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JBPro777

New Member
Apr 14, 2011
1
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On various threads I have seen forum members post input/advice for Tesla motors about all topics ranging from business strategies to design input and all aspects in between. There is no such thing as bad input!

So here is your "soapbox." If you could tell Tesla Motors anything, what input would you give? Maybe this thread will consolodate all the "they should" or "only if they would" statements. Maybe not. We'll see.
 
1. They need to put side impact airbags in all their cars.

2. They should make the batteries easier to remove for a quick change at a service station if necessary.

3. They should make a coupe version of the roadster.
 
Do something with extra space at the giant Tesla factory? (Sublease parts of it?)

Tesla needs a smaller car after Roadster production stops. Bluestar seems a long way off.
Could Telsa work with Toyota to get something smaller than a Rav4EV Tesla powered soon?
How about Roadster drive-trains in the FT86-II ?
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Tesla already has the manufacturing capability for Roadster motors and PEMs, yet the Roadster is set to go out of production in about a year, so maybe those drive-trains could stay in production and go into something else?

(There had been some hope that they could go into Smarts but Daimler seems to have decided to put a lethargic non-Tesla motor in instead... So maybe Toyota is a better partner? )

As usual the big "problem" is battery cost, capacity and longevity which I think Tesla is already leading a charge. (So keep that up!)
The next biggest problem is charging standards, so make sure to lead the industry there too.
 
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Raptor:

1 - The Roadster couldn't have side airbags b/c they would be too close to the occupants. Tesla has consistently stated that safety is a priority with Model S forward... i'm sure future Tesla models will surround you with airbags.

2 - see Model S

3 - add hardtop
 
Another random idea:
Tesla ought to be thinking about trade-ins someday. Will there be a way to trade a non-Tesla in for Model S?
Dealerships can make good money marking up and reselling trade-ins. Tesla 'boutique' stores don't seem well suited to handling used cars.
Perhaps Tesla should have an arrangement with some other firm (e.g.: "Carmax") to take used cars as trade-ins then hand them off to someone else who has their own used car lot?
 
Build a demo car and then sell upgrade options for the latest and greatest cells. Just to give the world a flavour of what is coming in the Model S. A genuine 400 mile Roadster would grab headlines.

Put CHAdeMO on it too.

Excellent idea. I'm sure most people who bought a Roadster would be willing years down the road to spend good money to upgrade the battery pack to something more significant (300 miles of real world highway driving would be ideal for me at least).
 
UNDER PROMISE and OVER DELIVER: This covers the entire spectrum of car ownership, from the purchasing experience, the performance of their cars, service costs, battery range, reliability, etc. Simple concept, but very hard to implement.

To date, I would grade Tesla a "C" based on the behavior of the local sales rep. They need to step up their game if they plan on competing with the high-end luxury automakers.
 
Let's see... Thanks for giving dreamers like myself a chance to grow along with you. Now on to some more serious stuff...please produce a Roadster commercial. I know it's on the way but a simple commercial would help sell the remaining units more quickly.

TM, please change the design of the base wheels that we are seeing on the Alpha Model S because they look horrible. Only offer the rear most child seats on a limited number of Model S' even on an option basis. Please change the outside rearview mirrors in the Beta batch to look closer to the concept design but in keeping with design principles. I would like to see the driver screen mimic something that of the Lexus LFA.

As you (TM) moves closer to the Beta build, please provide some updated design directive on the Model X, Bluestar and Roadster 3.0. For TM to move closer or quicker to the mass market car, I think it should be loosely based on the Matrix platform since there is already a working partnership with Toyota.
 
Suggestion to Tesla going forward: Build a quick car. The soon-to-be-discontinued Roadster is the lightest car they will ever sell. All future Tesla cars will be heavier yet will probably still use a similar motor and similar 1-speed tranny. It's easy to see that all future Teslas will be slower than the Roadster, and the Roadster is no speed demon to begin with (probably good for 13.5 quarter mile with a 50% battery SOC). I understand that the single motor single gear solution is elegant, cheap, quiet, and efficient. That's perfect for a commuter car or luxury car. But a real electric sports car needs either more motors or more gears. *IF* they ever build an electric sports car in the future then I'd hope they'd try to make it quick. Paying over $100K for a sports car that can't beat a Mustang/Camaro/Corvette/Charger in a drag race is no fun.
 
Transition to J1772 ASAP! With many public HPCs now being converted to the official standard (J1772) it makes no sense that Tesla still hasn't adopted it. The proposed adapter cable is NOT the right solution. All Tesla's should now be built with a J1772 plug and they should be offering retrofits for current owners.
 
Transition to J1772 ASAP! With many public HPCs now being converted to the official standard (J1772) it makes no sense that Tesla still hasn't adopted it. The proposed adapter cable is NOT the right solution. All Tesla's should now be built with a J1772 plug and they should be offering retrofits for current owners.
Depends on how fast typical J1772 sockets are. Right now the Tesla HPC is still industry leading and their mobile connector with support of all those different sockets still doesn't have a match in J1772 (so far all J1772 level 2 is hardwired). They will likely have to build something similar before a full J1772 retrofit makes sense.
 
There's no reason that those benefits need go away, they just need a J1772 plug on the UMC too.

In which case they might also be able to sell it to Leaf owners (if it would be compatible with the standard J1772 communication protocol). Which might make sense if they don't loose money on it, and/or if the brand exposure is worth it. And it would then also be usable with the Model S, which surely will (also) use J1772 at least at AC Level 2.
 
There's no reason that those benefits need go away, they just need a J1772 plug on the UMC too.
That's what I'm saying, they need a J1772 version of the UMC before it makes sense to do a J1772 retrofit vs. an adapter. There may be roadblocks to this though, given no manufacturer has attempted to make something similar for J1772. It doesn't sound like it's as trivial as you make it sound or I don't see why other companies won't bank on this potential (rather than continuing to make all these hardwired or semi-hardwired EVSEs).

J1772 retrofit actually complicates things on the HPC too; you need to change the connector on that too. Seems like the adapter would probably be the cheapest way out, requiring the fewest changes.

I suspect Tesla will strongly favor the adapter for this reason, unless they are far enough ahead in Model S development to have J1772 versions of the HPC/UMC/MC already ready (then they can sell these to Roadster owners, after a J1772 retrofit).