Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk to speak at TESLIVE users conference - San Jose Mercury News
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk will be the featured keynote speaker at TESLIVE, a first-ever users conference being planned for Tesla owners and enthusiasts. Other speakers are expected to include Tesla executives and key industry experts.
The July conference is being organized by grassroots volunteers with the independent Tesla Motors Club, which has roughly 6,000 active users. TMC's popular online forums have become an organizing force for Tesla's fervent user base, as well as a key source of information for analysts and journalists who follow the Palo Alto-based maker of electric vehicles.
"A forum member said we should do a Macworld, but for Tesla," said Bonnie Norman, 59, who owns a Tesla Roadster and is second in the reservation line to buy the forthcoming Model X. "It just kind of grew from there."
Teslive is being billed as a partnership between TMC and Tesla Motors. The two-day conference is designed to help Tesla owners and enthusiasts meet each other and employees of the company improve their knowledge of the car and find out about future products and services.
The event kicks off July 12 at the Crowne Plaza San Jose-Silicon Valley in Milpitas with exhibits and a networking reception. Saturday includes several breakout sessions and a Tesla Motors-sponsored party that evening at the Fremont factory. On Sunday, organizers envision a convoy of drivers taking to the Woodside hills in Roadsters and Model S sedans.
The event, which has a $200 fee for those who register before May 15, is limited to 300 attendees. But organizers hope it can become an annual conference that grows in size in the future. It is open to "anyone interested in Tesla Motors and their cars."
"The event speaks to the fact that Tesla has been successful at exciting a fan base of customers who will be evangelists for the product," said Andrea James, an analyst with Dougherty & Co. "The company is thinking longer term. You don't have to be a current Tesla car owner to attend. You're still welcome to be a part of the community."
Last edited: