Hasta La Gadget!

Tesla took the opportunity just before CES to reassure potential buyers that its Model S wouldn’t follow the competition by creeping up in price ahead of release, and now we have what looks to be final confirmation: a full MSRP, complete with prices for all the different battery options. A base Model S, with an estimated 160 miles of range, will retail for $57,400 and will of course be eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit. The 230 mile range version will carry a $10,000 premium, and if you want a chance at making 300 miles on a charge it’s another $10k on top of that.

So, $77,400 then if you want the top of the line Model S 300, which initially will be called the “Model S Signature Series” in the US, a limited edition run of 1,000 autos with big batts. Deliveries are expected to begin sometime around the summer of 2012, with the 230 and 160 versions coming later in the year. Tesla hopes to produce 5,000 of the cars in total in 2012, a whopping 20,000 in 2013. Oh, and should you live in a market that requires a right-hand drive model you have about a two year wait ahead of you. That’s what you get for driving on the wrong side of the road.

Tesla Model S pricing and delivery details confirmed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apparently when Elon Musk was talking last week at the Cleantech Investors Summit, the Tesla CEO’s prognosticating extended far past 2015. He reiterated that there’s an electric Model X SUV coming soon and a sub-$30k Tesla within four years. However, in 20 years Mr. Musk thinks that everything will be EV — well, everything in the US, anyway. He believes that every car sold in America in 2030 will be electric and that within a few decades after that they’ll take over worldwide. Of course, this is someone who believes he’ll be living on Mars in 2030, naturally sent thither astride one of his SpaceX rockets. Obviously not a man short on optimism.

Elon Musk: all cars sold in 2030 will be electric, boogie woogie woogie optional originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve known for some time that Tesla hoped to use the underpinnings of the luscious Model S as a base platform upon which other cars would be built, even minivans. Elon Musk in the past has mentioned a Model X SUV due sometime in 2014 and he’s just re-confirmed that we’ll be getting our first glimpse of the thing sometime this year. Few further details are known but we wouldn’t be surprised if it shared some components with the Tesla-powered Toyota RAV4 EV. Musk also took the opportunity to re-confirm that a genuinely affordable electric Tesla is coming by 2015, something priced under $30,000 and, while probably not quite as bodacious as either the Roadster or the Model S, hopefully it’ll be a bit more invigorating than the Leaf.

Tesla confirms plans to unveil electric Model X SUV this year, $30k car by 2015 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You thought we were going to take a break after CES, didn’t you? Yeah, no way. We’re back and badder than ever, with all the latest iPhone / iPad gossip AND a treasure trove of new info and insight form Automotive Editor Tim Stevens about some killer new stuff going on under the hood of the vehicles of the very near future. Dig in!

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller
Guest: Tim Stevens
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Born to be Wild

00:02:40 – Live from Verizon’s iPhone event
00: 07:02 – The Verizon iPhone
00:10:30 – AT&T ‘evaluating’ support for iOS Personal Hotspot, no plans yet
00:14:10 – AT&T iPhone 4 vs. Verizon iPhone 4: what’s changed?
00:22:10 – iOS 4.3 beta arrives for devs, brings AirPlay video support to apps, personal hotspot and customizable iPad side switch (update: video!)
00:29:05 – Exclusive: The future of the iPad 2, iPhone 5, and Apple TV, and why Apple is shifting its mobile line to Qualcomm chipsets
00:38:47 – IBM demonstrates Watson supercomputer in Jeopardy practice match
00:45:00 – IBM’s Watson supercomputer destroys all humans in Jeopardy practice round (video!)
00:51:52 – Toyota debuts new Prius models, family-friendlier Prius V and funkier Prius C
00:58:25 – Porsche unveils 918 RSR, the 767hp hybrid
01:00:45 – Tesla Chief Engineer Peter Rawlinson geeks out with us about Model S design
01:08:17 – A tour around the X-Prize winning Edison2 Very Light Car (video)

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Engadget Podcast 229 – 01.16.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did you sit through all three of the lengthy, expository videos that lovingly and exhaustively detailed every aspect of the Model S’s design and engineering? If so, you’ll be familiar with Peter Rawlinson, Tesla Chief Engineer and genuine car nut who, in previous lives, held the titles of Chief Engineer of Advanced Engineering at Lotus and Principal Engineer at Jaguar. His latest creation, the Model S, shares some frame concepts the products of one of those companies and some styling cues from another, but it’s safe to say this is an all new car that has been obsessively designed starting with a “blank computer screen” as he puts it. He was kind enough to spend some time talking tech with us, and you can read the highlights below.

Continue reading Tesla Chief Engineer Peter Rawlinson geeks out with us about Model S design

Tesla Chief Engineer Peter Rawlinson geeks out with us about Model S design originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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