SByer
'08 #383
@James; Apologies! Didn't get a chance to remove the hardtop last weekend. Still figuring out what the temporary storage arrangement will be until the storage bag is available.
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I was also told there would be no 500s made when they skip to 2010 but we have at least seen VPs with 501 and 502. (maybe that's why. They did not want only one customer 500 out there) It actually seems very clean to give the VPs all the 500 series numbers and they could do the same skip from 2010 to 2011 for another 100 (or 99) consecutive VP series. I wonder if they will ever sell any of them?
Thanks Graham
I was told to expect an October 2009 delivery date. I was also told if I lock in my options it could be as soon as early September
I'll write up what I think about the suspension once I take the drive. I doubt that the car will have the 2010 interior, though. They told me that it's a prototype (VP16). Maybe I'll see some other 2010's around that I can get pictures of, though.
VFX, does that mean you are going to do the rally this weekend with the new car?
Tesla Motors Delivers 500th Roadster
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A New Jersey philanthropist was the 500th person to take ownership of a Tesla Roadster, an important milestone for the world’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer.
Martin Tuchman, former chairman and CEO of Interpool, is chairman of The Tuchman Foundation and a board member of The Parkinson's Alliance and Parkinson's Disease Foundation of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York. He plans to charge his Roadster partly with solar energy thanks to photovoltaic panels he helped install throughout his hometown of Kingston, NJ.
“My Roadster drives like a dream -- it’s amazing,” said Tuchman, a former automotive engineer and owner of a 1967 Mercedes 250 and a 1993 Jaguar convertible. Tuchman converted his 1937 Chris-Craft into an electric boat so he could take it on nearby Lake Carnegie, which prohibits gas-powered boats. He plans to use his Roadster as his primary commuter car.
Tuchman took delivery of a Twilight Blue Roadster last weekend, a few weeks before the anticipated opening of a Tesla showroom in New York’s Chelsea Art District. Greater New York is Tesla’s largest market outside of California, and local EV owners enjoy numerous incentives.
Zero-emission vehicles are exempt from New Jersey sales, use and luxury taxes. Single occupants of alternative-fuel vehicles may also use the high-occupancy commuter lanes on the New Jersey Turnpike. These incentives are on top of a $7,500 US federal tax credit, which fully applies to all Tesla Roadsters.
Tesla will also soon be opening stores in Chicago, London, Seattle, Miami, Washington, Monaco and Munich. Tesla will begin deliveries in Europe this summer.
San Carlos, Calif.-based Tesla is the only production automaker selling highway-capable EVs in the United States or Europe. The Roadster beats nearly every other car for acceleration yet is twice as energy efficient as a Toyota Prius. It costs roughly $4 to refuel and can be completely recharged in as little as 3.5 hours.
Michael van der Sande, Tesla Senior Vice President of Global Sales, Service and Marketing, called the 500th delivery an important symbol for the world’s newest production automaker.
“We now have more than 500 real-world customers providing valuable feedback on our cars and contributing to Tesla’s spirit of continuous improvement,” van der Sande said. “We intend to leverage our first-mover advantage and continue to build brand loyalty for years – from our 500th to our 500,000th delivery.”
Picked up #500 last night. Wife and I took turns driving it home. Both of us were terrified. She said she had never driven more defensively in her life.
It's wet and rainy here and we need a full charge (120V only) for the rally tomorrow so no driving it today. (!)
Meanwhile our cats broke it in first thing this morning with muddy paw prints over every horizontal surface. (when will that cover be ready?)
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Looks a lot different in person.