DrivingTheFuture
Member
Wow... A post by Martin Eberhard, and to think I was in highschool at the time with not a clue about the car company forming out west that would change my life in so many ways...
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Trejdify Top Stories: Tesla Motors History Timeline
2004: Roadster styling study...
2005: January - 1/4 scale model done in clay
2005: July - test a "plastic model" (the Aero buck) in a wind tunnel
2004: Roadster styling study...
2005: January - 1/4 scale model done in clay
2005: July - test a "plastic model" (the Aero buck) in a wind tunnel
The 1/4 size clay model that came before the aero buck:
The last successful American car startup was founded 111 years ago. It's called Ford.
Full size clay model (is this a "styling buck"?):
The last successful American car startup was founded 111 years ago. It's called Ford.
Full size clay model (is this a "styling buck"?):
I am committed to buying the next generation Roadster. I should have bought the last.
flodrab
Member
anyone know how many 3.0s there are?
(or at least an estimate ... and preferably one not based solely on mere speculation)
(or at least an estimate ... and preferably one not based solely on mere speculation)
DeedWest
2008 VP & 2011 2.5 Sport
I know of at least 28 cars with the R80 battery in my logs. My estimate is that there are at least >100 out there by now, based on sighted serial numbers on batteries (though it’s not 100% confirmed that these serial numbers follow a sequence). Can anyone confirm that they do?
TEG I was wondering if there were a book on the Roadster, as there are 2 or 3 on the Model S. But I think this thread is that book. Excellent work!
Might I ask you a couple questions--
1) the Wikipedia article on the 2008 Roadster-- what do you think of it-- did you author it-- do you know who authored it --- , and
2) Still, after 11 years, I wonder about Martin. He got me started in all this.
I tuned out when he was moved out.
On 31 March of last year I came back. I've bought 2 S90Ds and I will buy 2 Model 3s.
But I still wonder about Martin. Anything to say on that? A discussion thread to read? A book?
Thank you
Vern
Might I ask you a couple questions--
1) the Wikipedia article on the 2008 Roadster-- what do you think of it-- did you author it-- do you know who authored it --- , and
2) Still, after 11 years, I wonder about Martin. He got me started in all this.
I tuned out when he was moved out.
On 31 March of last year I came back. I've bought 2 S90Ds and I will buy 2 Model 3s.
But I still wonder about Martin. Anything to say on that? A discussion thread to read? A book?
Thank you
Vern
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I don't know of any book. I didn't have anything to do with the Wikipedia article, although it is possible some of what I wrote on this forum ended up there. It seems fairly accurate from what I can see. There are ways to see page edit history on Wikipedia to look up who made changes. Generally it is a collaboration among a lot of different people.
Martin had a certain brand of passion and enthusiasm that is missed. It was sad to see him pushed out of the company he started. Tesla has (from what I can see) managed to deliver on the promises of his business plan and grown to achieve the goals he set out for it. I hope he is proud of what it has become even though others took over and ran it themselves. He has been involved with a number of different companies and projects since Tesla, but none that captivated the world in the same way.
Currently, I think he is Chief Strategy Officer at SF motors.
SF Motors Acquires EV Battery Module Startup InEVit - SF Motors
Martin had a certain brand of passion and enthusiasm that is missed. It was sad to see him pushed out of the company he started. Tesla has (from what I can see) managed to deliver on the promises of his business plan and grown to achieve the goals he set out for it. I hope he is proud of what it has become even though others took over and ran it themselves. He has been involved with a number of different companies and projects since Tesla, but none that captivated the world in the same way.
Currently, I think he is Chief Strategy Officer at SF motors.
SF Motors Acquires EV Battery Module Startup InEVit - SF Motors
Thanks for posting those photos, very interesting. And I’m glad that Tesla did not go with the front end look of the model on the left (below): that black section that includes the headlight and connecting area does not look good to me, and there are several extra seams in the front end that aren’t on the production cars. As we learned from the recent Rolling Stone article on Elon, quote “He hates seams”. 
backmost
Member
For those of you who were with the company from the beginning, what was the culture like up to the first Roadster deliveries? How has it changed or evolved since with the newer models? I can't imagine the anticipation at the time for something other than the GM EV-1
I wasn't the beginning beginning, just the medium beginning, but it was both exciting and scary. The meeting at the original Santa Monica store, when Elon explained that they were in trouble, and the cars were going to cost more than expected and be later than expected, made me think that either I would lose my deposit entirely, or Tesla/Elon was something very special. His honesty and clear view was refreshing. I've been a fan ever since, and am very glad it was the latter.
That is complicated to answer. Somewhat "you had to be there". In today's context it is hard to imagine what is was like in those "dark ages" before Tesla became "a thing" and changed the whole perception of EVs.
It didn't change overnight with the Roadster. The naysayers and doubters were still critical and saying it was ill conceived and doomed to failure. It took years of Tesla banging the drum for more and more people to warm up and realize it was for real this time. It wasn't all Tesla... There were existing efforts underway such as "Plug-in America" that were making slow headway, and Tesla basically opened the door for them to make more progress.
I guess a simple high level would be that EVs were only embraced by environmentalist outcast oddballs before, and now it has become accepted mainstream with detractors becoming a minority.
Tesla shut down most of the arguments against with cars that were fun to drive, practical, safe, good looking, outrageously quick, huge range, quick charging, and generally desirable.
Now lots of people want them but cannot afford them so the biggest remaining complaint is that they are too expensive. But Model 3 is working to solve that problem.
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What do you mean by "with the company"? I have never been an employee of Tesla, but the two people who founded the company, Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, were coworkers of mine at Packet Design before they left to found Tesla. I drove an EV-1 for five years and gave Martin a ride in mine (maybe Marc, too, I don't recall) before I had to return it at the end of the lease. Martin and I talked several times about EVs while at Packet Design and it was then that he developed his spreadsheet exploring energy choices for transportation considering efficiency and environmental factors from first principles. The logical conclusion was to start an EV company. I visited Tesla periodically over its first few years, beginning from when it was three people (Martin, Marc and Ian Wright) in a small office near downtown Menlo Park. Each time there was something new and intriguing to see: battery packaging, motor test stand, ... Having lost the EV-1, you can imagine that my hunger for the Tesla Roadster was intense.
backmost
Member
I should have worded that better, I meant in terms of how long you've been keeping up with or following Tesla. I was in high school when the Roadster was going through the EP and VP phases so unfortunately missed out on that little era.
When the Roadster was new it was thought of by many as a curious experiment. Those (like slcasner) who put money down at the beginning had a lot of faith in that unproven 'project'. (And trust in people he knew making it happen.)
It is somewhat of a miracle that Tesla is where they are today.
( Thanks to a lot of sacrifice, blood, sweat, and tears from a lot of contributors. )
It is somewhat of a miracle that Tesla is where they are today.
( Thanks to a lot of sacrifice, blood, sweat, and tears from a lot of contributors. )
In spite of the amazing progress made by electric cars in the last decade, there are still plenty of naysayers out there. I talk to them where I work nearly daily.
Msjulie
Active Member
In spite of the amazing progress made by electric cars in the last decade, there are still plenty of naysayers out there. I talk to them where I work nearly daily.
Not to be completely disparaging ... but many people are conditioned to narrow thinking because it's easier, status quo and such... change even if better takes more work.. I think..
Msjulie you are so right. You can tell by the questions people ask. Like they are fixated in the 20th-Century gasoline-engine frame of mind. I asked a group of people the other day: "Did you consider not buying your last cell phone because you were worried about how long it would take to charge it?"
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