Yes they could use any combination of the above. We just had a glass company take over an assembly plant in my area. It would probably take a year to do it. If Tesla doesn’t implode I’d say it’s a given this will happen.
I’ve quoted a number of financial organizations who discussed Tesla’s financial situation. You were not among them.
Didn’t GM declare bankruptcy along with a sizable chunk of their supplier base?
Since you’re the self-appointed Tesla negative-nancy of this board, we can disagree on the majority of the substance of your posts’ content, however I may kind of agree with your last statement. The Bolt is indeed just another car to GM, and it shows by how shitty-looking it is. GM has poured exactly zero passion and dedication to this car. Tesla clearly pours their heart out into making the best possible product, and it shows by how well received they are.
GM can afford to lose money on the Bolt. So yes, it’s a profound financial dilemma for Tesla.
Ok, you keep asserting this all the time, but do you have a cite for this claim? Can you provide any solid numbers as to the magnitude of this ramp up? And also that it “will happen overnight”?
The problem as I understand it is that most electric cars rely on the vehicle being very light.
There are a lot of cars that could be converted, but … your 1972 Chrysler Newport will require electric motors so powerful that they’ll suck their batteries dry in no time.
Also, most electric cars take advantage of the fact that placing individual motors at each wheel is better for lots of reasons. Which means it isn’t just a simple matter of replacing the stuff under the hood.
In fact, the major problem I see in making an electric VW (I’d prefer a Squareback to a Bug, but it matters very little which model you use) is going to be the opposite of the one with the Newport. I imagine making 45hp from an electric motor would be pretty easy, and that’s more power than it had with the stock engine, but … the gas tank and engine combined weighed less than 200 pounds. I suspect the batteries to power an electric motor will weigh more than that.
Yes? And? What does that have to do with their current financial situation? Tesla’s been on death’s doorstep more than once. By the way, I’ve routinely shredded GM on this board so best of luck thinking I give a shit about them, the Bolt or any other car of theirs. I don’t.
Wow. Tesla is at least a year late making the Model 3 because they were busy pouring their little hears out? Really? Was it the Mazda body style that was hard to figure out or the Bolt’s glass roof?
Honestly, there must be a support group out there for Tesla lovers who can’t deal with Tesla’s production delays.
No, no it doesn’t.
The airbag is in the steering wheel, and the issue is that short people sit too close to the steering wheel because the airbag was designed for people your height.
For me it is my short legs that are the issue because A)I have long arms, and B) my overall height isn’t very short. I am 5’8" tall, but my inseam is 29", and that means if the pedals don’t adjust I have to sit as close to the wheel as your wife.
Which means that, rather than inflating into a soft pillow before I move forward enough to hit it, the inflating airbag will hit me in the face and chest at several hundred miles an hour as it deploys, most likely killing me.
That may have overstated it. The phrase used most often is that the airbag deploying is “more likely to kill me than to save my life”.
When you pull the engine and transmission out of a car it significantly reduces the weight. After that it’s a function of adding batteries until you get the range you want. Lead acid batteries cost less but weigh more so it’s a cost/weight trade off.
Im afraid you’re confused as to what is under discussion. Let me recap:
- You claim the EV-1 is the basis of all EVs today and in the near future.
- I show that Bob Lutz’s efforts to start the Volt and Bolt were inspired as a reaction to the Roadster, as opposed to furthering development of the EV-1.
- You respond that Tesla’s finances are bad.
It’s like we can’t even stay on the same topic for two of your posts in a row.
so what? Even on the cusp of bankruptcy GM was still selling millions of cars and trucks every year. Hint: it wasn’t the vehicles which pushed GM into bankruptcy, it was the immense legacy costs of decisions made in the 1960s and 1970s combined with the collapse of the finance sector which did them in. If you’re saddled with paying out pensions and healthcare costs to people who have been retired for longer than they actually worked for you, you’re doomed.
sigh you may not like the way the Bolt looks, and that’s fine. But it’s nonsense to act like your dislike of the car’s styling is some objective proof of GM’s “passion” for the car.
then why does the Model S have such shitty quality/reliability ratings? The Model S may be a fantastic electric car, but it’s a rather mediocre $100,000 car.
You mean besides a hundred years of knocking out cars at will?
Here’s a quick test, which car is hitting the market first? The Chevy Bolt or the Tesla Model 3? Hinty hint, one of the companies has large cash reserves, the infrastructure to produce a car on time, and a distribution/support system in place to service the car. The other requires a cash down payment and might roll a car out a year later.
The Roadster followed the EV-1. Not the other way around. Neither the Volt or the Bolt were ever meant as sports cars or competed against the roadster in any way. They were the natural evolution of the EV-1.
So again, the EV-1 was the progenitor of modern EV. This was the car that tested for market acceptance. The Roadster was a play toy meant to exploit a niche market for the rich. And in Elon’s defense a good recognition of the sport potential of electric motors.
I do not believe this to be quite correct. AAUI, Boeing owns a number of production facilities around the US, and perhaps a few Asian ones as well. They do not outsource major structural components, but they do ship them to assembly plants from the factories that build them.
The auto industry, otoh, could probably benefit from balkanization. At present, I am not entirely convinced that dedicated manufacture of cars is inherently superior to distributed manufacture of components combined with finished-product assembly. If cars can be made modular and compatible with each other, no car company would represent an economic hazard, because a failure in some part of the chain could be picked up by surviving manufacturers.
No, Ravenman is partially right. Lutz spearheaded the concept of the Volt because he wanted to leapfrog Toyota (we can build a better Prius) but it was the Tesla roadster which gave him enough ammo to convince GM’s board to greenlight the project. And Bob Lutz was right; the Volt has been one of GM’s most reliable cars, even though it’s a lot more complex than a pure EV would be; and shiloads more complex than any conventional ICE car.
I just wish we could not break off into teams and shout at each other. I was skeptical of Tesla back in 2010 or so, when it seemed like the promises for the Model S were a “moonshot.” They were late, but they delivered. At that point I stopped being skeptical. I saw some boneheaded decisions in the Model X, but they delivered. Well, it’s been slow, but they’re delivering. I have no doubt they’ll deliver on the Model 3.
And that’s the good part. Tesla doesn’t have to “take over” or “out maneuver” the automotive industry. They’ve already changed the game. I guarantee you there’s nobody in this industry who is dismissing Tesla. it’s not like when the iPod was released; nobody is saying “No wifi. less space than the Nomad. Lame.”
GM fell face forward into the mud on their entry into the hybrid market. I think it was the Malibu they had to walk back because it did so poorly on the first go. The Volt was bold in concept but fell short because it didn’t have the range to be useful. Right idea, wrong mix of attributes.
The Model 3 maintains the sport side of the market. If they market a hatchback version it will broaden the line into a more utilitarian car which I think would sell well. Particularly if Tesla truly wants market share in that price range.
there are a couple of variables that are not in Tesla’s control. One is the price of gasoline. The other is battery technology. Both have influence on market growth for EV’s. If gas stays in the $2 range it softens the market. If fast charge batteries hit the market then it will pick up the pace.
Tesla already has a mystic appeal built up with their prior successes. That cachet may be extended with a successful launch of the Model 3 or it could harm them with delayed sales that are filled with all the other entries coming out. Given the pre-sale numbers there is a lot of goodwill attached to the name. Tesla is the Porsche of EV’s.
You do have to use different language when looking at electric motors: their power rating is given as nominal, whereas an ICE’s power rating is given as peak. You do not want to try to put a 45hp motor in a VW, because those are the things that are 2’x3’ and weigh 600lbs. One enthusiast site suggests you should calculate 8~10hp per thousand pounds of total vehicle weight, for average-ish performance.
As far as batteries, the best I see in a brief look seems to be LiNiMnO, which might give you a decent 12lbs/KWh. To get around 120~150 miles range, you would probably need at least 600lbs of batteries, plus a cooling system.
In a VW, you would not probably come out ahead, but with a 1972 Chrysler, you might. Especially if you could afford to replace some of the body parts with lighter material (e.g., a nice big smoked plexiglas sunroof). AC might be a lost luxury if you want good range, though.
So in other words, you have zero backup for your outlandish claims. It’s irrelevant which will “hit the market first” to determine actual mass production numbers. Please provide evidence that GM is better positioned than Tesla to deliver a mass market EV. The only track record GM has is of going bankrupt.
Because whenever Tesla rolls out a software update it gets marked as a negative in the legacy car-scoring system. I receive tons of app updates on my phone, and it does not mean that the phone has shitty quality/reliability.
Here Edmunds gives the Model S a 4.42/5 in reliability:
http://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-s/2013/consumer-reviews/
Also what do you mean mediocre car? What other car can you buy that has 762hp and 713lb-ft of torque all wheel drive for $130000, that does the 1/4 mile in 10.9s? Plus 5 star safety rating, autopilot, premium wheels and brakes, 8 year/infinity mile warranty, free supercharger juice and 90 MPGe? If these things qualify as “mediocre” in your world, then, I suspect that you are letting your current employment cloud your objective judgment.
Golf carts preceeded the EV-1. Therefore, the Bolt was inspired by a golf cart.