Tesla Is Working On A New Entry-Level Model

[William Maley]

By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

May 28, 2013

Tesla's CEO Elon Musk is very keen on building a electric vehicle that is cheaper than the Model S and doesn't have many of the drawbacks like the Nissan Leaf.

“With the Model S, you have a compelling car that’s too expensive for most people,” he said. “And you have the Leaf, which is cheap, but it’s not great. What the world really needs is a great, affordable electric car. I’m not going to let anything go, no matter what people offer, until I complete that mission,” said Musk during a interview.

The new vehicle will have a pricetag under $40,000, have a range of 200 miles, and come out within the next three to four years.

Source: Bloomberg

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[David]

Sounds Good as this would be a more real world usable car. Question I have is how much faster will the roads wear down and get nasty due to the increase in weight?

Everything I read is that truck drivers should pay more since their trucks weight causes them to break down faster.

[Drew Dowdell]

His Ego will be what gets him...

[regfootball]

he smells like his name i bet

[Robert Hall]

Sounds Good as this would be a more real world usable car. Question I have is how much faster will the roads wear down and get nasty due to the increase in weight?

Everything I read is that truck drivers should pay more since their trucks weight causes them to break down faster.

The millions of 3 ton light duty pickups on the roads have done far more road damage than a few electric cars will, I think...

Edited May 30, 2013 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[PurdueGuy]

Sounds Good as this would be a more real world usable car. Question I have is how much faster will the roads wear down and get nasty due to the increase in weight?

Everything I read is that truck drivers should pay more since their trucks weight causes them to break down faster.

The millions of 3 ton light duty pickups on the roads have done far more road damage than a few electric cars will, I think...

And the Leaf only weighs a bit over 3,300 lbs. Granted, that's 400-500 lbs more than a similar size traditionally fueled economy car, but it's lighter than a lot of other cars, and much lighter than pickups, etc. There are a number of things against electric cars, I don't see weight as being high on the list.

[Drew Dowdell]

It weighs the same as a base Buick Verano....

[pow]

Can't wait. The Model S is selling really well, and I can imagine the demand for a smaller, cheaper Tesla to be even higher.

[Robert Hall]

Can't wait. The Model S is selling really well, and I can imagine the demand for a smaller, cheaper Tesla to be even higher.

Especially if it is as stylish as the Model S and doesn't look like a frog (Leaf).

[David]

Sounds Good as this would be a more real world usable car. Question I have is how much faster will the roads wear down and get nasty due to the increase in weight?

Everything I read is that truck drivers should pay more since their trucks weight causes them to break down faster.

The millions of 3 ton light duty pickups on the roads have done far more road damage than a few electric cars will, I think...

In time, as the electric auto grow, they will do far more damage than the light duty trucks.

[daves87rs]

His Ego will be what gets him...

+1

[Drew Dowdell]

Sounds Good as this would be a more real world usable car. Question I have is how much faster will the roads wear down and get nasty due to the increase in weight?

Everything I read is that truck drivers should pay more since their trucks weight causes them to break down faster.

The millions of 3 ton light duty pickups on the roads have done far more road damage than a few electric cars will, I think...

In time, as the electric auto grow, they will do far more damage than the light duty trucks.

.... based on.... what?

[David]

Sounds Good as this would be a more real world usable car. Question I have is how much faster will the roads wear down and get nasty due to the increase in weight?

Everything I read is that truck drivers should pay more since their trucks weight causes them to break down faster.

The millions of 3 ton light duty pickups on the roads have done far more road damage than a few electric cars will, I think...

In time, as the electric auto grow, they will do far more damage than the light duty trucks.

.... based on.... what?

The short term is the large amount of Green House gas produced for each battery pack built. Longer term is the added weight as more and more auto's get built, that added weight will mount up and cause more wear and tear on the roads. Accidents will I think release more toxins and cause more delays due to the special mixture of the battery packs and the special cleanup equipment. I believeV

[Robert Hall]

Sounds Good as this would be a more real world usable car. Question I have is how much faster will the roads wear down and get nasty due to the increase in weight?

Everything I read is that truck drivers should pay more since their trucks weight causes them to break down faster.

The millions of 3 ton light duty pickups on the roads have done far more road damage than a few electric cars will, I think...

In time, as the electric auto grow, they will do far more damage than the light duty trucks.

.... based on.... what?

The short term is the large amount of Green House gas produced for each battery pack built. Longer term is the added weight as more and more auto's get built, that added weight will mount up and cause more wear and tear on the roads. Accidents will I think release more toxins and cause more delays due to the special mixture of the battery packs and the special cleanup equipment. I believeV

I don't buy the added weight argument.. the added weight is minimal. Again, compared to the weight of existing trucks (light trucks, medium duty, semis, etc) the weight of cars is inconsequential.

[Drew Dowdell]

The question was regarding road damage. As we've already established, the weight of the Leaf is not out of line with similarly sized cars. The Buick Lacrosse is actually lighter in eAssist form than in V6 form. The Tesla Model S weighs 4,600lbs and the BMW 550GT (similar power, also hatchback) weighs in at 4,800lbs, and the Acura ZDX (a lot less power, still a hatch) weighs in at 4,400lbs.... so even the current Model S seems in line with the competition.