Model S deliveries to start in 1 month !

+1 Evan

 

Per the article on Automotive Engineering International magazine (June 5th issue), the air suspension lowers the ride in highway mode resulting in 3.8% drag reduction.

 

Does it also result in a smoother ride?

 

Huh? Median household income [is] $49,445 (2010) So 2% of their demographic is 50% of the population. Doesn't sound like Middle America to me.

 

I got a chuckle out of that too. I think he meant to say Country Club Median Household income.

 

It was a trade off but seem to be a good one.

"In determining the optimum ride height drop, there is a balance between aero-dynamic gains and a reduction in suspension travel and ride quality. A combination of track testing and wind tunnel results were used to define the highway mode setting and to realize a drag reduction of up to 3.8%, dependent on wheel style."

 

Tesla validated 0.25 cd drag with rotating wheels. They also optimized the drag for more realistic operating conditions (cross wind, etc) and the average came out 0.006 cd higher than the straight-ahead condition.

It is one optimized car!

 

The idea is that higher speed travel will be on smoother roads. Lowering the car should improve handling by lowering the center of gravity, it also reduces flow of air under the car reducing wind noise and drag. The ride should be rougher at high speeds smoother at low speeds or high weight, but if they got it right the good should outweigh the bad. IIRC it is speed dependent not user settable, and adjust also based on weight. If you start traveling at 70 on rough roads you may not like it.

 

If you look at the Tesla website only the high end Model S Signature, starting at $87K, are in production. The lower end models have future projected dates.

"Reservations start at $5,000". The press releases noted 10,000 reservations/backlog/backorder.

Thanks for confirming the high economic demographic of Tesla customers. 97.8% are over the US median income of $43,317. Possibly 100% as Tesla numbers only start at <$50K for the bottom 2%. 83% are over $100K, over twice US median income.

I agree. These are high income, high status purchases of luxury item, few are going to want the "low end" model.

Not sure why you feel it is negative to note the facts that Tesla can easily pay off its debt of $750M by selling just 7,500 of its top end, over $100K vehicles. That with a back order of 10,000, it should have no trouble doing that in it's firs 7,500 vehicles. Things look good for Tesla.

 

And that's HOUSEHOLD income, median individual income is $43,317. I would guess 100% of Tesla's customers are over US median income. I don't know why anyone is so defensive about that. I'm glad 10,000 high income US customers stepped up to support Tesla, EV cars, not using oil. Wish I was one of them.

 

Maybe. I am not sure what obvious visual differentiating there is between the lower end and middle (The signature version is definitely differentiated). If it is minimal, the 'status' difference will likewise be minimal.

 

As long as you can visualize $50,000 you can visual differentiate the top end from lower end Teslas.

 

The phrase 'step down' comes across as condescending and perhaps that is not how you intended it. Other than the first 1000 signature edition cars, you can get anything on any size battery pack (note, the warantee does differ between packs).
It isn't a 'step down' as much as choosing the range that meets your needs.

I hope more EVs start offering different ranges as I think it is a great option to have.

For the record, just over half of poll takers chose the 85kw pack, with about 35% choosing one of the smaller packs and about 13% unsure ( Poll on battery size.).

 

A review of the use of quotation marks in that context might be worthwhile.

When discussing $50K and up cars, it is a relative term.

Me too, love the cars, the company and the founder, examples of what's right in America.

That puts the majority into the most expensive and, so far, the only in production Tesla's. Not sure if a "poll" is valid as Tesla notes 10,000 reservations at $5,000 a pop. That's a bit more than an "opinion". My guess is Tesla will only make the $100K models and those who "reserved" a lower end will be offered to upgrade and, given the high income demographics and the $5K deposit, I'd guess most would jump at the chance. "Sorry honey, I had to upgrade the Tesla"

 

I'm no expert on corporate debt, but just because they would take in that revenue doesn't mean their debt's wiped out. The cost of parts and manufacturing of a model S is a LOT greater than $0 and they're also going to need to spend to produce additional cars.

 

The Roadster is one of Stark's cars in the garage in Iron Man. Musk's cameo is at the dinner party in Iron Man 2.

The Signature Series is a limited edition capped at 1000 in the US. All of them are reserved or ordered. You can't buy one from Tesla. If you go to the BUY page you can reserve a Model S or Model X for $5000 or a Model X Signature for $40000.

Right now the only car in production is the Model S Signature.

Shareholders Deficit is not debt. If it were, it would be in the Liabilities section of the Balance Sheet. The shareholders have no claim against the corporation or anyone else to recover that money.

 

Per Tesla website only Model S starting at $84,900 can be ordered.

That is exactly the MINUS $752M of debt and negative retained earnings appears per the FASB definition posted above.

 

FWIW, I'm not included in the poll. No one is offered an upgrade & no one reserved a lower end car. You either placed a reservation for a Signature or a reservation for a standard Model S. When the reservation window opened Tesla didn't even know what they were going to build. All they promised was a car starting at $57400.

When it is time, the reservation is turned into an order. If you want the gray leather then you decide to wait until January or decide to pick a different interior. If you want the standard battery then you're going to wait until December. If you want the car earlier then you buy a bigger battery. If you aren't ready to purchase when your number is called you can defer the purchase once. I don't know how this option works.

"High end" cars are easy to spot. If they aren't the standard black or white they cost more. If it has a panoramic roof it costs more. If it has the jump seats on the deck it costs more. If it has nav it costs more. If it has Signature badging it costs more. If it's red it's a Signature. If the wheels are larger than 19" the car costs more.

My opinion: I suspect most buyers will pay for : Paint, Tech Package, Active Air Suspension. The first for appearance, the others because these are the "gee whiz" features.

The car's not cheap & the car's not cheap to operate. I'm starting to run some numbers & I'm surprised how close it comes to a Prius. Using my rate of $0.18/kwh & Tesla's calculator for 100 miles the Model S costs $5.09. At $3.119/gallon & my lifetime average the Prius costs almost $5.755 for 100 miles. At that rate it will take only some 90000+ miles to pay for itself.