Link: http://alibi.com/feature/44435/Tesla-Model-S-vs-Status-Quo.html Tesla Model S vs. Status QuoLuxury green machines and the trickle-down effectBY GREGORY J. PLESHAW ANDREW STONE Andrew Stone clearly remembers the day he placed his order for a brand new Tesla Model S. Stone, an Albuquerque computer programmer who has developed software since the late ’80s, is legendary for his products for NeXT workstation, Mac OS X and the iPhone’s iOS operating system, and he was riding high on the Twitter wave with a new iPhone app he developed called Twittelator, which eventually sold a million units. Arnold Schwarzenegger was an early adopter of the Model S. In the Feb. 2009 edition of Automobile Magazine, the former bodybuilder was quoted as saying, “For me to see this company build these cars in New Mexico drove me absolutely insane.” In April of 2009, Stone received a Tweet from the Tesla company solicitng orders for its latest model, the Tesla Model S, a sleek, high-end luxury zero-emissions electric car that retails around $69,000 for a basic model, to over $105,000 for a totally tricked-out version. The deposit required for this high-end hot rod was no less than $5,000 but Stone immediately clicked in his order. By the time he logged into PayPal to plunk down five Gs for the deposit, the Tweet was less than an hour old—and Stone was buyer #217. “The demand for a car that was fully electric, and yet also had all the features of a high-end luxury car, was already there,” said Stone, as he stood next to his snazzy Tesla on Central, showing some of its more exotic features to members of the Alibistaff. “Tesla knew that the demand was going to be there, and they built the car knowing full well that it would be a real disrupter to the status quo of oil and gas fueled vehicles.” The Tesla story holds interest to not only green consumers who want to walk away from the gas pump, but also to New Mexicans who might’ve liked to have been part of its development. When Stone initially placed the order for his vehicle, the Tesla was intended to be a homegrown car. Construction of a 150,000 square-foot plant was slated to begin in Albuquerque in April 2007; the hopeful venture was the result of a deal put together by then-Governor Bill Richardson and then-Senator Jeff Bingaman, and it would have included the high wage job tax credit, a manufacturer’s investment tax credit and assistance from the state’s Job Training Incentive Program. Despite the state’s best efforts at bringing high-wage jobs to New Mexico, Tesla ultimately decided that the efforts of the Terminator, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, held greater sway over the company. Like Stone, Schwarzenegger was an early adopter of the Model S. In the Feb. 2009 edition ofAutomobile Magazine, the former bodybuilder was quoted as saying, “For me to see this company build these cars in New Mexico drove me absolutely insane.” ANDREW STONE [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Read the rest of the article in the link: [/FONT]http://alibi.com/feature/44435/Tesla-Model-S-vs-Status-Quo.html
Nice article for my southern neighbor. There seems to be at least 10 Model S's in the state by now. I know of 2 Sigs here and one of them is in my city. Congratulations, Mr. Stone.