Posts Tagged ‘Tesla’
Tesla Model X Launch
I attended the Tesla Model X launch last night at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, and liked the car so much that I made my fourth Tesla reservation. Why? The Tesla Model X is a SUV that combines the practicality of the minivan, the cool of the SUV, and the performance of a sports car. The Model X appears to seat 7 adults comfortably, without requiring any movement of the middle row to access the back row of seats partly because of the new fangled falcon retractible doors. The luggage compartment in the front and the back of the car is substantial, and I have a picture of two ladies sitting in the front of the car which is smaller than the back. Acceleration is projected to be 4.4 seconds from 0 to 60 mph which is clearly in the range of a high performance sports car.
At the end of the presentation by Elon Musk, there was an opportunity to make a $5,000 or $40,000 refundable reservation before reservations became available on Friday at noon to the general public. I had to get in line to make a reservation and probably had at least 30 people in front of me. I suspect this will be the fastest selling car in the Tesla model line-up, and the stock price should react favorable, but the stock was down almost 10% at one point this morning. I bought some Tesla calls and wrote some puts this morning and suspect that we should have a near term announcement that reservations for the Model X were larger than expected.
The falcon doors were a hit.
The lines are very similar to the Tesla Model S
Tesla was giving rides to reservation holders in the Model X
The adults in the third row appeared to be comfortable
Room in the front trunk for a pair of ladies
Update: I received reservation sequence number #16 for the Tesla X.
Tesla Motors Model S Update
Front of the Tesla Model S Beta Car
Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to visit the Tesla Motors factory in Fremont, California, and ride in the Tesla Model S Beta sedan. The car looks fantastic, but the crowning moment must have been when Elon Musk announced that a Sport version would be available that was capable of 0-60 acceleration in less than 4.5 seconds. When you have a sedan that has up to a 300 mile range, a luxuriously appointed interior, and supercar acceleration, I think you have a winner.
The Tesla Roadster is fantastic in many respects, but the interior seems rather cheap and the fit quality is not what you expect in a $100,000-$170,000 sports car. In contrast the Tesla Model S is luxuriously appointed in leather and wood, but the amazing 17 inch infotainment system is heads and shoulders above anything else I have seen. Apparently Tesla has developed their own OS, and hopes to open the platform to developers to allow Tesla owners to customize the functionality on their dashboard.
Vertical 17-inch LCD infotainment screen
The exterior of the car looks great, and has some interesting styling details. The door handles are flush with the car’s body and are supposed to automatically raise themselves when you approach the car with your key fob. This was not working during the test, but looks very cool in practice. In addition, there is no visible place to charge the car. Apparently this is hidden under one of the tail lights, and it opens automatically when you are in range of a charger.
Side View of the Tesla Model S Beta
Note the flush door handles
I’m going to order a second Tesla Model S!