Tesla Motors on the verge of bankruptcy?

I have been watching the pregress of Tesla Motors, and find that they have only delivered 50-60 cars with over 1200 deposits taken from buyers still on the waiting list, and have only 9 million left after closing its Rochester Hills technical center, suspending its Model S sedan, and laying off about 50% of its employees.
The intermediate transmission on many delivered cars is flawed and the company is to replace them.

Now, Elon Musk is reporting that he will invest back into the company with hopes of 20 million investments from Tesla investors and hopes for 200 million in Government loans.

(See Article)
www.theregister.co.uk...

Being that Tesla is an R & D Marketing organization, Group Lotus is doing the important parts. Lotus, Owned by Proton could be in a position to absorb the Tesla should it continue to fail, but will they?

Here is a link to a euro-thread discussing some of the Tesla Motors problems as well.

forums.mg-rover.org...

I still think that when the bugs are worked out and they get the production up, there will be no lack of interested buyers....If they last long enough to get it done.

reply to post by imd12c4funn


It looks to me like Tesla are being victims of economic warfare, because they are a huge threat to the technoeconomical status quo that the fossil fuel addiction has stuck us in.

This is the cold dead hands of old man Rockerfeller rising up from the grave and strangling mankind. Internal combustion quagmire. Remember it was by his initiative that in the late 1800's and early 1900's the fuel for cars was changed from ethanol into petroleum, and was done so by the Rockerfellers funding associations for prohibition, which at the same time changed the early energy market. At the same time JP Morgan was trashing Tesla, not the company but the man.

Just a little bit of history repeating... or will it be different this time?

Not exactly surprising. Maybe if it wasn't $100,000 they could sell a few more of them.

How about making a good electric car that an average person can afford?

KarlHungis: That was their midterm gameplan. But how about they get the funding to do it? We live in a world where these stupid numbers on paper and on screen have to validate everything, and we as a species are so moronic and selfish that we won't do what we have to do for our own good without bowing down to the god of currency and pushing some numbers around. In the developed world we probably have about a third of the working population that do nothing but count and throw currency about, without actually producing anything. And we have a system which will fund the cutting down of rainforrests, because we have a monetary gain, but which will not push us into a green economy because the numbers, which have little to do with our concrete reality, don't add up. It's beyond imbecilic.

Sure, Tesla Motor Cº is not the end all of enviromentalism, but it is a good start and we should, as a species, be more protective of enterprises such as this one. But instead of that we bow down to moronic decisions like biofuel from corn and the banning of Hemp.

This green revolution that the mass media idiot box and papers throw about is a con, because almost without exception, whenever I look into what they are actually doing all I see is brilliant technology, like the Honda FCX and H2O electrolization units being shelved and the patents dissapearing into private ownership while at the same time massive investment goes into the wrong choices so as to keep monopolies, leaving us little better than we started, and in many cases worse.

And what will be their prefered solution? A tax. Austerity.

It's all lies, lies, lies. And when the independents actually solves problems the whole system falls on top of them. If we are to live like God wanted us to, this system has to go, it's as simple as that. The fractional reserve debt monster is eating the world, and human civilization with it.

We are rapidly moving towards a very hard choice.

Originally posted by Karlhungis
How about making a good electric car that an average person can afford?

They could've done that ages ago. I've read a lot of stories of ideas like that being shot down. Only thing really preventing this, is battery technology, which we already have, but the other side likes to buy up the patents and sit on it. It's all about making money. Electric cars provide a way to eliminate gas all together, and the only thing they can do to stop it is control the battery technology. Look how old the battery technology that they used in the ev1, and even that was viable..It's not surprising that they scrapped that car before people even realized what it was capable of. Think about a solar panel system at home which will charge your batteries for no cost at all. Of course they could construct a module to swap out so you could charge one module during the day while driving on another. Come home and swap and you've just eliminated your need for buying gas ever again..There goal is to keep people dependent on an energy source that they provide. Think those new efficient solar panels will ever see the light of day? I'm not holding my breath for that one..They have ways of making stuff like that disappear, along with the new battery technology. However I don't think they can do that for very much longer as it becomes more mainstream. They can only hold it back for so long.

reply to post by Karlhungis


IMHO, The biggest selling point of the Tesla Roadster is the acceleration. 0-60 in 4 seconds is not an uncommon achievement. Most vehicles with this ability, whether combustion engine power plant or an electric power plant are in the 65K to hundreds of thousands per unit, yet Lambo, Maserati, Porche, Austin Martin, Lagunda (delivered a Lagunda Royal Blue Sedan to a Prince going to school in the States once in the 80's, the sticker was 180K back then..Must've been the loaded Model),
So, assuredly there are many more cost effective electric vehicles, some with plenty of torque and power, but I doubt 4 secs to 60 and I doubt the body design, which I am impressed with. Here is an example of a reliable electric alternative.

This one however blew away a 400HP Corvette on the track.
www.youtube.com...

The TZero Powered by almost 7000 Laptop Computer Batteries - (0-60 in 3.6 Secs.) blows away A Corvette
www.youtube.com...

and TZero takes the line on a 500HP Dodge Viper as well, Not the flag though.
www.youtube.com...

Small suprise,if I was going to spend 100k on a car it would be a Porsche Turbo,why buy an unproven car,especially at that price

Umm, they just got 40 million in financing. They aren't going bankrupt any time soon. Cash in hand is over 50 mill iirc. You guys are making a mountain out of a molehill.

[edit on 4-11-2008 by sardion2000]

I have no doubt electric cars are the future, GM had there chance and blew it by there own choice, now look at them.
Australia just recently announced they are building recharging stations all up the east coast, so it's happening.
Electric motorcycles are popping up all over the place, I'm planning on converting one, it's much simpler and cheaper and the performance can be pretty good with the right setup. And yeah the acceleration with electric motors is awesome. You can buy kits from just over $1200 + batteries and a donor bike.

But If I were a rich man....



Max Speed: 120 mph / 200 km/h approx.
Acceleration: 1/4 Mile - 12 seconds
Range: 70-200 km per charge depending on speed
Battery Type: Lithium Ion
7.5 kW-h Voltage: 240V
Motor: Brushless DC
Weight: 204 kg Emissions: Zero
Retail Price: €55 000 , + tax, registration, delivery

Well, I can dream.

Check out the killacycle, if you think 0-60 in 4 sec is a rush, how about 0-60 in 1 second!!!!
video.google.com...

Now watch Bill Dube (the engineer) crash it!
au.youtube.com...

Anyway I hope the Tesla doesn't fail. I think it was a mistake to tackle the highend market straight up. I believe the first manufacturer to produce a good performing car that's affordable will make a killing, and others will quickly follow the money as always. The ramifications will be immense.

Oldtimer2: The Tesla is a proven car, for one thing it's performance figures, minus top speed, are similar to a porsche 911 turbo, it's price is probably a bit lower, and it has the handling of a Lotus elise, almost, because that's what it is, with a longer wheelbase. There is nothing unproven about it.

Sure, it dosen't have the status, but that's just marketing. As for build quality, with only 7 parts in the whole engine transmission assembly it is bound to be durable. For some reason you don't see internal combustion engines being used for any robotics aplication...