Okay, whichever way you view the Tesla Model S it’s a niche
vehicle. It’s a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle); it sells in the High Luxury Sector (HLS);
in Australia it will cost between $100K and $200K (Affordable? Not!).
But, Hell! It works! On every
level!
Regular readers of my self-indulgent Blog will recall I am
no fan of BEVs (mostly because of the miserable driving range), but the Model S
is a car I could embrace. Not least because I sincerely admire Elon Musk and
what he has achieved with his Out-of-the-Box thinking.
I see Elon Musk as a Steve Jobs sort of guy. Going where
no-one else will tread; doing it his own way (despite the naysayers) and most
of all, delivering on his objectives and his promises.
Tesla took over the old General Motors-Toyota (NUMMI)
factory in Fremont, California, and if you’ve seen the company production
videos on YouTube, you can’t help be impressed by what you see.
Not only is the car something to praise, but the
manufacturing processes, the robotics and the final fit and finish is awesome,
to say the least.
As previously noted, ‘Range Anxiety’ is the main complaint I
have about BEVs, plus their huge carbon footprint (in manufacturing), and also their unaffordability, and L-O-N-G payback, but if you’re prepared to pay north of USD$90K, you can drive
the Model S for more than 450 miles on one charge! That is impressive.
Tesla has sold upwards of 32,000 cars so far and demand has
completely outstripped supply. So much so, that Elon Musk is quoted as saying
he is looking for extra production facilities in Asia and Germany!
The car’s design is a beautiful piece of automotive scupture,
and it was penned by Franz von Holzhausen, who recently hinted that the next
car (the third generation) will feature a completely different electrification
and drive system, and will most likely be an SUV, tagged ‘Model X’.
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| Elon Musk (L) and Franz von Holzhausen |
At this year’s Geneva Salon I had a really good opportunity
to look over the Model S (after fighting my way through the crowd of ‘real’
journalists), and chatted with the presentation team.
I was also able to compare some photos of the bare shell
which I took in Geneva in 2011, with current photos – all
of which evidence the magnificent manufacturing quality of the body assembly,
and the unique location for the battery pack and drive modules.
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| Chassis platform (2014) |
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| Shell interior (2011) |
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| Rear Electric Drive Motor (2014) |
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| Display of production prototype (2011) |
This is not just a pretty face.
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| Geneva Salon 2014 |
Many years ago I toured Honda's facility in Japan which produced the original NSX, and I haven't seen such high quality body production since.
For anyone in the auto industry, I'm sure they'd agree that the Tesla Model S is an impressive effort.
I never thought I’d be caught thinking seriously about
‘owning’ a BEV, but if I was willing to overspend on my credit cards, I’d be
happy to have a Model S in my garage!
“What? Did I say that?”
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