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For those who doubted Tesla's ability to turn a profit, this is my anecdote. I used to be one of you. Selling an absurdly priced boutique sports car that can on
by pork 15y ago
For those who doubted Tesla's ability to turn a profit, this is my anecdote. I used to be one of you. Selling an absurdly priced boutique sports car that can only run 250 miles did not seem like a viable business strategy. The battery packs had their issues. The range was terrible. The car was tiny and cramped, even smaller than some small sports cars.
And then I chanced upon a LivingSocial deal that let me drive a Roadster S for a day. For the record, I've driven a handful of supercars and more than my share of regular sports cars. I have almost never felt what I did in the Tesla (with the exception of the Gallardo), mainly because of the instant thrust available at any RPM. It was not like anything I ever felt before. As I drove, I felt inexplicably that this was the car of the future -- as a tech aficionado, I was finally driving a car that felt like the future. The lack of an engine roar was strangely soothing (and I LOVE engine roars!). The pickup meant that I could smoke most Maseratis on the 0-60. The thrill of pressing down on the accelerator and feeling the thrust in your chest was unparalleled (again, with the exception of the Gallardo). As I drove past clubs in San Francisco with their Porsches and Bentleys outside, I felt above it all in my tiny all-electric sports car. They were stupid flash-mongers; I was one with my machine. There is something pure and beautiful about driving a Tesla Roadster, well beyond the gas-free aspect. This was the thoroughly impractical car that my inner child always wanted from the future.
It thrilled me to drive that car in a way that I cannot fully describe. I am an eminently rational man. I have children, and am not prone to being wild and reckless. But now, as a result of driving that beautiful machine, as soon as my GOOG stocks vest, I will be driving down to Menlo Park, CA with my checkbook in hand to drive out with a Roadster.
That, dear friends, is how Tesla will turn a profit, in the face of ridiculous product shortcomings like range. They enchant, and they delight, and because of that I will gladly open my pocketbook for Elon Musk.
- MikeCapone 15y agoThanks for sharing your experience. You actually gave me goosebumps, but I'm not sure why.
- pork 15y ago:) It's not rational. You should try to get in one. There's a site called HiGear that will let you drive a Roadster for $500 a day. It's steep, and you only get about 100 miles, but it's an experience that words can't fully describe.
- pjscott 15y agoRationality is about how to achieve what you want, not about what you should want. If it makes you happy, and you believe that it will continue to make you happy enough that you're willing to pay for it, then that is rational.
- MikeCapone 15y agoWell said. I'm adding this to my .txt of quotes.
- lanstein 15y agoThere's one on Getaround that's only $50/hr in SF if you're so inclined.
- gamble 15y agoI'm skeptical about Tesla's future, but not because I doubt their product. The Roadster was an amazing, unique vehicle that wasn't priced so high it was unattainable, at least to the moderately wealthy. There are plenty of Mercedes on the road that approach the Roadster's price. I'm skeptical because they weren't able to turn a profit on the Roadster. As far as I can tell, they sold each one for a loss and even then weren't able to produce enough to meet demand. I have no doubt that the sedan will be an amazing, unique vehicle, but Tesla still has to prove itself at the nuts-and-bolts of the auto business: manufacturing, retailing, and service.
- anamax 15y ago> As far as I can tell, they sold each one for a loss and even then weren't able to produce enough to meet demand. If you're selling at a loss, why would you want to meet demand?
- electromagnetic 15y agoBecause mass production generally leads to decreased costs, which has the potential for profit from initial loss on sales.
- redwood 15y agoIn this case I think we need to view the sedan as the natural realization of that mass production (or next step)
- jamesbkel 15y agoI was under the impression that the roadster was more about developing and perfecting the tech rather than immediately scaling up production. As redwood noted, the sedan is leading into the mass production phase.
- anamax 15y ago> Because mass production generally leads to decreased costs, which has the potential for profit from initial loss on sales. Reread the original "As far as I can tell, they sold each one for a loss and even then weren't able to produce enough to meet demand." That assumes that they could have made and sold more but choose not to. Maybe that would have led to lower price and profit, but if it wasn't going to, selling more is a bad idea.
- Arjuna 15y agoThank you for sharing your experiences. I am also a car enthusiast. Have you driven an Ariel Atom [1]? Granted, it is less practical than the Tesla Roadster; however, the cost is considerably less, and you could easily afford a secondary car to supplement it. "This is driving nirvana. You can forget anything you've ever driven. Anything. There is no car, nothing on four wheels, that's as fast as this. Nothing." [2] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Atom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Atom [2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v4YNkurhLk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v4YNkurhLk
- pork 15y agoWow thanks for that. Unfortunately, I don't see myself driving down California highways in that, but I will definitely keep an eye out for it!
- trafficlight 15y agoThe new Ariel Atom is the fastest road car on the Top Gear test track and it's up against the best of the best. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_test_track#The_Power_Board http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_test_track#The_Power_B...
- bane 15y agoThe Atom has long been on my list of a car to buy once I have more than enough truly disposable income (and an OK from the wife).
- timdorr 15y agoJust a quick little note: They've stopped production on the Roadster, so you won't be able to pick one up so easily. You'll probably be looking at a Model S with availability in 2013.
- car 15y agoTo counter your anecdote with another, a good friend who is weekend racing his Boxster at Laguna Seca was seriously considering buying a Tesla Roadster. But when he dug deeper, he found out that the Tesla can only be driven at full speed for a very short amount of time. After that, the battery temperature gets so high that the car switches into 'crawl mode' until the battery has cooled down again.
- pork 15y agoIMO, you drive the roadster for the 0-60, not the top speed.
- car 15y agoFair enough; just wanted to point this out, as it would be a drawback in a scenario as above, or driving on the german Autobahn.
- sliverstorm 15y agoIt's a roadster. Roadsters aren't for racing, IMO.
- qq66 15y agoMaking an amazing product doesn't always lead to turning a profit, especially in a business with as high fixed costs as the automotive industry. Note the many financial plagues of high-end automakers like Lamborghini/Bugatti/etc. I think the Model S is a good step along the way to profitability -- a broader-market car that can help amortize more of the fixed costs.
- ericd 15y agoI had the same experience - I rode in one with a friend who's a pretty aggressive driver, and I've never felt anything quite like it, except at theme parks. The acceleration seems almost instantaneous, the handling was incredible. I felt like Jeremy Clarkson sounded in the Atom, but in a real car. When I found out that the Model S sport would be about as quick as the BMW M5, and the reports of ride quality were quite good, I dumped a good amount of money into the stock. If they can ramp up the production like they say, and there aren't any unforeseen delays, nothing else will be able to touch a Model S in that price range.
- drzaiusapelord 15y ago>Selling an absurdly priced boutique sports car that can only run 250 miles I drive a Jeep Liberty V6. I fill the tank at around $70 (Chicago) and I get a 187 mile range with all my city driving. I'm not sure why people think a 250 mile range is short. I'm not even getting that now. > The lack of an engine roar was strangely soothing (and I LOVE engine roars!). Honestly, they sound like giant RC cars to me. There's this great electric "roar" for lack of a better term. I agree, it does sound like the future. I live about 2 miles from the Tesla dealership here. I've never driven one, but I've watched others drive them. From what I can tell these things have tons of power and are a lot of fun. Kudos to the Tesla team!
- pork 15y agoI think the difference is that you can just drive down to the station and fill up, but unless you have Tesla's expensive high-voltage charger, you're looking at several hours plugged into a standard wall outlet to recharge the Roadster.
- TillE 15y agoIt's not a general-purpose car, though. It was clearly intended as an extra toy for those with the money to spend on such things, so these sort of objections kinda miss the point. No, you're not going to drive cross country with it. But it's still pretty cool.
- electromagnetic 15y agoI'm with you, but I sleep 8 hours a night. I'm generally home 12 hours at a minimum. If the car charges in less than 6 hours, it's doable. 250 mile daily limit is pretty good, that's 6+ hours of driving at average city speed limits. Personally if I'm taking a trip, I'd likely get a rental and put the miles and liability on someone else. I wouldn't like to be driving my own vehicle with my own guests doing a trip from Ontario to Florida or PEI and blow a tire, or worse and it land on my insurance. I like the fact that I can sue the car rental company for up to $10 million, when I can only sue my own insurance for up to $1 million.
- barrkel 15y agoJust checking - you have already ridden sport bikes, yes? I mean, you could get similar thrills - and more, of a different kind - for a whole lot less, if you're so inclined.
- pork 15y agoSports bikes are harder to justify than cars when you have kids :)
- apu 15y agoYour description sounds similar to John Carmack's: http://www.armadilloaerospace.com/n.x/Armadillo/Home/News?news_id=364 http://www.armadilloaerospace.com/n.x/Armadillo/Home/News?ne... You have the full torque of the motor from a dead stop, with no power band and clutch to deal with. Your right foot really is an "accelerator" rather than a "throttle", and it honestly does transform the driving experience
- pork 15y agoWow thanks for that! I feel closer to one of my heroes.
- jczhang 15y agoDid I just get sold on this car? haha.
- teejae 15y agoYes, the Roadster is amazing. However, there's about 20 left in the US to sell. I drove one, but cannot buy one. Completely agree that it is thrilling, like riding a roller coaster, with you in control. Disclaimer: After driving it, I did buy some TSLA stock.
- jcampbell1 15y agoThe roadster is a NVH nightmare though. Any idiot can build a sports car, but it is a real challenge to build a luxury vehicle. Luxury cars and economy cars are both an order of magnitude harder than sports cars from an engineering perspective. People will forgive rattles, wind noise, and steering nibble in a $100k+ sports car, but not in a $60k luxury car. The real test will be if they can sell the product to buyers who aren't already sold on the concept.
- cubicle67 15y agoWil Shipley (long time indie OSX dev) agrees http://wilshipley.com/blog/2008/09/tesla-v-supercharged-lotus-elise.html http://wilshipley.com/blog/2008/09/tesla-v-supercharged-lotu...