AutoblogGreen Q&A: Elon Musk Part1

[stopcrazypp]

AutoblogGreen Q&A: Tesla Motors Chairman Elon Musk Pt. 1 - In the beginning

AutoblogGreen Q&A: Tesla Motors Chairman Elon Musk Pt. 1 - In the beginning - AutoblogGreen

You guys will probably be interested in this.

 

[malcolm]

It's like Michael Collins repeatedly breaking into the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC and editing all the signs on the Apollo 11 exhibit.

 

[vfx]

It's like Michael Collins repeatedly breaking into the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC and editing all the signs on the Apollo 11 exhibit.

what? .

 

[doug]

It's like Michael Collins repeatedly breaking into the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC and editing all the signs on the Apollo 11 exhibit.

Having grown up in the DC area, and spent many a summer day in the Air & Space museum, I find that image pretty funny. However, Michael Collins has always said he was content to wait in the Columbia command module.

 

[GSP]

That is a humorous image. Now imagine EM in the Apollo 11 command module........

 

[Chris H.]

It's like Michael Collins repeatedly breaking into the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC and editing all the signs on the Apollo 11 exhibit.

Malc,

you've got a knack for coming up with very appropriate, and funny, imagery. Keep it coming... :smile:

 

[stopcrazypp]

Since this thread is started already, I might as well put the link for part 2:
AutoblogGreen Q&A: Tesla Motors Chairman Elon Musk Part 2 - Transmission shifts - AutoblogGreen

The second part gives more perspective into what went on with the transmission deal. There's a good comment by Michael K, which can probably describe how a lot of us is feeling right now about Tesla Motors.

 

[DDB]

Since this thread is started already, I might as well put the link for part 2:
AutoblogGreen Q&A: Tesla Motors Chairman Elon Musk Part 2 - Transmission shifts - AutoblogGreen

The second part gives more perspective into what went on with the transmission deal. There's a good comment by Michael K, which can probably describe how a lot of us is feeling right now about Tesla Motors.

I agree with Michael K. Like I commented at ABG, I think it's looking like my "EV" will be produced and purchased from Mitsu or GM.

 

[malcolm]

Since this thread is started already, I might as well put the link for part 2....

Oh well....

It doesn't take a genius to spot that what with the poor reception of the Chairman's views and the recent lack of effort with the TM blogs, that the company will shortly be announcing a "scaling down" of its online involvement.

Fair enough. The Roadster is expensive. Affluent customers need a certain exclusivity and a degree of pampering.

Plus rich people are much less likely to give the Chairman a Noogie in public.

List of school pranks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Cobos]

Malcolm: You might be right about scaling down the online effort, but for any Whitestar customers you are talking about a different demographic. In Norway the price of 800 000+ NOK for the Roadster, a very impractical car but it outside most people. A 450 000 NOK sedan/wagon (Volvo V70) on the other hand was Norways 4th most sold car with sales over 4000 units last year. Then we are talking about wellpayed proffesionals like doctors in public hospitals and such. At least in the Nordic countries they are not aiming the Whitestar at affluent people but people with "regular" jobs.
But who am I but a potential customer of the Whitestar which hates seeing my online darling disintegrating before my eyes.... :frown:

Cobos

 

[vfx]

Martin has more than one comment as well.

Michael K is SPOT ON.

I would dare to add one one more suggestion. That along with swallowing pride, they bring back Martin.

 

[DDB]

Martin has more than one comment as well.

Michael K is SPOT ON.

I would dare to add one one more suggestion. That along with swallowing pride, they bring back Martin.

Would be interesting to know what the deal would be to "bring him back," and whether he would be willing to go back on a simple request. Tesla may be experiencing growing pains or it may be going the way of so many others. Perhaps GM isn't so poor a company after all?

 

[doug]

And now Part 3:
AutoblogGreen Q&A: Tesla Motors Chairman Elon Musk Pt. 3 - Lessons and WhiteStar hints - AutoblogGreen








Spoiler Alert: Whitestar to be pure EV, stamped Al body panels.

 

[hailstorm]

There's some pretty big changes on the powertrain side that I don't want to... I'm going to make an announcement on that probably in a few months. There are really huge improvements on the powertrain side that are really fundamental to making a pure electric car work, not a hybrid. You have to address the range issue if you're going to have pure electric. So how are you going to address the range issue. There's a few things we're going to do to address the range issue.

This has put Tesla back on the radar for me. I'm quite excited now to see what they have been working on for the whitestar. I'd personally love to see them work with Project Better Place. I doubt that would come true though.

 

[malcolm]

Excuse me while I eat my hat.

I don't know, maybe Tesla got too focussed on transmission troubles and production issues and the whole who-founded-what routine - but somehow they lost sight of a vision that Whitestar could be a worthy successor to the Roadster.

I'm glad for the company - and for Elon - and for Martin - that it looks as though Whitestar is going to be an incredible challenge. The Roadster was, and is, and will be Martin's baby, but Elon has a fantastic opportunity to "let go" of the past and to write his own They-said-it-couldn't-possibly-be-done story with Tesla's second model.

Elon deserves to have his own "moon shot". A BEV Whitestar is certainly that.

Let's move on.

 

[doug]

Wrap up - So what's it all mean??:
AutoblogGreen Q&A: Tesla Motors Chairman Elon Musk - Epilogue - AutoblogGreen









Spoiler Alert: Umm... made you look!

 

[malcolm]

Wrap up - So what's it all mean??:

ALWAYS let the product do the talking.

 

[dpeilow]

So, wrote the spec for the sedan which is code-named WhiteStar and we're going a pure EV approach by the way. I don't think most people are completely aware of that. Martin was really pushing a hybrid approach, but we're not going to do a hybrid approach. We're going to go pure electric.

I think, the whole hybrid thing is a red herring.

Interesting.

I read somewhere that when the battery on the Roadster runs low, the PEM limits the motor to half power and the range more than doubles.

Now, half power with drivetrain 1.5 is still respectable for a normal family car. Does this mean that we could see performance in this class and 500-mile range?