By Frank Williams
January 16, 2008
What happens when you put one of the founders of Tesla and GM's Bob Lutz (is there another one?) in the same room and let them talk? It becomes a mutual admiration society. In his apostrophe-challenged Tesla Founders Blog, Martin Eberhard recounts his meeting in the Car Czar's "palatial office." Eberhard says the two execs "spent a good couple of hours talking about battery-electric vehicles." (He didn't say how many bad hours they spent talking.) And then Bob dropped the bombshell: "He started the Volt program in direct response to the Tesla Roadster." Wow! And here we were thinking the Toyota Prius had something to do with it. Anyway, after a few hours with Maximum Bob, Minimum Mark came away impressed "and willing to believe that the Volt might be a real program." After schmoozing with a few other people on the Volt program, Eberhard concluded that "the Volt Program is real." So the co-founder of Tesla is sold on the Volt. I guess that means we should now have equal faith in both.
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POWERED
January 16th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
“we should now have equal faith in both”
Exquisite.
I don’t think anyone doubts that the Volt program is real Mark.
It’s the projected delivery just like with the…
You get the idea.
Love & bullets,
Bunter
January 16th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Wait I thought Eberhard was an idea man, software guy, not an automotive engineer or designer. Is he basing the realism of the Volt on his “real” Tesla. Sorry Mark but I don’t consider you an expert on whats real and whats not, maybe after the first 100 Tesla deliveries.
January 16th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Really, this should be called Volt Birth Watch 25 as well as a Tesla Birth Watch.
January 16th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Am I the only TTAC reader hoping for a Tesla Abortion Watch?
January 16th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Why was Mr. Tesla there to begin with? Job interview?
January 17th, 2008 at 2:24 am
Minimum Mark? Robert, that was brilliant! Let the products speak themselves and I `d rather see those tesla-Volt fenders smooch each other somewhere in an electric car race, than two bearded males french-kissing each other`s overcomplimented half-bred , half-stamped metallic bastard children.
January 17th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Here is an ad idea:
Tesla Roadster, batteries not included.
That works for the volt too. I got a kick out of the lease a battery idea they floated. I think most people will just buy a used Hyundai that gets 30MPG and call it done rather than fart around with rechargeable cars and fuel cells.
January 17th, 2008 at 10:18 am
“He didn’t say how many bad hours they spent talking.”
In all likelihood they spent just as many bad hours commiserating about their treatment on TTAC.
January 17th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
“What happens when you put one of the founders of Tesla and GM’s Bob Lutz (is there another one?) in the same room?”
You get an unplugged, accoustic masterpiece: “Bob Will Find A Way.”