2008 Tesla Roadster Suffers Delays Car Review and Specs | 2008 Tesla Roadster Suffers Delays Car Wallpaper Pictures Pics

As you all know, this is a remarkable company, and a remarkable effort to create one of the world’s great new automobiles. We all believe that the technology in the Tesla Roadster will lead to significant changes in the expectations of car drivers everywhere.

That having been said, this is a complex program. Our team is working around the clock to deliver high quality, reliable Roadsters as quickly as possible. As Martin pointed out in his last communication, we are testing, testing, testing. The results of these tests indicate that we need more time to ensure that all aspects of the production cars meet the level of quality, durability and reliability that is expected. While we expect to produce a limited number of production cars in the fourth quarter, I have set a production goal of shipping fifty cars in the first quarter of 2008, with an additional 600 cars in the 2008 model year. We may increase that production level if and when we are confident in our production ramp.

As a result, we will soon stop taking reservations for 2008 Roadsters and start a traditional waiting list for people interested in reserving a car in the future. New people signing up for the waiting list will not be guaranteed a 2008 model but will be notified if and when we increase production. This same waiting list will be used for when we switch over to the 2009 model year. Since you have already reserved your 2008 Roadster, you will be receiving the first model year of a groundbreaking, historically significant car.

There are also a number of very positive developments from the testing underway:

Crash testing: A VP (validation prototype) Roadster completed and passed both static and dynamic side-intrusion crash tests. These are the only tests that were not passed in the EP (engineering prototype) phase. There are additional crash tests to come in the VP phase, but we expect them to go equally well.

Customer testing: We are involving customers directly in our durability and validation testing. Approximately four customers per week are driving the cars and giving us their feedback. The reports have been universally positive; you should read their comments in the blog at http://www.teslamotors.com/blog5/?p=55 and engage in the dialogue on the owners’ forum.

Performance testing and validation: Herein lies the best news of all. We have now verified the most important performance characteristics of the Roadster:
Range: 245 miles on the EPA combined cycle, confirmed! (236 Highway, 252 City)
Acceleration: Zero to 60 in less than 4 seconds, confirmed!
Top speed: 125 mph (electronically limited)

We had previously indicated that our testing suggested that range would likely come in closer to 200 miles per charge. But we have been working diligently to improve this very important characteristic, and are now quite pleased with the results. Additional testing confirms that we can take weight out of the battery pack, which should improve range, but the figures shown here are the official results of our testing. The usual caveats apply: your actual range may vary based on driving style and other circumstances – but the higher this number is the better. One of our engineers leading this effort has written a blog with more details on these tests which you can find on our website at http://www.teslamotors.com/blog4/?p=60.

In preparation for production, we will be opening a sales and service center in Menlo Park, California and in Los Angeles, California in the first quarter of 2008. Additional locations are planned for our rollout across the country.

Later this year we will be contacting the first fifty people who will be receiving cars, to confirm delivery and arrange for charging infrastructure.

It takes a lot to build any company from the startup stage to full production, and it is especially complicated in a regulated industry like automobiles. But we have the team and the financing in place to ensure that we will be successful in making this happen.

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2008 Tesla Roadster Suffers Delays Review

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