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What will Martin do Next?

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M

Mike_A

New Member
Dec 3, 2007
1
0
Venice, Italy
#1
What is Martin going to do now!

Hello Martin,

You alluded to some things that you might like to do once the dust settles.

Would you like to stay in EV or move on?

I was wondering if you will look for projects where you can have 51% and therefore control :wink: ?

Are you open to pitches (EV based)?

Apologies for this brazen spruiking, think of it as a form of flattery.

Ciao,

Mike
 
#3
After reading through the 50 plus comments on Martin's new blog it seems to me that the EV is still nearest and dearest to his heart. If I were a betting man I would say the next project will be EV related.

In the posts Martin refers to some of the issues he faced at Tesla. Most of these have pretty obvious solutions within a new company. Basic answer is "Keep control of company vision and product design rights."

What other things do you think he would like to change; or do with a new EV company? Would it compete directly with the Tesla roadster? Should it go straight to a WhiteStar competitor? What makes the most sense? What should be considered and why?
 
#4
Well I guess we'll find out soon enough, but I'm idly wondering whether it might be something in the charging infrastucture area. A common recharge communications protocol? Something like the CAN bus, but for charging stations???

Then again, if the intelligence in the charging system is built into the car anyway, why bother? It'll only make kerb-side recharging points more expensive.

Dumb electronics are cheap electronics :)

I'm assuming that it's going to be EV-related, of course.

Might be something completely different.
 
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#5
... but I'm idly wondering whether it might be something in the charging infrastucture area. A common recharge communications protocol? Something like the CAN bus, but for charging stations ...
Click to expand...

A single man or small company cannot do anything in the infrastucture area or protocols. Those things take big companies, government, politics and a lot of money and time.

Martin has "almost" succeded with the first step of his plan - crate an EV supercar. The next step - EV family sedan - I'd say is out of his reach for now. Also he would directly compete with Tesla Motors.

What about third step? Small, affordable and fun comuter EV? Something like this maybe? (concept D from Venture Vehicles at http://www.flytheroad.com/):
Retouched_Concept_D.jpg


This is not something I'd call a punishment vehicle. This thing could weigh well around 1000 pounds and be cheaper to develope and produce than an ordinary car because legaly it is a motorcycle, no safety demands and standards to meet. But it can be used in rain and cold weather, without helmet and special lether suits. It also can take on your groceries and it is a fun to drive! :)

A smaller battery pack would suffice (I'd say 30kWh, 500pounds), because it has much less drag than a car, making it less expensive and also lighter. Target price is 25.000$ for pure EV version. Even if it rises to 35.000 it would sell like hotcakes.

Only I'm not so sure VentureVehicles are actualy capable of making it a reality. Martins experience could realy help them out. He hadn't said no yet :D
 
#6
Dogtown said:
If I were a betting man I would say the next project will be EV related.
Click to expand...

I would not be so quick to bet. We have talked about all sorts of ideas, and just like the pre-Tesla days, some ideas are more interesting than others and not all are in the EV world. In fact, some are not even in the transportation business.

As for the VentureOne car, I can almost promise that Martin will not get into the 3-wheel car business. That aspect of car design scares me personally. Too much liability with no safety standards and DOT testing required. I can not imagine Martin having the nerve to start a company that I was not behind. Can you imagine me in his face everyday complaining about his job? My guess is that this idea scares him.:tongue:

Carolyn
 
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#8
Just a bet, still a chance to lose.

X-CEOsWife said:
I would not be so quick to bet. We have talked about all sorts of ideas, and just like the pre-Tesla days, some ideas are more interesting than others and not all are in the EV world. In fact, some are not even in the transportation business.
Click to expand...

Well, you are certainly in a better position to tell than I am. I know how it is looking at all the new opportunities. Tons of ideas and only one focus. It seems that Martin shares my philosophy that keeping focused is key, unlike certain others that will remain nameless. Understanding all that, there is always going to be a part of the mind that keeps saying how close you were to getting it right. "If only I had a chance to do it all over again I would... Oh wait, I do have that chance." How cool is that?
 
#9
X-CEOsWife said:
As for the VentureOne car, I can almost promise that Martin will not get into the 3-wheel car business. That aspect of car design scares me personally. Too much liability with no safety standards and DOT testing required. I can not imagine Martin having the nerve to start a company that I was not behind. Can you imagine me in his face everyday complaining about his job? My guess is that this idea scares him.:tongue:

Carolyn
Click to expand...
LOL, I guess you're right about that.

Personally, though, I think Martin could provide some consulting to help them with their business plan and refine their focus. I believe there is a developing market for management consulting with clean technology start-ups.
 
#13
... we need real cars with 4 wheels and reasonable size and performance. Especially since it's quite doable.
Click to expand...

As shown by numerous companies producing houndreds of thousands of inexpensive long range EVs now? Or maybe they are not?

This VentureOne is another vehicle which I'd like to own and use. In gas, hybrid or pure EV form, doesn't rally matter. Its basic strong point is that it can be quite inexpensive, usefull, practical and fun to drive. No compromises, remember? People are already paying 50.000$ for CarverOne, which is much more oddlooking.

Bluestar for 30k $ as envisioned by Martin and others at TeslaMotors is still at least 10 years away. Like it or not. But most people who created The Roadster are not with TeslaMotors anymore anyway. I'd say no BlueStar ever, maybe not even WhiteStar.
 
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#14
I'd be delighted if Martin decided to build an electric sedan. With all the firings at Tesla, I don't see that it now has much of a head start versus anyone else. Also, Mike Harrigan told me at the L.A. Auto show that the biggest obstacle to Whitestar was money. Martin, if anything else, knows how to raise money. I think he will emerge relatively unscathed in the wake of whatever TM becomes. He made the car company, and got the Roadster nearly to completion. That has to count for something in the eyes of the financiers-that-be. By contrast, while Elon has a lot of money, he doesn't have the know-how, and I don't see how he's going to hire it anytime soon, not with what I presume to be the low morale at TM.
 
#15
I also think the electric sedan is the key to actual meaningful change. With the Tesla Roadster the whole concept of a desirable electric car has been "proven". Well at least if they do get cars on the road within the current timeframe, i.e. at least 100 cars within 2008.
The Roadster though a good Halo car or proof of concept will never be and was never intended as a mass seller. While a Whitestar like car within the $50k-75k will sell lots, especially in Europe. If it has enough premium-car comforts to be a serious contender to brands like BMW, Volvo, Cadillac it will easily sell everything that is produced for the first comers to that market. European buyers accept a much higher price due to higher gas prices and usually an element of sin tax on dino-cars. And with rising enviromental awareness in the US, rising gas prices and the greatly increased usefulness of a 4 door sedan compared to a roadster means the problem is the line outside your showroom not how big rebates you should give.

But I'm just a layman, that really wants the original Whitestar car idea :)

Cobos
 
#17
This Venture One is another vehicle which I'd like to own and use. In gas, hybrid or pure EV form, doesn't rally matter. Its basic strong point is that it can be quite inexpensive, useful, practical and fun to drive. No compromises, remember? People are already paying $50,000 for Carver One, which is much more odd looking.
Click to expand...

How many people? It will alway be a small, niche market, a toy for the rich.
 
#19
WarpedOne said:
(concept D from Venture Vehicles
Click to expand...

It may not be a punishment car but it is too far into the "weird" category. (Same with the the Aptera)
Tesla / Martin wisely did not go all freaky with the Roadster design. Even if they had come out with the sort of bat-like spider/wicked look of an Exige would be pushing it. While I believed (and still do a bit) that the roadster design is a bit pabulum, kind of awesome car smoothed out and a bit commite-ized in it's design, I also believe it was the right thing to do for the introduction of a new car, new technology to the market. You don't want to turn off Middle America. You want to give them something that the girls can call "cute" and the boys can call "cooool.

A very striking design statement would make the car’s evangelists even more rabid but this would be at the expense of their numbers.
 
#20
I think the Tesla Roadster is beautiful, but probably a bit too subdued and conservative for its target market. It looks sexier than a Miata or a Solstice, no doubt, but quite tame by the side of a Lambo or Saleen -- which is supposed to be the category it's aspiring to. It even looks tame in comparison with an Elise.

I have to give Aptera a lot of credit. Their car may look radical, but radical is not the same as ugly, and everything on it was done for a reason. (It's not like the ridiculous Zooop, for example.) They've nailed the direction cars need to go in the future. The only question is whether it's too far ahead of its time for people to accept.
 
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