Odds of Tesla really building another Sports car anytime soon....

[rolosrevenge]

They should have a supercar, a flagship that pushes the envelope on performance and sexy looks. Though it may not make much money for the company in terms of sales, it does much for the Tesla brand.

 

[Larry93428]

In the Old Days, "Sports Car" meant suitable for road and track; tape up the headlights and put on a helmet.
EVs so far go great but not long. On the track they quickly get hot or run down.
.
There is a tremendous market for pick-ups: utilities, municipalities and fleets would all buy.
The benefit to our environment is in replacing the ICE pick-up with battery power.
Don't wait for a new Tesla sports car, get a Roadster.

 

[adiggs]

I would be disappointed if Tesla's next sports car is an expensive "supercar" that only the very well off could afford, and by that I mean a starting price of something over $100K. Tesla already did that with the Roadster.

I hope the next Tesla sports car starts at $40-45K and offers a 200 mile range, only 2 seats, decent trunk space, 0-60 in under 6 seconds, and great handling with coils. Manual seats. No fancy falcon wing doors or other gimmicks. That would be a really fun car that would sell like crazy. With the gigafactory and Gen III technology that should be doable and the car would be profitable. It would a be better car than a base Porsche Boxster or Cayman for much less money.

Then options could be offered to greatly increase the range, suspension capability, various goodies (high end sound, power seats, LED headlights, active aerodynamics, air suspension, etc.) and much higher motor power to get the 0-60 down to under 3.5 seconds. That could take the cost up to $100K.

In that way Tesla would have a sports car with broad appeal, with the base version making a great commuter car and a solid sports car, and the maxed out version wold be superior to the Porsche 911 and competitors.

The nice thing about this version of a sports car is that I expect this to exist with the initial release of Gen 3. They might call it a P or P+ package using Model S terminology, but I expect this to be there on day 1, and even probably to be the primary shipping version of the early Gen 3 cars.

I believe Elon has something much more in mind when he talks about sports car. (Of course, I could be complete wrong in that belief)

 

[ecarfan]

But they've already done the Roadster. They'll provide power options with the Model 3, but to me a "cheap" sporty 2-seater doesn't do anything new. Each new vehicle, especially one of limited volume, should add something new. For a sports car, they're lacking the ability to throw it around a track without having to limit the power. It would also help in developing a pick-up that would need sustained power for towing.

Yes Tesla already built the Roadster...for $110K +. They could do a very similar car in three years, in steel, with superior drivetrain and electronics for less than half that. No one else could match that in an EV and it would really sell.

 

[Reykjavik]

I'm very interested to see what the options will be for Model III platform. Having one of them be a sporty convertible would be pretty sweet, and help remind people that Tesla isn't just about making EVs affordable and practical, performance is also going to continue as a theme.

But for a dedicated platform, I think we are going to have to wait at least until after Model III, possibly until after the pickup truck. They may have expanded enough to develop two at once without compromising the quality of either one by the time Model III hits production, but if not, I think a roadster refresh should wait until after the pickup.

 

[dhrivnak]

I thought Tesla's stated goal is to bring EV's to the mass market. I really do not see how a new sports car furthers that aim. I see a pickup far before a sports car. If the goal is sustainable transportation then you target where you can get volume. And in the USA pickups FAR outsell sports cars and have a much bigger impact on the environment.

 

[jerry33]

I thought Tesla's stated goal is to bring EV's to the mass market. I really do not see how a new sports car furthers that aim. I see a pickup far before a sports car. If the goal is sustainable transportation then you target where you can get volume. And in the USA pickups FAR outsell sports cars and have a much bigger impact on the environment.

In order to mass market cars, you have to encourage people to want them. Having the best sports car is one way because people identify with that car even though they drive one of the more practical models. The other thing is that it will be far less expensive to design and build a sports car off of the 3G platform than it will be to build a pickup truck which is going to start from a mostly blank piece of paper. A pickup will take three to four years of development, a sports car will take one or two. This would have an effect on the market as well, because after G3 starts production, it's better to say "A new car will be out in a year or two" instead of "Our next vehicle will be out in four years". Of course, they'll be working on both the sports car and the pickup at the same time so the pickup would be out two or three years after the sports car instead of having a four year gap.

 

[dhrivnak]

Not sure a pickup would be hard as it can easily fit on the Model X platform.

 

[jerry33]

Not sure a pickup would be hard as it can easily fit on the Model X platform.

I'd think you'd have to make the pickup bigger with more batteries. You're going after the F150-F350 crowd. Pickups to many people [in Texas anyway] mean you can pull a 3,500 kg trailer at 80 mph for hundreds of miles without refiling. No way will the Model X platform allow that (without a miracle battery).

 

[Gabzqc]

Article by "Inside EV's" about new Tesla Roadster called Tesla R ...

http://insideevs.com/next-gen-tesla-roadster-called-tesla-r-will-arrive-2017/

 

[ecarfan]

That article is just repeating an Autobild article that is pure speculation.

 

[adiggs]

In order to mass market cars, you have to encourage people to want them. Having the best sports car is one way because people identify with that car even though they drive one of the more practical models. The other thing is that it will be far less expensive to design and build a sports car off of the 3G platform than it will be to build a pickup truck which is going to start from a mostly blank piece of paper. A pickup will take three to four years of development, a sports car will take one or two. This would have an effect on the market as well, because after G3 starts production, it's better to say "A new car will be out in a year or two" instead of "Our next vehicle will be out in four years". Of course, they'll be working on both the sports car and the pickup at the same time so the pickup would be out two or three years after the sports car instead of having a four year gap.

Depending on what exactly you're thinking when you say "sports car", you and 'dhrivnak may be saying exactly the same thing. If you're thinking something 3-series / street sporty (A4, Mustang, Corvette, ...), then I think the Gen 3 will be squarely in that market on day 1 in many or most of it's incarnations. At the very least, there will be a P / P+ package that will get you into that street sporty category.

If by sports car, you're really thinking super car / $200k+, small production run, outrageous performance -- then my own belief is that car is a long ways away from even starting to be designed, much less produced. I expect the super car to be sometime after a pickup truck, and maybe even after a Gen 4 / economy model.

I also realize that there's somewhere in between that can be targeted, and I'm of a less opinionated mind on that one. I guess I'm thinking that you put a P+ type Model S package on the Gen 3 platform, and that's going to handle what most people think of as a sports car. And that amounts to an upgraded suspension, tires, motor, and top end motor; probably better electronics and power handling gear for moving the electricity around, and probably AWD tuned for acceleration. By the time G3 comes along, there isn't a line item on that list that Tesla won't have had 2 or 3 iterations and experience with by then (or more).

 

[jerry33]

Depending on what exactly you're thinking when you say "sports car", you and 'dhrivnak may be saying exactly the same thing. If you're thinking something 3-series / street sporty (A4, Mustang, Corvette, ...), then I think the Gen 3 will be squarely in that market on day 1 in many or most of it's incarnations. At the very least, there will be a P / P+ package that will get you into that street sporty category.

I was thinking a Roadster replacement. Two seats and faster than all but one or two very exotic cars. Elon has previously indicated that it would be built on the G3 platform. Mustangs and Corvettes are already slow compared to the Model S.

 

[dhrivnak]

I fully understand many wanting a "sports" car. But I come back to if Tesla's goal is truly mass market then a sports car is an unnecessary diversion. They did the Roadster to capture the mind and imagination of car enthusiasts. As Elon has stated several times it is not because he thought the wealthy needed another sports car. But it is a way to bury the considerable R&D costs. The Corvette is lucky to sell 15,000/year the Mustang is much better at 75,000/yr.

But both pale to pick-up trucks, something that a Model S chassis would be great at. The F150 sells at 600,000/year or the Silverado at 400,000/year. So I return if the goal is clean sustainable transportation. A sports car is not a likely path.