Tesla Model S Shown Publicly

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bga
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Tesla Model S Shown Publicly

Post by bga »

From Reuters, today:

climate spectator story

FREMONT, California (Reuters) - Electric carmaker Tesla Motors threw open its factory doors to customers who have preordered its forthcoming Model S sedan on Saturday evening.

Customers were given tours of the Fremont, California, factory, rides in a prototype of the Model S, and a plea for support from Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, a co-founder of PayPal.

"We need your help," he told hundreds of customers after driving onto a stage in a red Model S, saying many people thought of electric cars as unrealistic "unicorns." He asked the crowd to talk up the car and announced Tesla would be introducing a faster Model S that goes from zero to 60 miles per hour/97 kph in 4.5 seconds, shaving more than a second off current acceleration.

Tesla is hanging much of its future on the Model S, its first sedan, which it hopes to start delivering to customers next year. Its executives believe its production will help the company move into the black after years of losses.

The goal is to widen Tesla's scope beyond being a niche brand that sells only the expensive Roadster sports car. The base model of the Model S will cost about $57,400 compared to the Roadster's base price of $109,000, before a $7,500 federal tax credit and other rebates.

...

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marty11
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Tesla Model S Shown Publicly

Post by marty11 »

I have ordered an S , over 1 year ago.

I first ordered it, thinking it might cost $20,000 more here.

I now have seen indications that it might be $120,000.

I might hesitate if its more than $80-90k in Australia.. re-think if its too dear.

Would love to buy it.. . but Australian taxes might be too expensive..

Guess I will know on about 6 - 10 months time the actual price.

Maybe I should order it for Australia, but register it in the US and keep it there for a year or more, then import it second hand.. but dount know if I would save anything by doing that ..

Cheers..Marty
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Thalass
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Tesla Model S Shown Publicly

Post by Thalass »

I'm buying one of these when we move to Canada, though that may not be until 2013 or so, which means other people get to iron the bugs out for me haha. But man that's a nice looking car.
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PlanB
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Tesla Model S Shown Publicly

Post by PlanB »

Is that 2 electric motors I see in the Model S transaxle?
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coulomb
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Tesla Model S Shown Publicly

Post by coulomb »

PlanB wrote: Is that 2 electric motors I see in the Model S transaxle?

It sure looks that way.

But it's not! Image

One of the cylinders that looks like an induction motor is actually the power inverter. It's supposed to be a triumph of "packaging", and I suppose it is rather good.

Tesla reveal this at about 1:40 into the third video on this page:

http://wot.motortrend.com/alpha-testing ... 22239.html

Here's the URL for the high definition version of the third movie: http://vimeo.com/18443073

So the model S has a single copper rotor induction motor, delivering over 300 kW and 600 Nm on some models. Pretty impressive. But of course the higher specification Model S's are actually more expensive than the lower specification Roadster models.
Last edited by coulomb on Fri, 10 Aug 2012, 18:53, edited 1 time in total.
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PlanB
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Post by PlanB »

You'd be correct Mike. Peter bangs on a bit but that rear suspension module is kind of elegant.
antiscab
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Post by antiscab »

coulomb wrote:
So the model S has a single copper rotor induction motor, delivering over 300 kW and 600 Nm on some models.


so we just need to wait for a couple of those to be crashed and hey presto - something scary to drop into a suzuki cappuccino :D
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PlanB
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Post by PlanB »

With a model S drive I'd be game to step up to something with a bit more leg room.
bga
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Post by bga »

A copper rotor induction motor is a good thing to see in an electric car, because it avoids a dependency on rare earths that look increasingly to be controlled by the Chinese and likely to be in short supply.

Does anybody know what typical efficiency they are able to achieve with this?

I am a little concerned by the battery however:
While it is great for centre of gravity, it is kind of exposed to being grounded or gored by rocks or even hitting the coyote's carelessly discarded anvil.
Also, with such large exposed surface area, it must be difficult to control its temperature either in the colds of frostbite falls' winter or California's melting summer pavement.

I still give it three 'like' s.

edit: an -> am
Last edited by bga on Fri, 17 Aug 2012, 06:07, edited 1 time in total.
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PlanB
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Post by PlanB »

So Tesla drive a couple of roadsters up to the Hunter EV festival, which is more than Nissan did (not a Leaf to be seen). But what do they do with 'em when they get there? Plug each into it's own diesel gen set of course. Corporates, sometimes they don't see the wood for the trees!
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Post by Tritium_James »

That's probably because they have an 'USA' school of thought on the charger where it draws large current (70-80A) on a single phase - quite normal there. Anywhere else on the planet would have moved to three-phase for that power load. So they will have trouble plugging it into random power points here.
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