Wild Ass Rumor Of The Day: Tesla Model S Delayed
Speaking to MarketWatch at the Detroit Auto Show, Tesla Chairman Elon Musk apparently just revealed that the Tesla Model S sedan will be released “within two and a half years.” Which is interesting considering Musk claimed that production would start in 2011 at the Model S launch last March. But then, Tesla is still trying to decide on a factory location, apparently waffling between former aeronautical manufacturing locations in Downey and Long Beach. And apparently Tesla’s mere consideration of a brownfield site in Downey has drawn protests from a group calling themselves The Raging Grannies.
Meanwhile Tesla’s main claim to fame, a system of interconnected battery cells, has been somewhat undermined by news of a deal between Tesla and Panasonic. Though Tesla admits it will use Panasonic’s battery cells in its newest battery packs, it insists that its “current battery strategy incorporates proprietary packaging using cells from multiple battery suppliers.”
Further on, we still haven’t heard a peep out of Tesla in regards to one of the biggest questions surrounding Model S development: the allegedly in-house designed platform. Rumors have flown about that the platform might be based on a Mercedes architecture, given the battery cooperation agreement between Tesla and Daimler. If that’s the case, nobody from either side has confirmed it. And developing new platforms isn’t easy or cheap. Unless Tesla announces a factory and a chassis partner soon, this could be just the first of several Model S delays.
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Who started this striptease thing where car designers bring out a new car covered with a tarp and show parts of it? Is that recent? Or have they been doing it for decades? Bugs the hell out of me.
If Tesla wants to compete with the big boys, they need to do better than a 3 year 36k mile warranty on the battery pack. Replacing an out of warranty $30,000 battery pack before the car is paid for can be an painful experience. Anyway who even knows if Tesla will be around to honor it before it expires.
Wow, so much snark for Musk and Tesla among y'all. Yes, it's a troubled enterprise, and Musk seems to be a dick, but why not cheer on the boldness of the whole venture? I, for one, will do so, if only because the cars are unusually beautiful for this day and age. Fast, too -- which is nice.
According to a contact who knows him from his days at Chrysler, Mike Donoughe has left Tesla in the last 30-45 days. Didn't like the direction of the company and maybe with where the owner was taking it. Strangely coincidental and a total sidebar, but I believe Mr Donoughe rents or owns a condo in the same complex as a buddy of mine (and another ex-Chrysler guy) on Bryant St in Mountain View, CA 94041. Always was parking his tesla in the underground garage.