Tesla Model S will cost under $50,000 after tax breaks
by Sebastian Blanco on Mar 19th 2009 at 1:28PM 
Click above to enlarge Tesla Model S teaser
When Tesla formally announced the Model S Sedan last June, the MSRP bandied was about $60,000 for the all-electric sedan. In its newsletter today, Tesla has confirmed that the "anticipated base price" for the Model S will be $57,400. With a federal tax credit of $7,500 available, however, the Model S should cost just $49,900. Details on what's included in the base version of the Model S should be available at the vehicle's official unveiling next week. Tesla says that even with a sub-$50,000 price tag (just barely), the Model S is really competing with cars that cost much less:
Because of tax incentives and relatively inexpensive maintenance and refueling, the lifetime ownership cost will be closer to cars with far lower sticker prices. [...] The Model S will become the car of choice for environmentally conscious and discriminating drivers throughout North America and Europe.
For comparison's sake, the Fisker Karma, a luxury plug-in hybrid sedan, will start at $87,900. The Chevy Volt will probably be somewhere around $40,000, though GM has not made any official announcement about its price.
[Source: Tesla]
Tesla Newsletter:
250th Delivery
Tesla Motors delivered its 250th car last Saturday. Lucky No. 250 was Dr. Rob Wilder, an academic and entrepreneur who created the first Index on Wall Street for energy efficiency and zero-carbon solutions. Rob lives in Encinitas, Calif., where he charges his Roadster from his home's array of solar panels. He picked "very orange" as the exterior color to symbolize the car's connection with the sun.
"We're not beholden to Middle East oil – and by the way my car is probably faster than your car!" joked Rob, CEO of WilderShares LLC and manager of WilderHill Clean Energy Index, the first Index on Wall Street for energy efficiency and zero-carbon solutions. "This car is an elegant solution to some of the world's most difficult problems. And buying it is helping push along EV adoption generally because Tesla is investing the money in lower-priced cars down the line."
Rob's new car marks a symbolic milestone for Tesla and a personal first for Rob, who previously tended to purchase used cars for no more than $13,000 each. In fact, the Roadster is more expensive than all of his previous cars put together.
"I took a big, big gulp and sent in my check – and although this car may not seem like a bargain, I can now say it's a great value. This is exactly the type of car I'd design for myself."
Tesla is now producing approximately 20 cars per week, which will increase to 30 per week this summer. About 1,000 people are waiting to take ownership of their Roadster, which means Tesla is sold out through October of this year. The Roadster remains the only highway-capable production electric vehicle of any kind (not just in the sports car category) for sale in the US or Europe. It does 0-60 in 3.9 seconds yet is twice as energy efficient as a Toyota Prius.
Model S Update
Tesla will unveil its Model S prototype sedan March 26 at the Tesla design studio inside the SpaceX rocket factory, in Hawthorne, Calif. This is going to be a historic event for car enthusiasts; the Model S will likely be the world's first mass-produced, highway-capable EV when it rolls off the assembly line in late 2011.
The Model S will have an anticipated base price of $57,400. After a federal tax credit of $7,500, the effective price will be $49,900. Because of tax incentives and relatively inexpensive maintenance and refueling, the lifetime ownership cost will be closer to cars with far lower sticker prices. Tesla executives will provide a lot more product details at the launch party in Southern California, home to Tesla's design studio and the world's largest new-car market. The Model S will become the car of choice for environmentally conscious and discriminating drivers throughout North America and Europe. Tesla expects to roughly split initial sales between the two continents, later expanding to Asia.
New Digs in Chicago
Tesla announced earlier this month it plans to open a Midwest regional sales and service center in Chicago, the first of seven retail facilities the electric vehicle manufacturer plans to launch this year.
The Chicago store -- which will open this spring -- is at 1053 W. Grand Ave. in the River West neighborhood. The location gives prospective customers the opportunity to experience Tesla's best-in-class performance under a range of driving conditions, including highways and urban streets.
After Chicago, Tesla plans to open a store in London's Knightsbridge neighborhood. We are also finalizing site selection in Manhattan, Miami and Seattle and scouting sites in Washington, D.C. and Munich, Germany. These stores will expose more people to the Roadster – and most importantly they will serve as a lean and efficient retail footprint as we get more mainstream customers for the Model S.
One reason Tesla service centers will be smaller than gasoline car service centers is that the Roadster has far fewer moving (and breakable) parts than an internal combustion engine vehicle. It doesn't require nearly as much service and maintenance as gas guzzlers, so Tesla doesn't need cavernous service and repair bays and large spaces to store spare parts. Tesla requests that owners bring in the car – which never needs oil changes or exhaust system tune-ups, among other costly repairs -- every 12,000 miles or once a year for a diagnostic check and software upgrade.
Tesla Heads North
Earlier this month, Tesla began selling cars in Canada. We will begin delivering cars in the fourth quarter, and we believe Canada will become a premier showcase for the Roadster. In Canada, the majority of electricity comes from renewable resources, including run-of-river small hydro, wind, biomass, geothermal and solar energy. An EV recharged from the current Canadian grid, on average, would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 85 percent compared to an equivalent gasoline-powered vehicle. In hydro-dominant British Columbia, Quebec and Manitoba, the reduction would be an impressive 98 percent.
Canadian Roadsters will comply with all national and provincial safety regulations for mass-produced, highway-capable vehicles – and they'll perform in the snow, just as they already do in Northern Europe. The base price for Roadsters in Canada will be set closer to the start of deliveries, and pricing will reflect exchange rates at that time. In the United States, the base price is $109,000.
Thanks, and please be on the lookout next week for official Model S photos and video -- and more exciting news from Tesla in the weeks and months to come!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Throwback 1:45PM (3/19/2009)
"Because of tax incentives and relatively inexpensive maintenance"
Gotta love this quote! What is relatively inexpensive maintenance? A BMW has maintenance included in the purchase price, so it is "realtively inexpensive" compared to a similiar Mercedes or Audi, so what.
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Gordio 2:19PM (3/19/2009)
electric cars by nature have extremely low maintenance. i.e. no oil changes, no transmission checkup, etc. Pretty much the only maintenance is making sure the battery is healthy which takes like a few seconds.
swatter 1:21PM (3/24/2009)
For #1 Throwback:
Let's be more specific here - EVs don't have the following systems to go wrong:
no oil system (pump, filter, oil), no fuel system (fuel pump, fuel filter, injectors, plugs, cables etc.), no water pump or coolant or radiator or hoses, no exhaust system, no catalytic converter, no rings/pistons/plugs, less heat.
In addition, brakes last forever because of regenerative braking which uses the motor to assist in braking and feed it to a generator to recover the braking energy.
That's not just money saved but time/inconvenience saved from going to the shop or looking for an open gas station.
In addition, consider your monthly gas cost and add it to your monthly car payment. At $4/gallon, 12k/year and 20mpg comparison, this adds $200/month to your car cost. Charging costs are a fraction of that, even during peak.
Comparing the cost savings on fuel and basic maintenance, EV costs/month are similar to that of a much cheaper gas car. Add in the expected repairs for the gas car and the continued savings after the car loan is repaid, and the savings gap widens.
brandon 2:03PM (3/19/2009)
If they built a dealership in-between northern and southern CA so they will allow me to buy one, then I probably would
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Doug 2:27PM (3/19/2009)
Who will you guys have at the Model S unveiling?
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ziv 5:13PM (3/19/2009)
I am impressed, I would have thought the price would be higher due to the small amount of cars built per year. $49,900 net is a good price if it has good fit and finish. I will barely be able to afford a Volt, but I hope Tesla sells these quickly and profitably.
Bring on BEV's and EREV's, we need some transportation options that don't rely on foreign oil.
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mister nomer 6:18PM (3/19/2009)
From the press release:
"Tesla Motors delivered its 250th car last Saturday... Tesla is now producing approximately 20 cars per week, which will increase to 30 per week this summer."
Hmmm....
We're 10 weeks into 2009 as of last Saturday (March 14) so a production rate of 20 cars a week means they have produced 200 cars this year so far.
100 cars delivered last year, means 150 cars delivered this year so far.
So...
the actual production rate is 15 per week (or so) and they rounded up
or...
Tesla has 50 cars sitting around somewhere while people are waiting.
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Cthulhugus 10:50AM (3/22/2009)
Producing and delivering are two different things.
BlackbirdHighway 8:57PM (3/19/2009)
It's not a mystery at all.
It takes about 6 weeks to go from starting production of a car to delivery of that car to a customer. So those 50 cars that are "unaccounted for" are actually spread out over that production pipeline.
Some are still in the process of being assembled in England, some are being shipped to California, some are in California getting the motor and battery installed, and some are being shipped to the customer.
They also shut down production for a couple weeks at the end of last year for the holidays, so that alone counts for some 30 to 40 cars.
mister nomer 9:09PM (3/19/2009)
Point taken. = )
ryan 9:13PM (3/19/2009)
A NEW eBox costs north of $70k. That gives you 120-150 miles per charge.
The Model S with tax incentives will cost $50k. That is probably equipped with the 150 mile range battery pack, though you could pay slightly more to get 300 miles per charge.
Hmm... the options are starting to crop up. In the long run, the Model S looks to be the winner, but then again, it isn't for sale yet... and may never be.
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jpm 11:28PM (3/19/2009)
I've wondered why AC Propulsion doesn't just source a car w/o a ICE. But then again, it appears that they more into the propulsion electronics.
quixote 11:27PM (3/19/2009)
$50,000? Wow. At that price, *I* want one. And I'm the kind of person who's driving a little gray Civic right now.
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PabloKoh 11:21AM (3/20/2009)
Just remember to buy a $30,000 solar electric system for charging, or else you are still using fossil fuels or nuclear.
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-M.Dub 11:24AM (3/20/2009)
Not where I live, hydroelectric FTW!!!!
Mark 10:52AM (3/21/2009)
Same old same old. "Don't buy EV because it is just as bad as petrol when you get the electric from coal". Have any of the electric nah sayers ever considered that you have to transport oil from the refinery to the local station, then you car burns 30% of it as waste in heat.
EVs get the energy direct from the grid.
The inefficiency of the ICE is much worse than if we were to run every car as an EV and get the electric source from coal. We are also evolving away from coal to renewable so your argument is pathetic.
Ernie 2:01AM (3/22/2009)
Mark: Your numbers are slightly off. About 30% of the chemical energy input into a gas powered engine goes to kinetic energy. About 50 or 60% of a diesel powered engine goes to kinetic energy.
Either way, you're throwing away way more than 30% to heat. :) But you just got the statistics backwards, is all.
One thing you're also forgetting is the amount of energy used in refining gasoline. Refineries use a lot of electricity to do their job. As such, gas engines are even less efficient than electric motors.
anotherdreamer 1:09PM (3/22/2009)
This is an unfair comment, because you would still be cutting your pollution in half and that half would not be produced 30 ft from my daughters school playground.
bobby b 2:39PM (3/20/2009)
" . . . . electric cars by nature have extremely low maintenance."
- - - - -
Not if you amortize battery replacement over the expected battery life.
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swatter 1:22PM (3/24/2009)
for #18 bobby b:
It's a fallacy that the batteries have to be replaced periodically, thus making EVs or hybrids expensive.
The Toyota RAV-4 EVs from the 1990s that were not crushed have batteries that lasted well over 100k, surprising Toyota and other voyeurs. Current hybrids, which have the same type of battery, last well over 100k also; if/when they go, a whole pack replacement is somewhere under $5k, but individual cells can be replaced quite cheaply.
The batteries in the tesla are supposed to last even longer and individual cells can be replaced fairly cheaply. Some of the newer batteries, which tesla does not use, have been tested to last over 300k. In addition, the whole vehicle should last much longer than a gas vehicle because it doesn't have as many parts or as much stress from burning gas (explosions, actually) or the heat. Weigh that against the cost of a ring job or the other repairs you won't have to bother with in an EV.