VIDEO: Dave meet Elon, Elon meet Dave, let's all hate the Volt
by Sam Abuelsamid on Apr 30th 2009 at 10:43AM 
Dave gets a charge out of the Tesla Model S
Elon Musk brought out the Tesla Model S for its big New York debut last night and David Letterman got a real "charge" out of it. Musk appeared on the Late Show and it was kind of strange to watch. Letterman had some kind of throat thing going on that left his voice sounding remarkably like Bob Lutz. In spite of that, Dave's trademark style left him showing little sympathy for any automakers when discussing why after more than 100 years no one has really developed the electric car.
Dave didn't spare any kind words for efforts to develop hydrogen fuel cell technology, but he really ripped into the Chevy Volt. Apparently the idea of being able to go a mere 40 miles on a charge is not appealing to the crankiest of all late night hosts and he didn't bother to mention the range extender. Thankfully, most of us don't all have 20-mile driveways to deal with. Check out the video after the jump for as long as it stays live on YouTube. BTW, Elon had nothing new to offer.
UPDATE: GM responds.
[Source: YouTube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mitchell 11:44AM (4/30/2009)
Elon for President.
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DriverG 11:51AM (4/30/2009)
Interesting that he admits Roadster buyers are basically subsidizing the company.;
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Dan 1:00PM (4/30/2009)
... ALL PRODUCT LINES START THAT WAY. Plus, the term subsidizing is wrong.
They REINVEST the earnings from the roadster to design the Model S.
Subsidizing is a government giving money to a company (such as Japan did for Toyota, such as the US does for Coal, Nuclear etc...) to do something without directly getting anything back.
DriverG 4:01PM (4/30/2009)
What's interesting is that he is up front about it. And, while your literal definition of a subsidy is correct, the difference between the Tesla and something like a Prius is that the people who bought the first generation Prius didn't pay more than the ones that came after them, they actually paid less. The cost was amortized over the life of the vehicle. In the case of Tesla, people are overpaying for the roadster so subsequent buyers will be able to pay less for the S. Having driven it, its fun enough to almost justify this if you have the money, but you'd be better off investing in the company and waiting a few years to buy one of the cheaper models that MAY follow it.
Chris M 6:04PM (5/02/2009)
Of course. Do you know any company that isn't subsidized by the products or services they sell?
Kyle 11:55AM (4/30/2009)
I second that
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LaughingMan 11:59AM (4/30/2009)
I think it's important to have some perspective about Tesla's offerings, the Volt and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
What's critical about these three technologies, the pure electric BEV, the hybrid (series or otherwise) and the fuel cell vehicle, is that they all share critical components.
All three rely on electric traction motors that also provide regeneration capability. All three (yes including the fuel cell vehicle) will rely on battery technology. Fuel cell vehicles, when you break them down, are really all fuel cell-electric hybrid vehicles. There are going to be many gas-electric hybrid vehicles that will have a plug like the Volt. There be many fuel cell-electric hybrids that will also have a plug.
The truth is the dispute between BEVs, gas-electric hybrids, and fuel cell vehicles is really a matter of battery size and the role of secondary power sources... In my mind, there's quite a lot that's common and that we can all agree on.
What we can't do, however, is preclude the development and productisation of technologies simply because one piece is missing or hasn't been developed yet.
Case in point... fuel cell vehicles. The big car manufacturers have thrown a lot into investing in fuel cell vehicles, but because of the challenges in the fuel cell stack, and hydrogen generation, storage and generation, the prospects for all pieces of this solution coming together is put off for 20 or 25 years.
The car manufacturers do everyone a disservice by pretending like they can expect the consumer to keep buying the conventional gas burning cars for the 20 to 25 years before a FCV is ready. In the same time, the electric motor and battery technologies developed in tandem for the FCV is starting to mature much quicker.
This the key to Tesla... We have the motor and battery technology today... just because the complex fuel cell isn't ready doesn't mean we should put off any kind of progress!
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Mike Z 12:16PM (4/30/2009)
Clearly Elon does not understand Pareto's principle when it come to the Volt and RE-EVs/PHEVs.
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UH2L 12:23PM (4/30/2009)
I like Letterman but he needs to be educated about the Volt and typical driver usage before ripping into the Volt and car companies in general. How many Teslas have been sold again? Are they a profitable company and will they even be around for more than 5 years? I hope they can find a way to make their four door viable and profitable, but we'll see.
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BlackbirdHighway 12:53PM (4/30/2009)
Is GM a profitable company? What are their prospects for being around in five years? Especially without government help?
UH2L 12:59PM (4/30/2009)
That wasn't my point. My point was that an electric car only company has yet to be proven viable. Internal combustion engine vehicle manufacturers have survived the test of time, not GM specifically, (although GM lasted 100 years without government help which is a lot more than most corporations). I was talking about the characteristics of the Volt on its own merits, regardless of who makes it. Letterman may influence people so it would be nice if he judged the vehicle with some knowledge and mentioned the range extender. His home state of Indiana may have supplier plants that depend on it.
jake 1:54PM (4/30/2009)
i don't agree with the ripping either, I don't think either car should be ripped on. I'm a fan of both and I think both has a place in the market.
mapoftazifosho 1:58PM (4/30/2009)
Yes, Elon knows how to loss money he doesn't have with no viable way of paying back said funds. He'd be great for politics...
He needs to stop talking shit, he is alienating himself...
I think Letterman should have to address his errors. GM has had SOOO much negative press based on blatantly wrong statements from the media ...it really has no chance of having a fair shot in the eyes of the consumer...
As for the EV1, PR gaffe of the century, but Toyota, Honda and Ford killed their EV programs as well...
In late 2003, GM officially canceled the EV1 program. GM stated that it could not sell enough of the cars to make the EV1 profitable. This, combined with the fact that their parts and service infrastructure costs required to maintain the existing EV1's for the state legislated minimum of 15 years...
leo 7:00AM (5/01/2009)
..you know, i think Dave knew that concerning 40 miles/day covering the needs of like 90 % of americans. though, you could see Elon waiting to jump on him at that point, just look at his facial expressions. i think the interview was ok; it needed to strike a balance bewtween being informative and not sounding like a statistics lecture. just a bit of lip gloss for Elon's cause, that won't hurt.
I seriously think that for a man who has 200 million bucks, Elon needs to get a new jacket..he's always wearing it! mind you, over here we say das sparen lernt man von den reichen..i suppose that is true..
Yuros 12:40PM (4/30/2009)
I disagree with Dave ripping into the Volt, but he is spot on about the big-picture of the American auto industry; Too Little Too Late.
He was also a bit rude to the guest (as usual) cutting off Musk and not letting him finish, but that's Dave.
The bit of being electrocuted by the car was not funny at all.
Hope his voice gets better, it was painful to listen to him.
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tvans 12:43PM (4/30/2009)
http://www.aptera.com/
This guy's not the only one doing this. Aptera has a solution for around 30k this year!- no 50 or 100k sometime in the future. Someone needs to 'plug' these folks!
Sadly (because of tax implications) the Aptera is only available in CA. I'm thinking of getting a friend who lives in CA to buy one and ship it to the east coast.
Go Aptera!
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mapoftazifosho 2:04PM (4/30/2009)
How well does the Aptera crash? How is NHTSA rating it?
tvans 2:25PM (4/30/2009)
I'm not sure if its been put through NHTSA testing yet. But here's an excerpt from Aptera's website re safety features:
"Driver and Passenger Airbags
We know the unthinkable happens, and when it does we want to make sure you're prepared. That's why your Aptera comes with a full complement of driver and passenger airbags.
Front Impact Zone
Your Aptera's nimble handling should be more than adequate to help you avoid almost any collision. In the unfortunate case that you cannot, feel secure in knowing your vehicle is equipped with a front impact zone fashioned after the systems that protect race car drivers in high-speed collisions.
Side Impact Beams
Aptera is committed to your protection. That's why both doors feature integrated side impact beams that distribute the force of a side impact as far away from you as possible.
Passenger Safety Cell/Cabin
We broke the rules again by creating a super-strong composite and aluminum safety cell to protect you and your passenger. We then added airbags, aluminum door reinforcements and more just because we like overdoing it on safety."
tvans 2:28PM (4/30/2009)
NHTSA technically classifies it as a motorcycle because it has 3 wheels. From what I've read, Aptera is committed to exceeding passenger car safety standards even though it could get away with less.
tvans 2:43PM (4/30/2009)
Here's Aptera's Latest Newsletter for more information:
http://www.aptera.com/newsletter032508/