blog. Bookmark it, as he promises to update that space frequently now with more photos and Roadster observations.


[Source: Tesla Founders Blog via Tesla Motors Club]

Well, after at least one false alarm last week, it now appears that Martin's Roadster has been repaired. Of course, it is still impossible to say for sure, at least until we get an official update from either Tesla Motors or Martin himself, but a picture of what certainly appears to be Martin's distinctive Roadster was supposedly taken just yesterday, Friday July 18, and uploaded directly from the iPhone it was taken on to Flickr by user marliemars. The car appears to be damage free, though only a single side-profile is available. In any case, it appears as if the ongoing saga of the protracted delivery of the second Tesla Roadster ever produced may soon come to an end. Martin, we're sure you'll love your new car. We are, of course, waiting anxiously to hear if you've gotten a delivery date yet, and even more so to hear about your first drive. Thanks for the tip, Joseph!


[Source: Tesla Motors Club Forum]

Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria recently got some face-to-face time with Elon Musk, who, as you surely know by now, is one of the "product architects" at Tesla Motors. There were plenty of interesting quotes to come from the interview, but a few truly stood out from the rest. For instance, Musk slams plug-in hybrids pretty mercilessly while also claiming that the "a majority of all new cars produced in the United States, perhaps worldwide, will be electric. And I don't mean hybrid. I mean pure electric," within just thirty years. What's more, Musk adds that one of his other start-up companies, SolarCity, has the solution to what he refers to as the "'long tailpipe' criticism," where EV opponents point to the fact that much of the electricity in the U.S. comes from dirty sources such as coal. A small solar-panel setup of about 10 by 15 feet [is enough] to generate 200 to 400 miles a week of electricity for your car," according to Musk. We can get behind the idea of charging our own electric cars for the week with our own solar array mounted atop the roof our our garage. Maybe in thirty years that won't sound so far-fetched.

[Source: Newsweek]

The round of firings at Tesla Motors that followed the departure of co-founder Martin Eberhard late in 2007 has resulted in yet another lawsuit for the company. This time litigation comes in the form of a class action suit from former employee David Vespremi for breach of contract, libel and slander. During his time with Tesla Vespremi held a number of positions including public relations director. The suit alleges that Tesla violated California labor laws, dealt with him and other employees in bad faith and made disparaging comments about him and other former employees. CEO Ze'ev Drori and Marketing VP Darry Siry about named in suit along with the company. The full filing with San Mateo Superior Court is available on line. Both Siry and Vespremi declined comment when contacted by ABG.

UPDATE: The class action component only refers to the arbitration and solicitation clauses in the employment agreement. The rest of Vespremi's suit only covers his own case.

[Source: San Mateo Court]

Over on the Tesla blog, company CEO Ze'ev Drori has posted another production update for all you fans of the Roadster. Some time back, Tesla made the decision that the Roadsters would be shipped from the Lotus factory in England as gliders -- complete cars without a drivetrain. The first couple of production units had their battery packs and motors installed in the workshop at the company's San Carlos headquarters. As work has proceeded on preparing the second Tesla store in Menlo Park for opening, the final drivetrain installation work has been shifted to the dealership service bays. According to Drori, nine production Roadsters have now been shipped to California, with at least three of those having been delivered. In total, 27 cars are now in various stages of assembly. The upgraded motors, electronics and transmissions that comprise drivetrain 1.5 are scheduled to be installed in cars for delivery beginning in September. After that, the company hopes to ramp up production to the rate of 100 cars per month by the end of the year. At that rate, they'll probably need a bigger workspace than the Menlo Park shop to finish drivetrain installations.

[Source: Tesla]

Click above for more shots of this orange Tesla Roadster

Thanks to a tipster named Eric, we have some pictures of an orange Tesla Roadster which was spotted in the parking lot of a place called the 99 Ranch in Richmond, California. Considering that just a handful of Roadsters have actually been delivered to customers so far, we're thinking that this is almost certainly the same Validation Prototype that was seen being driven by Elon Musk in the Fox News clip we posted here. We are unsure who was driving this particular car, but whenever a Tesla is spotted out and about, at least until they become more common sights on our nation's roadways, expect somebody to recognize what it is and snap off a few pics. After all, you never know who may be behind the wheel. The spotter seems to think that the interior of the car is a bit spartan and too plasticy, though this is likely a preproduction car, so take that with a grain of salt. Thanks for the tip, Eric!


[Source: Nipple Dial]

In case you haven't been paying close attention, things at Tesla Motors have been in a bit of an upheaval of sorts as of late. We've been following the story of the Silicon Valley startup since its inception and have seen the roller coaster ride make its various ups and downs along the way. From the first set of specifications and images of the electric Roadster though the initial round of funding provided by Elon Musk and the subsequent removal of Martin Eberhard, a company founder who has still not gotten his own Roadster, there has been a sense that Tesla may have gotten in a bit over its head, a bit too soon. Now that vehicles are (very slowly) rolling out the doors, it's a good time to sit back and reflect on what it took to get the Roadster to this point, and that is exactly what Fortune magazine has done. Click here for their entire article.

A few juicy details were mentioned in the article, especially related to the upcoming Model S. As you may be aware, the new mid-size sedan is now expected to be built in California, but the most interesting tidbit from the article is that the new model may in fact be a hatchback. Score one for practicality, and consider us even more interested in seeing the new model in the flesh.

[Source: Fortune]

Until a couple of months ago, Mike Donoughe was a vice president at Chrysler and had been put in charge of the crash program to redesign the automaker's mid-sized sedans. Donoughe left Auburn Hills after 24 years and is now heading west to join Tesla Motors as Executive Vice President for vehicle development and manufacturing. In his new role Donoughe will be responsible for ongoing development and production of the Roadster as well as bringing the new Model S sedan to fruition sooner rather than later. Tesla has learned from the experience of trying to build the Roadster that while the fresh eyes of Silicon Valley may be helpful in creating new innovations, some experienced hands can be helpful with the more traditional parts of the process like dealing with suppliers and figuring out how to manufacture the all the bits and pieces and bolt them together. During our recent interview with Tesla Chairman Elon Musk, he indicated that several industry veterans would be coming aboard in the near future and Donoughe is just the first. The Tesla press release is after the jump.

[Source: Tesla Motors]

Photo by Doug King

An attentive Tesla fan happened to be driving past the site of the future Tesla store in Menlo Park, CA recently and took a photo while sitting a traffic light. Closer inspection revealed an unusual Dodge Magnum sitting at the site. Now a Magnum with a steel wheel might not draw much attention on it's own. However, closer inspection of the image also revealed an absent tailpipe and license plate. Since development is going hot and heavy on the new Model S sedan, the photographer realized he might have stumbled across something interesting. I checked with Darryl Siry (Tesla's Marketing VP) and he confirmed that the Magnum in Question is indeed one of several different car platforms being used as mules for the WhiteStar/Model S program. As is typically the case, car makers use other existing vehicles that are similar in size and weight for various early hardware tests. In this case, the Magnum is being used for powertrain development. The Magnum body shouldn't be taken as any kind of indicator of the shape of the Model S. However, there are other clues. The Magnum has a 120 inch wheelbase and weighs in at 3,800lbs. Strip out the existing power train and other hardware and replace it with a battery pack and motor and you might be in similar range for the Model S. Since a Roadster weighs over 2,700 lbs with a carbon fiber body, the aluminum-bodied Model S is likely to be somewhere close to 4,000lbs with a battery pack in place. More hints as they become available.

[Source: Tesla Motors Club]

The gang from Tesla left their Silicon Valley home base to pay a visit to the vicinity of the Big Apple this week. Part of the purpose of the trip was to spend some time with some of the people in the area who've plunked down cash toward a Roadster but haven't yet taken delivery (which would be almost everyone on the customer list at this point). One interesting note in the article from Greenwich Time is the length of time required to charge up the Roadster's battery. They note that charging the battery from a normal household outlet could take up to 30 hours. The Roadster's battery has a capacity of 53kWh. Tesla quotes a charge time of 3-3.5, but that is based on charging from a 220V 80A circuit. If, on the other hand, you plug the car into a typical outlet in your living room, you would only have 15A flowing at 110V. That's 53,000W / (110V * 15) = 32.12 hours. So if you plan to get yourself a plug-in electric car with any kind of serious range, be prepared to have an electrician install a high current outlet to charge it. At the very least you'll want a 220V/40A circuit for overnight charging in 6-7 hours.

[Source: Greenwich Time]

We recently confirmed the rumor that, yes, Mercedes is planning on building an electric car or two and now some of the details are starting to be firmed up. In an interview with German business daily, WirtschaftsWoche, Thomas Weber, a Mercedes board member responsible for research and vehicle development, let it be known that the company is building what was originally meant to be the fuel cell-powered A-Class (and possibly B-Class) as an all-electric model. Because of its "sandwich" construction and pre-existing electric drivetrain, these cars should be the first to join the electric Smart in the e-Mercedes lineup.

Another magazine, Automobilwoche, as well as reporting 2010 as the year of the e-Mercedes arrival, states that the supplier of the battery for the cars would be none other than the American firm Tesla Motors. The source of their information was not revealed and since this has not been officially stated by either company, it's still somewhat speculative. We know from talking with Tesla's Elon Musk that something is going on between them and Mercedes and it's definitely not a motor for the Whitestar, since Musk made it clear that Tesla products will remain gasoline-free. We also know that Daimler claims to have solved the thermal issues associated with lithium ion batteries of a certain chemistry by integrating battery cooling systems with that of the car. Then again, Continental has already been named a battery supplier for the Mercedes S 400 hybrid. If you care to enter into the supplier speculation sweepstakes, hit us up in the comments section.

Source: WirtschaftsWoche / Wall Street Journal]

We received a heads up overnight that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will be making an appearance later today at Tesla Motors headquarters in San Carlos, CA. According to the notice from Tesla, Schwarzenegger will make an announcement regarding the manufacturing strategy for the WhiteStar sedan. Given this announcement and what chairman Elon Musk told us last week about plans to centralize production of its cars, it seems almost certain that the factory originally planned for Albuquerque, NM will never materialize. Instead it appears the sedan will be built at a factory somewhere in the Bay Area close to Tesla's headquarters. CEO Ze'ev Drori may even reveal the name of the new car (don't get too excited about this one folks) and hopefully give us a glimpse of what it looks like. Autoblog's Damon Lavrinc will be on site at Tesla HQ at 11:30 PST with all the gory details.

[Source: Tesla Motors]

During the course of our discussion (presented in three parts: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3).Tesla Motors Chairman Elon Musk described how he came to be a part of Tesla Motors and how he, as "Product Architect," influenced the development of the Roadster as and what will become the WhiteStar sedan. Based on his description of the events, that sounds like a perfectly reasonable title. Even as told by Martin Eberhard, co-architect doesn't seem inaccurate, although Eberhard might have preferred it to be otherwise. One thing that isn't in doubt is that Musk is not a founder.

Some in the mainstream media over-simplify things by referring to Musk as the creator of the Roadster, and if anything Musk's sin here may be more an error of omission. By not speaking up to clarify his role in the process previously, he has at least appeared to passively take credit for more than he should. If nothing else, as with so many successful entrepreneurs, his self-assurance can certainly come across as arrogance. I don't know the man personally so I can't really comment as to what he is like on a personal level. Aside from the financial aspects his role is probably most analogous to that of Bob Lutz at GM where he makes high level decisions about design direction which are then brought to fruition by the engineers, designers and technicians. Read on after the jump for the rest of my conclusions.