First official teaser photo of the Tesla Model S appears
by Sam Abuelsamid on Feb 12th 2009 at 8:47AM 
Click to enlarge
When we spoke with Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad yesterday about some of the statements made CEO Elon Musk in the most recent company newsletter, she promised a teaser shot was on its way. That image has arrived and although we can't see much, there are some conclusions that can be drawn. Compared to the arch-rival Fisker Karma, the Model S appears to be significantly shorter. That's most obvious in the front end since the Tesla doesn't have to accommodate an engine for the range extender. The passenger compartment also appears to be larger than the Karma. With its five door hatch body style, the Model S should also provide more utility than the Fisker. We'll just have to wait until March 26 to see the whole car. Thanks to TeslaMotorsClub for the tip!
Gallery: Tesla Model S Teaser
[Source: Tesla]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
evoD3 9:15AM (2/12/2009)
Love it already.
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andrichrose 9:24AM (2/12/2009)
Wonderful , forgive me for mentioning it , but would it not
be better to pump some of the gazillions that are being thrown
away on the likes of GM and Chrysler into a worthwhile project
like this one !
I do hope that Mr Obama has got his copy of this picture !
Well done TESLA !
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Robert 10:38AM (2/12/2009)
If Tesla goes under, a hand-full of people (mostly VCs who purposefully took a risk) will get burned. If GM or Ford go under, a very, very, very large number of people from dealers, to suppliers, to factory workers will be without a job. If Tesla goes under, not many will notice. If GM or Ford goes under, things will get worse for America as a whole. So, Tesla, who at this point is like Ferrari in that they make a small number of cars for rich people, shouldn't be considered for bailout.
That said, I'm all for them getting government loans through other sources than the bailout as long as they are working to make an electric car in the next decade that most Americans can afford.
Furthermore, GM's Volt is going to be launched in a year or so. They're already closer to providing an electric car that is close to being afforded by the upper middle class with an expected $40,000 price tag (compared to Tesla's $100,000+ price tag on their only model).
Don't get me wrong. I love what Tesla is trying to do (even if I'm not fond of their internal politics). I just don't see them as integral to the US economy at this point, which means they aren't the type company the government was trying to save.
jake 12:22PM (2/12/2009)
@Robert
I don't think andrichrose means that Tesla deserves some of the bailout money, just the loan money from the DOE loan programs. That money was intended to support new technologies and not intended to only help those with a lot of jobs at risk. Tesla would never have a chance at the kind of bailout GM and Chrysler got because of reasons you already mentioned.
moogy 1:48PM (2/12/2009)
Nice job
But can I afford one...???
EV must be for the people... 15k to 30k
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Gary 11:05AM (2/12/2009)
This looks good... so far. The $60,000 price though, is a bit on the pricey side. We'll see how much content it has at that price. Will it be a luxury car, or your typical sedan except with an electic drivetrain?
For greenies who are desperate to get into an electric car, the Volt will be relatively attractive at $40,000--plus you don't have to worry about your battery unexpectedly dying in the middle of nowhere when pushing your luck or the drivetrain hard. Hmmm... I'd like to know the content of the Volt at that price too.
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Thunderbuck 12:03PM (2/12/2009)
Tesla's business model is a reasonable one. By pursuing the high end, they wind up with a small user-base, making quality control much easier to manage. The high-spenders will also tend to be more patient (they're not relying on these cars as their only transportation), and it lends a more prestigious aura to the product line.
Worth noting that Tesla is currently working with Daimler-Benz to produce an electrified Smart car. This should be considerably more "affordable" :-)
Anthony 5:35PM (3/02/2009)
The volt may be part electric, and in it that isn't a good thing.
If you were to look at average Americans, they travel A LOT just to get to work. Having an engine that can go about 40 miles on a single charge is pointless, without it, how efficient is the car? If it is like one of the many "retardacars" out there, claiming to be so fuel efficient with just 30 MPG, I don't think it's a seller at it's $40,000 price point.
If an all-electric car that was decently priced ($30,000 - $7500 rebate on electric cars) and could get a decent days worth of driving done, maybe 2 or three days, it would be a lot more appealing than the Volt.
A car company that is pushing ahead for better technologies, (unlike the big companies with their, "we have to move slowly" approach,) should be funded. They could do the research required to make that inexpensive car even quicker, then they would turn into a much bigger company, and, might take a higher place than that of GM and Ford.
The people want an inexpensive car that doesn't rely on yesterday's technology. (technically, electric cars were around a long time ago, oddly the oil companies shut them down.) If Tesla shows the drive to do better cars that can cost less in the future, I'm with them.
Uncle B 12:25PM (2/12/2009)
Can anybody compete with what is coming from GM-China,
Post (GRD) great republican depression, the remaining working population of America will drive Buick LeSabres and Cavalier-like cars made in China. These cars are a current-day reality on the streets of China, and await export to the U.S. on the docks of Shanghai as we speak! The elitist uber-rich shareholders of GM had GM-America teach GM-China how to build these cars using 85 cent and hour, Chinese peasant women, the supply of which is unending and self-regenerating in China. The Uber rich chose these women over the North American car builders for quite apparent economic reasons! The current “bail-out bullshit” is a smoke-screen devised by the Uber-rich bastards, to foist liablility for the large number of unemployed they intend to create, from the private sector, over to the public sector to relieve themselves of any undue expenses, before they collapse expensive North American operations in favor of highly profitable Chinese and Asian operations. Remember, they now own both, are dumping the American white elephant, and the workers, and the old factories, liabilities, environmental cleanups, and all, for more profitable Asian production centers, so that they can be truly competitive with Honda, Hyundai and the like! It is a good, sound business strategy for the uber-rich shareholders, and by selling American stock and buying Asian stock, they slide away to new fields of immense profits, liability free as they collapse American corporations, and Yankee doodle gets it up the brown spot, hard and firm, once again, and is left, smarting and holding the bag! Any truly innovative and advanced ideas will be incorporated into the new Chinese built, highly “profitable for shareholders” cars. The “Volt” is a 1969 chevelle body, complete with sheet metal and hydraulic support, engine removed, battery pack added, a nightmare of 1930’s greasepit engineering - no servo’s, no drive by wire, no plastics, no carbon fiber, no magnesium parts, no aluminum, no advanced polymer composites - Hell, even Hyundai is trying to make better, lighter bodies from recycled soda bottles, and Henry Ford did a number with Soy-plastics way back when! There is no way in Hell, that a major corporation in the country that put a man on the moon can be so backwards, unless they have other motivations, they just are not that stupid!
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GoodCheer 12:43PM (2/12/2009)
If you're so worried about being screwed by self-interested GM shareholders, why not simply buy some stock? At $2.62 as I write, it's not exactly out of reach of the working man. Then you could be the elitist shareholder screwing the dumb working stiffs over.
Bill 12:03PM (2/12/2009)
Ummm... Wasn't the first teaser shot what you reported on on Oct. 23, 2008?
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jake 12:19PM (2/12/2009)
That one was released exclusively by Washington Post if I remember correctly. This one was released by Tesla directly.
Looks quite good to me in terms of proportions. I want to see more. The rear end does look quite high though, probably because of the 5-door hatch body.
jake 12:39PM (2/12/2009)
Er, sorry it was BusinessWeek not Washington Post. The same article as this one, on Autoblog mentioned it.
pulp1 2:40PM (4/01/2009)
I love it. Tesla deserves the loan, wich is very different from a bail out...
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jpm 1:05PM (2/12/2009)
The turbine-like wheels are very cool!
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Matthijs 3:49AM (2/13/2009)
Those wheels are nothing special. You can just buy them from Lorinser.
RS 8
single-piece, polished
Available in sizes:
8,5x19"; 9,5x19"; 9x20"; 10x20 10x21
http://www.sportservice.lorinser.com/img/international/tuning_parts/wheels/low_res/rs_8.png
radler63 1:29PM (2/12/2009)
What a waste of resources - the sport car should have half the weight - like KTM's X-Bow. Then it would need less battery mass and more fun to drive...
http://www.recodrive.eu
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Chris M 6:37PM (2/12/2009)
The "X-Bow" is an aerodynamic nightmare and not really practical for an everyday commute. An electric version of the X-Bow with the same range would be heavier than the Tesla Roadster and not as fast.
Sasparilla 2:38PM (2/12/2009)
I won't be able to afford one, target market is way above me, but it looks great already - those wheels are awesome. Go Tesla go, even if Musk isn't the nicest guy. This is their step to a somewhat affordable EV - their next model after this will get down into my range.
Can't wait to see it. What a time to be alive!
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John 3:38PM (2/12/2009)
if anything the designers over at Tesla know whats going on, again is it pricy yep, most likely will top out around 70k, again going for the higher end BMW Mercedes market again go to people that can afford to pay more, i think this will be a success provided they can get production up, and they really need to work on that. the 3rd model should i would imagine continue their great designs and provide good market competition to the I MIEV, volt perhaps, and the other electrics expected to be coming out in the next 2-5 years
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