…and here is some speculation about what to expect…
I love it. Tesla has quietly and totally changed our perceptions about what an electric car should be. Never again will a substandard vehicle be considered an acceptable compromise to drive an EV. From now on, EVs must be at least as comfortable and performance-capable as comparably priced gas vehicles, and must have reasonable range to boot. And all this from a brand new company that had never built a car before. Perhaps that’s what it took.
Now if only there were more Tesla sales outlets, the next Nissan Leaf is reported to have a 200 mile range as well, but we’ll see how close either one comes to the range promised.
I just checked my bank account and I still can’t afford a Tesla. Not even a used one.
A 200 mile range Leaf is intriguing, however. I’ve been in a Model S, a Leaf, and the BMW electric offering. The BMW is a joke. It looks like something a kid built out of Lego, the interior is cheap, and the seats are awful. And the gauge cluster looks like someone glued an old Kindle to the dash.
The Model S is, of course, stunning, but it’s also out of reach for most people. The Leaf, however, was a pretty decent little car. Nothing super fancy, but decently comfortable, even included heated seats, and it already has a range that would be considered quite good if Tesla weren’t around.
Up that to 200 miles (which means maybe 125 miles in the winter) and it becomes a very viable little commuter car even for people who live in the suburbs and commute into downtown.
Me neither missileman. But, then, I couldn’t afford 32" TVs when they first came out either. But technology kept progressing and now they’re cheap. And lightweight.
Besides, we probably wouldn’t have the Leaf if we hadn’t first had the Tesla. Tesla solved the many technical problems inherent in a lithium-ion array that no other company seemed able to or perhaps interesting in.
“we probably wouldn’t have the Leaf if we hadn’t first had the Tesla.”
Absolutely correct!
And, to paraphrase a former GM CEO–Robert Lutz–the early success of Tesla with their coupe inspired GM to forge ahead with development of the Chevy Volt. Lutz said essentially…If people who know nothing about the car business can do this, why can’t we?
And, to his credit, Elon Musk announced about 2 years ago, that the company’s patents would be “open source” in order to encourage gifted people to join his organization and to allow further development of his technology by other companies.
GM had the EV-1 first…Too bad they didn’t continue.
We’ll see when it actually goes on sale, it could be late, like the X was.
it could be late, like the X was
It will be late, but that is Tesla.
It’s already for sale. I guess you meant that the first delivery would be late, and I buy that.
None have been made. Don’t think I’d call them ‘on sale’.
Really? I take it you’ve never bought a new vehicle that had to be built by the manufacturer?
The Dodge Viper was almost sold out before the first car was ever built.
Manufacturers have been doing this for years. Corvettes have had this reputation…new Corvette is designed…and orders are taken long before the first car is ever built.
I call that reserving one. Tesla has a long history of delayed products. More of the same, I bet.
I wonder if it can pull a trailer? Still 200 miles is not much. I can do that around town in a weekend.
At a negative $6.93/sh EPS, Tesla needs all those $1,000 deposits now to slow their current cash bleeding…
;-]
Yeah, didn’t want to say anything about the shaky financial situation.
Besides, we probably wouldn't have the Leaf if we hadn't first had the Tesla. Tesla solved the many technical problems inherent in a lithium-ion array that no other company seemed able to or perhaps interesting in.
We probably wouldn’t have had the Tesla if it hadn’t been for the need to develop lightweight and high capacity battery energy storage for our lap tops, video cameras, and cell phones.
True, B.L.E., but that should take nothing away from the tremendous progress that Tesla has made, both technologically and in the marketplaces perception of what an electric car can be… and in the manufacturers’ perceptions of what it NEEDS to be. In my mind there’s no questioning that Tesla has singlehandedly moved the electric car segment ahead by quantum leaps.
I hope they eventually make another sports car. Just in case I win the lottery. 
I call that reserving one. Tesla has a long history of delayed products. More of the same, I bet.
And so were the first cars ever made by Ford and GM. Tesla is still learning the manufacturing process. They have overcome some major technological challenges. As time goes on I’m sure their time to market will decrease.
We probably wouldn't have had the Tesla if it hadn't been for the need to develop lightweight and high capacity battery energy storage for our lap tops, video cameras, and cell phones.
And that’s exactly where Musk got his idea from.