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Tesla Roadster

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Re: Tesla Roadster

#161

Post by kirse »

bwang29 wrote: post #19

I'm thinking what this means to gas car makers. Wave 1: "It's all about legacy and prestige, not speed/acceleration". Wave 2: "The track handling isn't all that good, how can drivers take that corner at full power without losing traction". Wave 3: "Alright, we will go electric too".

Gas will always have sound. The growl of an Aston Martin V12 on startup, or a Lexus LFA screaming through a tunnel, or the flat-plane V8 burble from a Mustang GT350. EM cars only have a dull whine the faster they go. Motorheads are secretly all musicians who happen to love driving.

The best combination is ultimately both though, hybrid systems are already used quite frequently in everything from LMP1 WEC racers to modern hypercars.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#162

Post by ktta »

urda wrote: post #154
jsolson wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my initial reaction, but it leads to a question: do you stop doing R&D (and shed talent as a result) because production in another part of the company is blocked by some (hopefully transient) supply chain issue?

Preface: I don't have any stake in Tesla's success or products. If I was a consumer sitting on a Model 3 reservation I would be pissed that they are taking yet more money for yet another car they can't seem to ship at scale. This makes Tesla look like they care little, because after all they already have your Model 3 money.

>If I was a consumer sitting on a Model 3 reservation I would be pissed that they are taking yet more money for yet another car they can't seem to ship at scale.

I mean, by the same reasoning, Model S owners should be pissed, Model X owners should be pissed too. But the money from both seems to have made Model 3 possible.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#163

Post by urda »

ktta wrote: post #162
urda wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Preface: I don't have any stake in Tesla's success or products. If I was a consumer sitting on a Model 3 reservation I would be pissed that they are taking yet more money for yet another car they can't seem to ship at scale. This makes Tesla look like they care little, because after all they already have your Model 3 money.

>If I was a consumer sitting on a Model 3 reservation I would be pissed that they are taking yet more money for yet another car they can't seem to ship at scale. I mean, by the same reasoning, Model S owners should be pissed, Model X owners should be pissed too. But the money from both seems to have made Model 3 possible.

True I haven't even touched on them either! Tesla has yet to prove they can build cars at scale, they are nothing compared to current auto manufacturers.

I think they are biting off more than they can chew.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#164

Post by urda »

dvddgld wrote: post #160
urda wrote: post #143

Tesla can barely ship the Model 3, and now they're adding yet another consumer vehicle to the lineup? Tesla's vision is completely scattered. I have little faith in them at this time since they can't deliver the "economy" Model 3, but now suddenly have the bandwidth to develop, engineer, ship, and maintain yet another car? Tesla, ship the Model 3 at scale and then we'll talk.

The economy version is the ultimate goal, along with industrial applications like the Semi. But high end cars make headlines, make people believe and make people excited about the future. That’s more important than you’d think in getting the economy version to be a reality. Though I do understand the concerns about constant hype and not fully delivering on it, I think that’s infinitely better than the alternative whe…

I could be wrong, and this play could totally pan out.

But their current Model S, X, and 3 aren't exactly flooding the market either.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#165

Post by rodgerd »

chrismcb wrote: post #70
dmode wrote: post #61

Bold prediction: if they manage to produce a battery capable of 620 mile range promised, it will essentially be game over for ICE cars. My bet is that next generation of Model S and X will easily be in the 400-500 mile rsnge.

When the battery can be refilled in minutes, it will be game over. Until then...

That's 8-10 hours of driving at the speed limit in most countries. You need to be taking breaks of more than a few minutes if you're driving that kind of stretch.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#166

Post by ygra »

kijin wrote: post #144
thebluehawk wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My brother pointed out that other Tesla cars (even the semi they announced) have a "front trunk". This one's hood is seamless. Our theory is that under the entire front hood is batteries.

I wonder what happens when one of these cars crashes head-on into something. The front of a car is supposed to act as a crumple zone. Batteries aren't very good at crumpling.

Neither are internal combustion engines. What crumples are structural supports, not all the components within. And if they go that route I guess they'll go with slightly different battery chemistry as well to avoid a fire. They might have to do so anyway to sustain power output.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#167

Post by pySSK »

urda wrote: post #154
jsolson wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my initial reaction, but it leads to a question: do you stop doing R&D (and shed talent as a result) because production in another part of the company is blocked by some (hopefully transient) supply chain issue?

Preface: I don't have any stake in Tesla's success or products. If I was a consumer sitting on a Model 3 reservation I would be pissed that they are taking yet more money for yet another car they can't seem to ship at scale. This makes Tesla look like they care little, because after all they already have your Model 3 money.

R&D engineers and car designers are usually separate people from manufacturing and supply chain engineers.

Now that Model 3 has been passed onto mass(-ish) production, Tesla is using those engineers to develop other products. Tesla would lose those talented people if it asked them to just sit and do nothing, or if it asked them to work on areas completely outside their (not just lose, but lose to competitors).

Re: Tesla Roadster

#168

Post by ygra »

kirse wrote: post #161
bwang29 wrote: post #19

I'm thinking what this means to gas car makers. Wave 1: "It's all about legacy and prestige, not speed/acceleration". Wave 2: "The track handling isn't all that good, how can drivers take that corner at full power without losing traction". Wave 3: "Alright, we will go electric too".

Gas will always have sound. The growl of an Aston Martin V12 on startup, or a Lexus LFA screaming through a tunnel, or the flat-plane V8 burble from a Mustang GT350. EM cars only have a dull whine the faster they go. Motorheads are secretly all musicians who happen to love driving. The best combination is ultimately both though, hybrid systems are already used quite frequently in everything from LMP1 WEC racers to mo…

Car makers employ sound engineers for that very purpose ;)

Although I seem to recall that many cars bought for sound already play synthesized motor noise through the speakers, simply because if the shift to smaller, better performing engines means that they don't have the same sound anymore anyway.

Re: Tesla Roadster

#169

Post by ktta »

urda wrote: post #163
ktta wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If I was a consumer sitting on a Model 3 reservation I would be pissed that they are taking yet more money for yet another car they can't seem to ship at scale. I mean, by the same reasoning, Model S owners should be pissed, Model X owners should be pissed too. But the money from both seems to have made Model 3 possible.

True I haven't even touched on them either! Tesla has yet to prove they can build cars at scale, they are nothing compared to current auto manufacturers. I think they are biting off more than they can chew.

>I think they are biting off more than they can chew.

I don't think anyone will disagree with you about that. But we sure as hell want to see them succeed.

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