Official Tesla Model S thread

[Valdemar]

The pricing model that Tesla uses for selling their demo/loaner cars seems to be the defacto standard for used Tesla pricing. IIRC it's $1 off per mile plus 1% off per month. IF you can find a year old MS with 12k miles on it that'd be $24k off (assuming $100k sticker). That seems like a pretty good deal to me.

Any precedents of sales by private-parties?

 

[donald]

The pricing model ... IIRC it's $1 off per mile plus 1% off per month.

Looks like I'll find a 12k/yr one to buy at a price I'm prepared to pay when it's around 3 years and 11 months old, then!

 

[GeekEV]

The pricing model ... IIRC it's $1 off per mile plus 1% off per month.

Looks like I'll find a 12k/yr one to buy at a price I'm prepared to pay when it's around 3 years and 11 months old, then!

Yeah, there's got to be a floor on that at some point.

 

[dgpcolorado]

East coast journalist writes about driving the Model S:

What I figured out about Tesla’s future after finally driving one myself

 

[DaveEV]

Yawn!

lorenfb - why don't you try contributing to the discussion instead of deriding everything. Consider this a warning.

MOD NOTE: Moved posts to Snippiness.

 

[epic]

when I look at the monthly sales totals has the model s sales gone to 1/2 what it was a year ago?The numbers are already so low to begin with.A car company like this can't survive on that low a sales ,can it?Are they running at capacity and sending the bulk over seas?

 

[apvbguy]

when I look at the monthly sales totals has the model s sales gone to 1/2 what it was a year ago?The numbers are already so low to begin with.A car company like this can't survive on that low a sales ,can it?Are they running at capacity and sending the bulk over seas?

1. tesla does not report actual sales numbers, anything you see are guesses
2. the tesla factory was shut down earlier this summer for refitting and expansion of the assembly line, this few week shutdown impacted deliveries.
3. as they expand their production capabilities the number of sales will increase, they are operating on a 2-3 month wait, traditional auto makers have 2-3 month supplies sitting around burning cash.
4. being short TSLA must suck

 

[cwerdna]

when I look at the monthly sales totals has the model s sales gone to 1/2 what it was a year ago?The numbers are already so low to begin with.A car company like this can't survive on that low a sales ,can it?Are they running at capacity and sending the bulk over seas?

1. tesla does not report actual sales numbers, anything you see are guesses

Tesla unfortunately doesn't report US monthly sales figures, unlike most major and not-so-major automakers who sell in the US.

But, they DO report deliveries each quarter, from which monthly US sales guesses are made. Example of quarterly numbers at http://ir.teslamotors.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125-14-303175&CIK=1318605" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, if you search for delivered.

And, there are revenue figures under "The following tables set forth revenues and long-lived assets by geographic area (in thousands): " that are broken up by North America, Europe, and Asia, which helps inform the above guesses. Revenue from automotive sales is also broken out.

And, yes, some vehicles are in-transit to other countries. The above alludes to it if you search for in-transit.

 

[Zythryn]

when I look at the monthly sales totals has the model s sales gone to 1/2 what it was a year ago?The numbers are already so low to begin with.A car company like this can't survive on that low a sales ,can it?Are they running at capacity and sending the bulk over seas?

Are you looking at US sales or worldwide sales?
Tesla delivered about 21k last year and is providing guidance for 35k this year.

Their US revenue for 2nd quarter of 2014 fell about 12% from 2nd quarter 2013.
Their worldwide revenue for the same time periods rose by about 90%.

They are not only surviving, they are expanding.
Increasing their supercharger network (worldwide), expanding into new countries, and growing their number of service centers and stores.

There are still challenges ahead. I don't believe the big guys can as easily squash Tesla as they once could have.

 

[TomT]

The world's first fully tuned Tesla Model S: The Saleen FourSixteen

http://www.cnet.com/videos/link/M8bunBpeWnME5d7o2uSEBkbSBdyHWSkz/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[GeekEV]

The world's first fully tuned Tesla Model S: The Saleen FourSixteen

I find it hilarious that a "fully tuned" Model S consists of almost purely cosmetic changes. AFAIK, the *only* thing they did to enhance performance was bump up the fixed gear ratio *a little bit*. Ooh. :roll:

 

[donald]

hmmm ... I was thinking that the main 'performance' improvement that they appeared to say customers commented on was that it made more noise. :?

Sounds like they have changed the transmission, though, and one might wonder if that might prove to be a more reliable transmission?!

Let's forgive him for the verbal fumble where he mentioned getting 'more braking distance' with carbon fibre discs.

 

[JeremyW]

It sounds like they also did some cooling enhancements (bigger radiators)? It also sounds like they shed quite a bit of rotational weight going to carbon fiber rotors, although I'm not sure how much that matters on a 4,600 pound car!

 

[TomT]

There are also substantial suspension changes... To many, performance is about much more than just going fast in a straight line...

I find it hilarious that a "fully tuned" Model S consists of almost purely cosmetic changes. AFAIK, the *only* thing they did to enhance performance was bump up the fixed gear ratio *a little bit*. Ooh. :roll:

 

[pchilds]

Better CD and it looks much better.

 

[lorenfb]

And it makes more noise when it accelerates!

 

[GeekEV]

There are also substantial suspension changes... To many, performance is about much more than just going fast in a straight line...

I find it hilarious that a "fully tuned" Model S consists of almost purely cosmetic changes. AFAIK, the *only* thing they did to enhance performance was bump up the fixed gear ratio *a little bit*. Ooh. :roll:

How do those suspension changes compare to the P85+?

 

[TomT]

This should give you some addtional info: http://saleen.com/foursixteen.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Since Saleen indicates 416HP, that means that it is at least a P85...

There are also substantial suspension changes... To many, performance is about much more than just going fast in a straight line...

I find it hilarious that a "fully tuned" Model S consists of almost purely cosmetic changes. AFAIK, the *only* thing they did to enhance performance was bump up the fixed gear ratio *a little bit*. Ooh. :roll:

How do those suspension changes compare to the P85+?

 

[lorenfb]

"Since Saleen indicates 416HP, that means that it is at least a P85.."

At the expense of range! The MS has enough performance as is, so why trade-off range for performance since range
is such a key factor for the MS versus other BEVs? The additional torque just puts additional stresses on various parts
of the drive-train.

 

[Zythryn]

"Since Saleen indicates 416HP, that means that it is at least a P85.."

At the expense of range! The MS has enough performance as is, so why trade-off range for performance since range
is such a key factor for the MS versus other BEVs? The additional torque just puts additional stresses on various parts
of the drive-train.

I'm guessing anyone that wants this level of performance isn't overly concerned with range.

In other words, the market Saleen is targeting considers range secondary to performance.