redlightrich

I have 2 model s that I use for my business. They generally get 250+ with a full charge. They are fast, and nice to drive. They do have drawbacks though. The charging in my building is at commercial electric rate ( PSEG has no provision for green vehicle rate, so I pay 3x the kilowatt hour price at the office( as compared to residential). Free everywhere else, but finding the supercharger (read fast charge) isn't as easy.

All in all, a nice car, but the novelty wears quick. Kind of expensive. Body work creates a whole other set of issues too.

And yes, the stock value is based on a Disney story.

Terrence

$120k electric anchor with no sound and a cheap interior? Pass!

MaxLTV

Sports car is still ways away because 1) batteries are heavy - no way around it (yet), but it matters more in sports car than in big sedan; 2) electric motors and batteries work great with short-term bursts but not long-term load, so forget tracking it; 3) re-charging still takes a while, so spirited driving can leave you stranded, and forget tracking it until you can come to track with a bunch of swappable battery packs.

What I think Tesla should be able to do brilliantly is make an SUV or a minivan. Weight of batteries is less of a penalty there, compared to the rest of the car. And lower center of gravity is going to help with handling, making it handle more like a car. Also, electric AWD can be much better than mechanical one, for poor traction conditions and general safety. Too bad Model X prototype looks really bad (IMHO). I like modes S look, but model X looks like model S' fat old mom.

ipse dixit

What if there was a charging station at the track?

MaxLTV

Most track days have 60-80 minutes between sessions, so theoretically it may be possible to recharge a car between sessions, but it would require a very powerful charger. A normal dual charger for Tesla takes almost 5 hours and single charger takes 10 hours for full charge. But even if charger is capable of recharging the car in 60 minutes, that's still tough logistically - you'll have to drive directly to the charger, it has to be free, and you'll have to occupy it for the entire time. Also, when batteries are at near critical temps (likely to happen with track use) they cannot be charged quickly. I'm sure they are going to figure it out, but it's some time away.

Mike in CA

This discussion is interesting to me because we just took delivery of my wife's BMW i3 this week. 90-100 mile range but with an onboard generator ( actually a 650cc BMW motorcycle engine) that provides an additional 60-70 miles of range by maintaining battery charge when it drops to a certain level. The 2 gallon tank can be refilled indefinitely to extend the range even further although it's not really practical as a long distance cruiser. Chassis is all aluminum with full CF bodywork and comes in at about 2900lbs. 0-60 in around 7 seconds; feels much quicker than that off the line. Obviously not Tesla quick but entertaining. Full charge from the Level 2 charger at our house in 2-3 hours; 80% charge from a Level 3 DC charger in 20-30 minutes.

As has been pointed out, a vehicle like this makes more sense as a second or third car. My wife wanted something that got really exceptional mileage and I went along with it because the car is actually fun to drive with lots of interesting tech.

CAlexio

Would be interesting to get further details on this. What are the bodywork issues?

pissedpuppy

I'm looking to leave the largest carbon footprint possible

But that's just me, I guess