Comments on: Tesla Model S Is Safest Car Ever Tested, Sets New Safety Records (Tesla Releases More Info)

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 14:06:00 +0000

Haha, seriously. Too many “best at” features to claim.

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 14:05:00 +0000

Yeah, I haven’t gotten into that price war meme at all. Typical press thinking. Also worth repeating (often) is that the huge Leaf drop was due to manufacturing moving to the US: http://evobsession.com/nissan-saw-it-coming-carlos-ghosn-said-no-more-battery-swap-vehicles/

By: OneHundredbyFifty

OneHundredbyFifty — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 03:54:00 +0000

Agreed but things are looking pretty promising. While the press has
cast the recent price reductions with EVs and the Volt as a price war, I think the real story is the rapid drop in battery prices. And those are projected to continue. Blogged about it here –
http://wp.me/p14Y5F-hC

By: J_JamesM

J_JamesM — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 02:32:00 +0000

I would certainly appreciate it if they sold an extremely bare-bones version of their cars, and then had endless goodies and spec levels that you could option up on it.

Using your example, imagine an offroad utility vehicle Tesla priced to compete with a Subaru Forrester, which ranges from $20k- $35k.

The base model would be, well, basic. Cloth upholstery. Minimal interior gizmos and furnishings. Manually-adjustable seats. No sunroof. Maybe power steering. Maybe power windows. Smaller battery, 4WD optional.

But then you could go up in price, adding heated/cooled leather power seats, sunroof, bigger battery, larger motors, possibly faster charging, automatic climate control, DVD players and infotainment, tech and gear, sport suspension, and so on and so forth. At the top level, you would have a true lux-mobile at more than double the cost of the base model.

By: Miles

Miles — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 00:13:00 +0000

+1. The price is still out of range from most middle income families. Maybe $35k – $40k for a Telsa in Australia???

By: Ivor O'Connor

Ivor O'Connor — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 19:00:00 +0000

It is getting to be a one car market. There is Tesla and then there are some very very bad choices.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 16:55:00 +0000

Incredibly impressive.

Now if battery manufacturers would only deliver better, cheaper batteries so Tesla could build EVs for the rest of us.

200 mile range, 4wd and around $25k would suit me nicely.

By: J_JamesM

J_JamesM — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 16:21:00 +0000

Wow, I wonder how the Tesla marketing team is going to trumpet the whole “safest car ever” thing.

Seriously, pity the poor Tesla model S marketers. They have to choose among the acceleration, the efficiency, the range, the practicality, the interior quality, the handling, the tech, the price, the charge time, the suspension, and now the safety. How do you pick which ones get the most attention?