Talk:Tesla Motors

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Contents

[edit] Please Read

If you have remarks about the car, best to put them in the article on the car; this article is on the company.

[edit] Problems at Tesla

http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9849410-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.230.23.191 (talk) 17:22, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Restructuring

I tried to restructure this by putting in some sections. Things I wish were a little better:

  • The section on the roadster may be getting a little too big, since there's already a page on it. But I think the specs on the car go towards explaining the company's business model.
  • English vs American usage is a bit of a problem here since we have Lotus, an English company, and Tesla, an American company. I'm staying with American style as per the original version and since this is about an American car. I tried to avoid constructions that sound odd on the other continent but I'm not sure I succeeded.

--Steve Pucci | talk 15:26, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Michael Marks

If you click on his name in the article, you'll find he's long been dead. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.208.110.210 (talk) 06:52, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Tesla Motors Marketing?

This reads to me as a staged bit of company hype until I see footage of a real vehicle and some third party confirmation of the putative statistics. This whole thing reads like a marketing ploy with Wikipedia furnishing the advertising medium. --User:69.7.41.230

Seat-of-the-pants acceleration statistics have been reported on by several independent press reporters; see for instance this LA Times article by Dan Neil (including video) and this Forbes article by Elizabeth Corcoran. YouTube has even more video. While independent test track information has not yet been published, this is to be expected as common practice for automobile companies during development of a new vehicle. It is unusual, however, for Tesla to allow so many reporters to ride in their 3rd gen evaluation prototypes (development vehicles). The reported efficiency of 133 Wh/km, while quite good, is very much in line with other electric vehicles. Similarly, reports of the energy (56kWh) and power (220kW) content of the li-ion pack are well within the range of other li-ion battery packs. How might we improve the article to sound less like a "marketing ploy"? --Mwarren us 05:40, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Solar mileage offset calculation

"Tesla plans to offer home roof mounted solar-photovoltaic systems through Solar City that will offset power used by the home charger, allowing 50 miles (80 kilometers) of travel without burdening the power grid, and thus making the package "energy positive" for a driver whose average daily mileage is less than that."

It's unclear to this reader how the author arrives at his calculation of 50 miles per charge. It all depends on the consumption of energy at home and the size of the solar panel system...the vehicle can be entirely supplied by solar. Also, charging during nighttime off peak hours does not present a burden to the electrical grid. This evens out the power consumption by making use of excess generation at night. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.168.71.228 (talk • contribs) 01:06, Feb 6, 2007 (UTC)

I think the idea is that the solar system provided through Solar City will be sized to provide, on average, enough energy in one day to power the Tesla Roadster for 50 miles (assuming the 200 Wh/mile figure quoted at Tesla Roadster#Performance, that would be 10 kWh/day). It would thus offset the energy pulled out of the home system by the roadster, by putting that much energy back in, assuming you don't go over the nominal 50 miles in an average day of driving. As you point out, staying under this constraint would make the system net positive to the owner in terms of dollars, and net positive to the electrical grid's "burden", because energy is typically cheaper when being taken out than when it is replaced. --Steve Pucci | talk 14:45, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] AC Propulsion

While we at Tesla Motors are generally impressed with the caliber of information provided on our company and vehicles here on Wikipedia, there are a couple of minor areas that warrant clarification. For this reason, I have made a few edits to the Wikipedia entry as they relate to the Tesla Roadster and our partners/component suppliers for this vehicle.

I modified the language to say: "Tesla Motors licensed AC Propulsion's Reductive Charging(tm) patent, which integrates the charging electronics into the inverter in a way that reduces mass and complexity. Tesla has designed and builds its own power electronics, motor, and other drivetrain components that incorporate this licensed technology from AC Propulsion."

This more accurately characterizes the relationship between Tesla Motors and AC Propulsion.

-- David Vespremi - Director of Public Relations, Tesla Motors

[edit] Advice from a car lover

Hey there, Tesla people! Love your vehicle. Wish I could afford it.

You asked if there were a way to make it sound less like hype/marketing?

Well, first of all, keep in mind the article should be encyclopedic. It should present a neutral point of view (NPOV) and cite sources. Wikipedia:Neutral point of view

Keep in mind that this it is very difficult to write about yourself in a totally neutral manner, so extreme care should be taken to ensure a NPOV. Wikipedia:Conflict of interest

This is not to say you can't edit articles about your own company - just that you must be very careful, because it's difficult to see without rose-colored glasses.

In addition, the wikipedia policies and guidelines may prove to be helpful: Wikipedia:List of policies Wikipedia:List of guidelines

And oh, yeah, it may be helpful to create your own wikipedia account, so that you can keep track of everything you've done and to ease communication. Having an account also allows you to easily sign an article with four tildes: ~~~~ becomes CobraA1 07:06, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

David Vespremi is the only contributor that seems to work for Tesla Motors and his contribution was quite small. The same basic changes were also made in the Tesla Roadster article and I added a citation needed tag where appropriate. Are there specific paragraphs that lack NPOV or where more citation might help? Mwarren us 07:58, 15 April 2007 (UTC) (not affiliated with Tesla Motors)
Mwarren and I seem to have contributed the most to the article, at least lately, and I do not work for Tesla, as much as I would love to.
--Ng.j 21:10, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
I don't work for Tesla either.--Steve Pucci | talk 21:33, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hybrids... or NO? etc.

The article states at the beginning that these are electric vehicles (with same wikipedia link attached). When you go to that electric vehicle link, you'll find that definition includes hybrids. Shouldn't we make it more clear whether or not these Tesla vehicles are hybrids or not?

That also leads me to this sentence found later in the article: "... Transmission fluid and coolant changes will be required as for gasoline-engine cars. ..."

That's confusing... is this saying that the Tesla's WILL require trans fluid & coolant changes or NO? If I knew if this was a hybrid or not in the first place, I guess I could deduce it.

These cars are NOT hybrids, right? They are purely electric cars, no gasoline right? The article just isn't perfectly clear on these questions. I mean, I think one can "deduce" these things, mostly... but... why should one have to go through the effort?... it should be clearer within the article in the first place.

Thanks for your time. Cowicide 18:31, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lotus Chassis and Lotus Assembly

I have made a minor revision to correct a reference to the Roadster using a modified Lotus Elise chassis. This is inaccurate, as the chassis is not sourced from Lotus. In addition, I corrected a reference to the assembly being done by Lotus. Assembly includes both Lotus and Tesla employees as Tesla maintains an office at Lotus' factory in Hethel with dedicated employees on site there.

-- David Vespremi, Director of Communications at Tesla Motors