I would purchase one if I could.
I so hope the company fares well.
Elon Musk - RENAISSANCE MAN.
TO BE ENVIED and ADMIRED.

Model S is a ground up new car design. Not a converted Elise. Impressive vehicle if your needs fall within its envelope and you can afford one.

As much as I hate these cars and the federal governments involvement in the free market this is the way of the future and if we don't embrace it we are going to be very fuched in a couple decades.

It's shocking to me that we didn't learn our lesson 40 years ago when we first realized petroleum isn't really the best fuel source.

The model S starts at ......wait for it ..........$62,400

What else could we get for that?

How about a well equipped new 335i or a pretty decent Cessna 182

BMW sells new 320i's for low 30's. If tesla can come out with something that doesn't suck for that much I'd consider buying one.

Compared to the Porsche 918, the Tesla S is truely pathetic.

Which innovation got the gift money and all the media fame?

918 is not an EV, carries only 2 people - yada yada

IMO, we are way short from being able to power millions of EVs. Our power grid is already subject to rolling brown outs etc. Tesla is a good generation or so ahead of the market, perhaps more. The hype around tesla is based on an imaginary world where electricity is free and plentiful like air. Solar power can't power your car and is also at best only an adjunct to hydrocarbons as a fuel source to make electricity. As it is, we are made to squeeze every last kilowatt to light and heat our homes. Hybrids are a less sexy, but a far more practical solution for transportation.

Small diesel engine powering a generator, which powers electric motors in each wheel. Why has no one done this recently?

There are much more viable technologies for transportation in advanced stages of development then what we see here. These are pretty lackluster compared to fuel cell vehicles. The technology that gets to a five min refuel with a decent range will win this race.

^^^this, with my embellishment.

Oil Co advisory in effect: "if following implemented worldwide, oil co CEOs might be working without $$$$ BONUSES"

Viva... solution is already here, under 1 min "refueling":
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4lp_6VyIeSY?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Love it! Standardizing on a limited number of battery form factors and quick (dis)connectors would help.

excellent, been saying this one for years now ... standardized battery packs, and just snap them in and out.

Won't work. The battery will be more than the cost of the car, and prices are going up on raw materials not down. You can't ecnomically justify having battery packs on hand for people and expect to make any money. Unless of course you charge them a few thousand per change.

Simple math puts that plan to bed, as the "battery station owner" how do you intend to make a profit when you need to charge, store and replace battery packs? You would lose your shirt doing that.

It's not going to be part of the local Quick E Mart.

It would likely start out being chain stations owned by a large corporation, maybe an automotive battery manufacturer, maybe a utility, maybe even an oil company.

quick swap standardized battery packs have been proven to work very well and cost about $3,000 right now; that should fall as production volume increases

I'd rather have a fuel cell or a Mr. Fusion but those will take a lot longer...

"quick swap standardized battery packs" like a Makita cordless drill? I hate those batteries. Always running down when you're busy or need to keep working. I can't imagine a whole bunch of them. And it's a good thing that I have a forklift to heave one of those out of the car. Most people have a hard time with a 50 lbs bag of dog food. You poor miserable sods who have to do it by hand....

look at the video above; then go post on the Grid thread

Does this look like a "quick swap battery pack" to you? That's a steel frame around the battery, and a hydraulic lift. Don't try this at home, kids.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1370394894.jpg

you found the wrong video - how did you do that?

do you use a lot of chemicals on your farm?

anyway, the co. with the hot swap battery packs is dead (not "Scott calling Tesla dead" dead but actually dead) so may be a moot point for a while

tho it was as troublesome as going thru an automated car wash and took that much time, the curse of infrastructure struck again - one reason we have govt. (and std. RR tracks)

Oh, I am sorry I thought you were talking about the Tesla S. You've obviously had too much of that Oreygone wacky tobaccey.