April 1st in Washington

[Tdave]

Oh right, I asked Elon the status of the funding. He simply reiterated that they should get word "within weeks". Didn't get anything more out of him on that.

 

[Tdave]

More (see, I keep remembering more):

The Model S floorboard battery will be part of the structural integrity of the car, and purposely designed and positioned to aid in crash worthiness.

 

[vfx]

More (see, I keep remembering more):

The Model S floorboard battery will be part of the structural integrity of the car, and purposely designed and positioned to aid in crash worthiness.

Not to be too literal but,

How do you swap such a battery out?

 

[TEG]

3) Confirmed that the drivable car is not their chassis yet. Actual car will be 4 inches wider inside, with a fair bit lower floor, especially in the back where the +2 seats will be, with no battery underneath that part. The current donor chassis just doesn't allow them to configure the floorboard battery and the rest of the interior as low as they'll be able to do in the final car.

Thanks for that... Good to get clarification. So it sounds like the plan is in fact to use a Tesla designed, optimized chassis in final production, and it will offer even more useful interior room. Also some started to question if it was even possible to fit a rear facing 3rd row, but it sounds like the chassis changeover should make that more feasible.

I still wonder about this quote though:

Despite various reports that said Tesla was developing its own chassis, we got a much different story from Mike Donoughe, Tesla's Vice President of Engineering and Manufacturing. "We're still talking with a few manufacturers about using a preexisting architecture. It makes sense to save money in that area," Donoughe told us.

Why would he say that if it is "all system go" on Tesla's own chassis?

 

[Tdave]

Why would he say that if it is "all system go" on Tesla's own chassis?

Good question. I got there very early, and got my information from a 15 minute discussion with Franz.

 

[vfx]

Tesla Boasts 520 Reservations for Model S

 

[Tdave]

Elon mentioned that they delivered a record 105 Roadsters in March.

 

[Palpatine]

Roadster (from talking to Elon himself):

Current cars accelerate 0-60 at between 4.05 - 4.15 seconds. Elon is testing a new PEM and battery modification which will achieve 3.95 seconds. They had to "detune" current PEM cars as they were cutting out with a power fault very occasionally ("rarely" was his word). When that happens the car shuts down and you have to pull over and power cycle to reset. So 2.0 Roadsters, which will start shipping in June-July will be able to achieve 3.95 0-60 times. Roadster Sport models will get 3.75 or better 0-60.

That is so sweet. I am glad I decided to wait for Roadster 2.0 now. Thanks to Doug for convincing me to take the delay.

 

[Palpatine]

Elon mentioned that they delivered a record 105 Roadsters in March.

Cool. That comes out to 23.7 per week. A little bit ahead of schedule.
The highest number VIN showing as delivered on the owners website is #338.

 

[Palpatine]

Tesla Boasts 520 Reservations for Model S

"Weird Al" Yankovic has reserved one, according to his Twitter feed from earlier this week.

Greentech Media: Green Light » Blog Archive » ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Puts Down Deposit for the Model S

The Tesla Roadster, the $109,000 sports car, has already long been a status symbol among the elite. Owners include Dustin Hoffman, George Clooney, Sergey Brin and Sam Perry. (Sam let Oprah cry on him after the Obama election, so he’s sort of a drive-by celebrity, like Squeaky Fromme, but what the hell.)

The Model S will be cheaper, so people like Paula Abdul, Bob Denver and Jimmie J.J. Walker will be able to afford it.

Twitter / Al Yankovic: Just put a deposit down on ...

Just put a deposit down on a Tesla Model S. Yay, I get a new car in... 3 to 5 years!

 

[stopcrazypp]

Just got back. Let's see what I can remember, as I didn't take notes:

2) Battery extends across the floorboard, fully right to left and front to back between the front and rear tires. It's this way on the current Model S they're demoing. I took photos underneath and will post them tomorrow probably.

Thanks, this was the part I was most interested in. Good to hear they at least did get the batteries under the floor for this preliminary chassis, so they do have a rough idea of what is possible, which is what we argued in the other thread about the Inside Line article. Looking forward to the pictures.