Is the Tesla Roadster Turning into a Failure?

Ducati Minor

There was a lot of hype surrounding Tesla Motors and its electric Roadster. The new venture was meant to challenge not only American automobiles, but the global business model behind automotive manufacturing. In short: Tesla meant to change the world of personal transportation, with its Roadster being the first step.

Since Tesla's premiere on the business scene, the reigns of power have been shaken, temporary components have had to implemented on production vehicles, and projects and products have been repeatedly delayed. The Roadster's big debut has turned into a slow and slithering handover to long-waiting customers. The planned "S" model, which Tesla execs promised to debut in Detroit, has been postponed.

Is the Tesla Revolution fizzling out? Is this turning into something just a step above the Vector and the DeLorean? Or does Tesla, with all its insults against big automakers, still have things rolling on the right course?

Lear

Maybe it is a lot harder to create a car company than it looks? Maybe GM's point about the Volt -- that all kinds of technologies and suppliers had to be revised -- wasn't BS?

Sat, 12/13/2008 - 13:20
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Mena

Tesla is a startup car maker with all of the typical startup problems. Money is really the issue here and startups don't have any. On other car forums, people praised them for taking the bull by the horns and showing up the big car makers. I, on the other hand, knowing that most of these startup car makers fail, decided to keep a wait and see approach. Now with the problems Tesla is having (which is again, typical), those same praises have turned to boo's and hisses. Words like "clueless" come up from the same people (literally) that thought they were the best thing since sliced bread. If something like this could be done on the cheap, it would have already been done by the established automakers.

BTW, Tesla is asking for $350 million from the DOE to build the Model S sedan. Most of it is to build a new factory ($250m). They plan on building 20k Model S's a year by 2011. Another startup mistake, unreasonable deadlines. 2011? Maybe if you're GM and Toyota. They couldn't even get the super limited Roadster out the door on time. And where are the dealerships that will service these 20k cars a year? For some perspective, GM's max production on the Solstice/Sky vehicles is 30k units a year. Did I mention the sedan's are to cost $60k each?

PS- BMW sold 20k cars total in November in the US.