# Tesla "best car ever driven" by Consumer Reports



## webbie (May 9, 2013)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100722346

Pretty amazing for a brand new car company!

Innovation is still possible, eh? Give it a decade and this car company is going to be something big.


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## woodgeek (May 9, 2013)

When are you gonna pick one up?


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## bmblank (May 9, 2013)

Tesla is far from a new car company. They've been building EVs for quite a while. They were very cool and extremely expensive. I would like very much for them to create some more economical stuff and become more main steam.


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## PassionForFire&Water (May 9, 2013)

JB Straubel, Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Tesla Motors also has a Spartherm Hydronic wood stove Ambiente A4 - H20

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/opinion/sunday/catching-up-with-j-b-straubel.html?_r=0


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## webbie (May 9, 2013)

woodgeek said:


> When are you gonna pick one up?


When the stock markets hits 20K, I will pick up the new model that they are now working on (less $$)...


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## webbie (May 9, 2013)

bmblank said:


> Tesla is far from a new car company. They've been building EVs for quite a while. They were very cool and extremely expensive. I would like very much for them to create some more economical stuff and become more main steam.


 
That's the plan....the only reason they are making high priced cars is that they understand that the folks with extra $$ are willing to pay for development. Their total reason for being involves MILLIONS of cars for you and I. 

But, yeah, a "new" car company means within a decade. It takes at least that long to startup something so technical.....


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## begreen (May 9, 2013)

Tesla also is outselling all other electric vehicles in the US. Looks like there are plenty of wealthy folks out there.


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## webbie (May 9, 2013)

begreen said:


> Tesla also is outselling all other electric vehicles in the US. Looks like there are plenty of wealthy folks out there.


 
It's in a sweet spot of pricing where you don't have to be multi-multi millionaire to afford one.....so the "wanna bes" and the tech crazy can own one. Considering inflation, it's right about where the original Lexus was (or less!) when that came out.

There are a LOT of car nuts. It's probably the biggest "nut" affliction. Or, should I use the term my wife uses "enthusiasts".?


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## Circus (May 9, 2013)

Aston Martin are nice cars. Lotus's are nice too. Maybe we can copy it by buying a fusion and a bunch of cordless drills.


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## Delta-T (May 9, 2013)

didn't Tesla just let a huge portion of their workforce go? Is shaping up to be similar to the Tucker story...cool cars, maybe just bad timing.


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## Danno77 (May 9, 2013)

I'm interested to see how this plays out. They are in a weird middle ground market, and it bodes well for them to be the best car rated ever. Except when you have money, you notice that CR doesn't do reviews on REAL luxury vehicles and sports cars, just your general consumer grade stuff available to any consumer in upper-middle or below classes.


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## webbie (May 9, 2013)

Delta-T said:


> didn't Tesla just let a huge portion of their workforce go? Is shaping up to be similar to the Tucker story...cool cars, maybe just bad timing.


 
I don't think so! Stock is popping and they just announced record profits.....

This is gonna be a bit embarrasing for the "government money does nothing" crowd if it becomes a 100 billion dollar (or more) company....

I actually invested in it at 20-30, but already took my profits. If it gets hit again, I'll load up on the stock for the long run. Nothing comes without risk, but this very well could be the next Apple Computer.


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## Delta-T (May 9, 2013)

I'm pretty sure last month they layed off a bunches of people...I have no Googlefu here, but I had a conversation about it with my bandmakes, 1 of which was actually considering buying 1 until they did so. Tings may be looking up for them since then though.


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## Chain (May 9, 2013)

What's the retail price for the model S before the federal tax credit?


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## nate379 (May 9, 2013)

Tesla is not exactly new. They are mostly built by Lotus which has been around since the early 50s.

I drove one last year and the inside was nearly identical to my Elise.  The outside wasn't very different either.


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## velvetfoot (May 9, 2013)

Do they have more room for batteries because it's a two seater?


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## fossil (May 9, 2013)

Some of you may have gotten your Tesla wires crossed with your Fisker wires.

http://www.businessweek.com/article...-electric-car-makers-tesla-soars-fisker-flops


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## begreen (May 9, 2013)

webbie said:


> It's in a sweet spot of pricing where you don't have to be multi-multi millionaire to afford one.....so the "wanna bes" and the tech crazy can own one. Considering inflation, it's right about where the original Lexus was (or less!) when that came out.
> 
> There are a LOT of car nuts. It's probably the biggest "nut" affliction. Or, should I use the term my wife uses "enthusiasts".?


 
Pricewise it is about where our first house cost was, $83K (1985). Difference being that house is now worth about $650K. I strongly doubt the Tesla will see that appreciation.


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## begreen (May 9, 2013)

velvetfoot said:


> Do they have more room for batteries because it's a two seater?


 
The Tesla S is a full-sized, big car. Seats 5 very comfortably. It is new from the ground up.






http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-autos-review-tesla-20130209,0,6028264.story


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## BrotherBart (May 9, 2013)

I may try one if I ever get this DeLorean paid off.


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## begreen (May 9, 2013)




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## blades (May 10, 2013)

when they come out with a 3/4 or 1 ton truck then I will take notice.


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## Delta-T (May 10, 2013)

fossil said:


> Some of you may have gotten your Tesla wires crossed with your Fisker wires.
> 
> http://www.businessweek.com/article...-electric-car-makers-tesla-soars-fisker-flops


ah yes, my apologies...Fisker had a yardsale, Tesla let 100 peeps go off their S model production line about the same time frame. Not quite as dramatic.


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## tom in maine (May 11, 2013)

And they are an American car company!!
We sold their director of technology (JB Straubel) a heat storage system this year.
Great guy, doing amazing things!


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## PassionForFire&Water (May 12, 2013)

tom in maine said:


> And they are an American car company!!
> We sold their director of technology (JB Straubel) a heat storage system this year.
> Great guy, doing amazing things!


 
I bet this is going to be the water storage for the Spartherm Ambiente A4-H2O hydronic wood stove.


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## btuser (May 12, 2013)

The profit reports are kinda bogus, mostly a one-time credit for carbon offsets or something like that.  Real profit figures are around a penny/share.  Don't care.  It's a completely new way to make/sell cars and I think it's going to succeed.  Currently they're actually limiting production in order to concentrate on lowering the cost per vehicle (overtime, supply hiccups), getting the Zen where it should be before they flip the switch.  Currently there's enough interest to sell 30k/year, more than 2x profitability.

The car is about 50k outside my price range, but I would love to own one.    It outperforms cars costing 10-40k more money.


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## jharkin (May 28, 2013)

Its not just CR, the car enthusiast mags are saying similar things.  _Car and Driver_ and _Road&Track_ have made similar "best car ever" statements in recent review. Quite something considering the audience they write for.

This is all about the Model S sedan, _not_ the lotus based Roadster.  The Roadster's teething problems almost sank the company, lets hope this does better.


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## btuser (May 29, 2013)

They just scored a billion dollars thanks to a pretty wild short squeeze.  700 million after paying off the "loser" loans from DOE.   Tomorrow there's a conference call about a charging network announcement.  Each Model S has the option of supercharging, which cost about 2k and you get free charging for life at the supercharging stations Tesla is rolling out.  150 miles and it takes about 30 minutes (in warm weather).   They have plans for 100 stations by 2015 and more from there.  

The charging stations are about 250k each to build, about 1/10th a modest gas station fit up.  The charging infrastructure barrier is not as bad as people think.  Gas stations only make a penny/gallon after expenses.  Think of all the coffee, cigs and scratch tickets they could rake in if people had to wait a 1/2hr to fill up.


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## begreen (May 29, 2013)

With the 17" screen in the Tesla sedan folks will be watching movies or browsing while waiting. I can't wait until they have a more affordable mainstream vehicle for sale.


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## fossil (May 29, 2013)

So, if I have a Tesla, do I have to find a Tesla station? Or what about a Volt station, or a Leaf station, or a Prius station?


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## BrotherBart (May 29, 2013)

btuser said:


> Think of all the coffee, cigs and scratch tickets they could rake in if people had to wait a 1/2hr to fill up.


 
I can see it now. The charging stations are the next meat markets. "Do you charge here often?".


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## begreen (May 29, 2013)

fossil said:


> So, if I have a Tesla, do I have to find a Tesla station? Or what about a Volt station, or a Leaf station, or a Prius station?


No special station is needed for regular 120 or level 1 or 2, 240v charging, but the competing standards for fast charging are a problem. Most of the I5 corridor is setting itself up to provide fast charging for the Leaf's fast charge system standard (CHAdeMO) supported by Nissan, Toyota and Mitsubishi. Volkswagen, BMW, GM are now supporting a new SAE standard, but so far there are no cars with this plug. Tesla is mucking up the mix with yet another proprietary standard. The Prius and Volt are not affected and can continue on gasoline so they are not dependent on the fast charging port standard. With a pure electric vehicle, at best you will need an adapter, at worst you will be out of luck. It will be good when we get past this betamax/vhs war.

http://green.autoblog.com/2013/03/28/sae-combo-nissan-chademo-fast-charge/


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## fossil (May 29, 2013)

BrotherBart said:


> I can see it now. The charging stations are the next meat markets. "Do you charge here often?".


 
How long before the charging stations have rooms or little cottages available by the ½ hour?


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## begreen (May 29, 2013)

fossil said:


> How long before the charging stations have rooms or little cottages available by the ½ hour?


Sounds like a 'cottage industry' opportunity. Nothing like a little quick charge on the go to make a trip special.


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## fossil (May 29, 2013)

"Same time next week?"


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## btuser (May 30, 2013)

From what understand the fast charging network in the U.S. will be a DC platform that bypasses the on-board charger and goes directly to the batteries.  It's a matter of a couple extra wires and an extra contactor (Tesla charges 2k for the option, enough to pay for 150+ Supercharging stations/year.) so more than worth it in my opinion.   The plug will differ, and we will end up with a trunk full of adapters like cell phones.  

Europe and other nations (3 phase to the house)  will be fast AC chargers.


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## btuser (Aug 8, 2013)

Update:    Tesla surprises analysts with 20 cent/share in Q2.   They're looking to upgrade their charging port rated capacity to 120kw, which will get you 3hrs(around 200 miles) in 15-20 minutes.  They've also demonstrated a battery-swapping platform 2x faster than a gasoline pump.

Far out man.


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## webbie (Aug 8, 2013)

I am angry with myself. I bought a bunch of stock in the low 20's and sold it all before it was 50.......


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## fossil (Aug 8, 2013)

Yeah, 300% this year.  (I don't own any ).  Too late now, at least for a while.  It'll be interesting to see whether or not they're able to bring the price down as quickly as they're advertising.


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## Augie (Aug 8, 2013)

If you are looking for an all electric what about the Chevy Spark??? 
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/07/22/2014-chevrolet-spark-ev-review-first-drive-video/


> For anyone who has yet to experience the joys of indoor go-karting, you're missing out. Electric karts race around the inside of former big-box retail establishments, warehouses and the like delivering more excitement than you typically get from those rickety old concession karts powered by lawnmower engines. Since we can't afford anything wearing a Tesla badge, these usually come to mind when someone mentions an electric vehicle that's fun. After driving the 2014 Chevrolet Spark, though, our mental association might just be out of date.


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## btuser (Aug 8, 2013)

webbie said:


> I am angry with myself. I bought a bunch of stock in the low 20's and sold it all before it was 50.......


 
Pretty smart move.  No way this company is worth 18 billion dollars today.  Maybe 10 years from now, but waywayway overbought.

I don't care about the stock, other than it takes the heat off short-term gains.  I want to see the vision as reality.


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## btuser (Aug 20, 2013)

Sorry to keep digging this thread up, but Tesla got its crash rating yesterday.  

Best car ever tested.  Official score was 5.4 out of 5.  50 % better rollover than any car tested.  Side pole impact is the only "good" ever scored (almost 10x better than volvo) It actually broke one testing machine.  

Http://www.businessinsider.com/tesl...t-safety-rating-of-any-car-ever-tested-2013-8


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## woodgeek (Aug 20, 2013)

Yeah, but when they crash in the movies they will still make a big fireball.


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## jharkin (Aug 20, 2013)

woodgeek said:


> Yeah, but when they crash in the movies they will still make a big fireball.


 

Have you seen what happens when a LiIon battery shorts? Big fireball in real life too


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## btuser (Aug 20, 2013)

They address that in the report.  No Tesla battery in either the model s or the roadster have ever caught fire, even after multiple real life crashes. 

Safest car in the world.


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## woodgeek (Aug 20, 2013)

I've come across two tesla chargers in my area randomly this summer....one on the NJ turnpike, the other at Hershey Park, PA.  That Musk is my kind of billionaire.


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## jharkin (Aug 24, 2013)

Driving back from an outing to the mystic aquarium with the kids today, I saw two of these within 5 minutes, heading north on I95 into Rhode Island. First time I've ever seen one on the road, really nice looking car, and what struck me the most was how low the car is.


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## WeldrDave (Aug 24, 2013)

New batteries for the car, around $8000 to $12,000.  "Very pretty car" but thats a big nut to swallow when you need fuel.


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## begreen (Aug 24, 2013)

Is that all? I read more like $34K for the 85KW battery, but it is a guess. With the unlimited mileage warranty on the 85KW battery it will take many years to find out.


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## jharkin (Aug 24, 2013)

The demographic that can afford to buy one likely isn't concerned......


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## WeldrDave (Aug 24, 2013)

jharkin said:


> The demographic that can afford to buy one likely isn't concerned......​


 Oh I agree!,  Not in my league, BG, I'm not sure where I read it but I think, car and driver the price of the battery, but that was a bit ago... maybe that was a low end battery, not sure.  I know I briefly looked at the sticker price and said to my self,  the old Dodge will have to do


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## begreen (Aug 24, 2013)

My neighbor's son lives in SF where he got a chance to try out the Tesla. He was up last weekend and I let him drive the Volt for comparison. He said he liked the Volt better. The Tesla felt too big for him. It was more like driving a boat. He liked the nimble handling and size of the Volt better. The price just got better too. Chevy lowered it by $5K.


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## curtis (Aug 30, 2013)

begreen said:


> My neighbor's son lives in SF where he got a chance to try out the Tesla. He was up last weekend and I let him drive the Volt for comparison. He said he liked the Volt better. The Tesla felt too big for him. It was more like driving a boat. He liked the nimble handling and size of the Volt better. The price just got better too. Chevy lowered it by $5K.


 

Do you have a volt? Where I live in northern michigan its what you call rural. And i thought that something like the chevy volt would be perfect for my wife. Her commute to work/school is to the next town about 14miles away. I figured with the volt she could drive there and back one a single charge easliy even in the winter with the heater running. Alot of things that ive read about the volt though make it out to be not a very good vehicle. But it seems for our situation where rarley do we travel over 15-20 miles one way it would be perfect for us.


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## begreen (Aug 30, 2013)

Yes, we got a Volt a couple months ago. My wife and I love the car. It's a lot of fun to drive. So far the Volt fits in perfectly with our lifestyle and average driving. We are still on our second (full) tank of gas. Note that Chevy dropped the price on the car this year by several thousand.


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## stoveguy2esw (Sep 11, 2013)

BrotherBart said:


> I can see it now. The charging stations are the next meat markets. "Do you charge here often?".


 

actually thiink about the old "rt-66" mindset, if this becomes the "new norm"  you may see a lot of "tourist trap" (and i mean that in a good way) locations popping up along the interstates next to the charging stations. i think though that for the electric's to rreally be viable for longer than commute traveling they have to get the range  to at least close to 300 miles for a full charge, think about this , if you had to stop and charge @ 30 minutes every 150 miles travelling would take forever. but then i guess one could take the train but then one would ahve to rent a vehicle at their destination

personally i like a battery swap idea better were it to be feasible, but in order to do it the batteries would have to be of an indyustry wide standard and the vehicle would have to be made with a "think VCR eject" method of accessing the battery.

i dont see it as viable but man, if you could roll in, plug in a meter which calculated the "volume" in the battery, then pop it out, pop in a new one , pay the difference between the volume in the new battery and the old, and off ya go, and the "station" keeps your battery, charges it up and its ready then for the next car i would go into. aint gonna happen that way , but it would make it a lot faster a transition


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