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They have plans for a cheaper vehicle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_BlueStar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_BlueStar But they'd be competing against t
by blah32497 13y ago
They have plans for a cheaper vehicle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_BlueStar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_BlueStar
But they'd be competing against the Nissan Leaf (The Model S costs about as much as two Leafs). I think the way car manufacturers see it, it's a little early for electric cars. The Leaf has the market more or less saturated (and they're not selling that many cars). I'm sure Toyota and Honda had electric cars in the pipeline and will flood the market once it becomes viable (ie. when a good battery/range becomes affordable).
What Tesla has that the others don't (at the moment!) are the charging stations. That may make them more competitive.
- thrillgore 13y agoI expect in the time between now and the BlueStar, Nissan will have a PHV priced in the same range as a subcompact. The Leaf is very cost-effective given its current charge range.
- blah32497 13y agoPlug in Hybrids? My gues is that they will not be around for long. The beauty of the Leaf is that it's so fundamentally simple. A battery, some electronics and an electric motor. It's fundamentally so much more reliable and simple than a combustion engine vehicle. By the time the BlueStar will come out, Nissan will have better prices and ranges available.
- thrillgore 13y agoFull-electric might have an audience, but I make regular road trips to Chattanooga and Birmingham. The charger station infrastructure is simply not there yet for 100+ mile commutes on the interstates. By the time the BlueStar comes out, I could be totally wrong. I'm completely expecting to be.