Pre-orders for Tesla’s new sedan top 500
Tesla Motors announced today that it has already received 520 orders for its recently unveiled Model S sedan, an all-electric vehicle capable of carrying seven passengers. Unlike the company’s flashier and more expensive roadster, the car is designed to fit the needs of middle-class families.
Reservations for the Model S started pouring in after its Los Angeles debut last week. Eventually, Tesla plans to offer its vehicles through its own retail stores slated to open in Chicago, London, New York, Miami, Seattle, Washington D.C. and Munich. But consumers will have to wait till 2011 for production to begin in earnest, and that’s only if the company receives the $350 million loan it applied for from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program. It will use the money to construct an assembly plant in California devoted solely to Model S production.
The car is expected to sell for $49,900 — factoring in a federal tax credit of $7,500. And consumers who reserve their models early must pay a $5,000 refundable fee. This might sound a little steep, especially in this economic climate, but the company claims that when you consider how much money you save on gas with the car, the price is equivalent to a $35,000 gasoline-powered car.
The Model S can be charged by connecting to any standard electrical outlet, and each charging session can take it 300 miles. Based on released stats, it doesn’t seem to be underpowered either, with a top speed of 130 miles-per-hour. There is also some fun icing on the cake: a 17-inch touchscreen with 3G connectivity, allowing passengers to tap into Pandora Radio or Google Maps on the go. Check out a video of a test drive below.
As Tesla ramps up its plans for the Model S, it’s also steadily meeting demand for its sporty little roadster. Selling for a base price of $101,500 after the $7,500 tax rebate, the car is said to be twice as energy efficient as Toyota’s Prius, covering 244 miles per charging session. The company delivered 170 roadsters to customers last quarter and just rolled out 104 more last month. Still, it seems the company has pretty firmly turned its attention to designing more affordable, family-friendly models to appeal to middle-class consumers.
All of this news is pretty impressive considering the financial woes that plagued Tesla last fall. Before it nabbed $40 million from past investors in November, it looked like the company was headed for a breakdown. In a short span, it hastily replaced its chief executive, laid off a round of employees, and accidentally leaked that it only had $9 million left in the bank. Just five months later, it looks like the company has nearly made it out of the woods, but receiving the $350 million loan from the DOE would truly make its rebound a reality.
In the meantime, here’s the Model S in action:
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About the Author, Camille Ricketts
Camille is the lead writer for GreenBeat. She came to VentureBeat from Google where she worked on its traditional platforms team, particularly in TV. Before that, she was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York and London. Follow her on Twitter at @camillericketts, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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