About Tesla Motors

With the launch of Model 3 and General Motors vice president of global propulsion systems, Mr. Dan Nicholson, taking digs at them, I got more interested in Tesla Motors and decided to check about it.Here is what I found in my one hour of internet search.

Tesla Motor's Logo

Tesla Motors is Palo Alto, California based electric car company which was founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in July 2003. In 2004, Elon Musk invested heavily in Tesla Motors and joined board of directors as a chairman. Model followed by company is to first built state of art sports car and then moving to mainstream car market.

In 2008, Tesla launched its first car Tesla Roadster followed by Tesla Model S in 2012 then Model X in 2015 and latest Model 3 will be launched in 2017.

 1. Tesla Roadster:

  
During 2004 and 2007, Tesla built some test models. In 2006, Roadster was introduced to the public. Its powertrain was built around AC induction motor which was patented by Nikola Tesla. Production was started in 2008. The car has range of 245 miles and can go 0-60 in 3.9 secs and  3.7 seconds for the 2010 V2.5 Sport Model with US$100,000 plus tag . Full battery charging time may vary from 4 hours to 48 hours depending upon source.  

Tesla Roadster 2008 model

Roadster was upgraded couple of times. Tesla built 15 final special edition roadster, 5 for each market i.e. North America, Europe and Asia. Tesla has sold more than 2400 cars in 30 plus countries.

2. Tesla Model S: 

In 2012, Tesla replaces Roadster by Model S. Model S was world's first luxurious electric sedan. It took world by storm with its huge luggage space, premium interior, large range and 7 seats. First model came with 45, 60, 70, 85kWh battery capacity with price ranging from US$59,900 to US$90,000 plus. Tesla launched various updated models in 2014 and 2015. Current price range from US$70,000 to US$118,000. 

2013 Tesla Model S P85

Tesla's Model S P90D has range of 270 miles and can go 0-60 in 2.8 secs (in Ludicrous mode), making it fastest accelerating 4 door sedan and also one of the fastest accelerating cars in the world. Low center of gravity helps in handling and holding the car to road. It is most technologically advanced car with 17 inch touchscreen using which driver can virtually control everything. The car has unique feature of autopilot that will allow it to cruse, change lanes and park car automatically. Around 90% of cars has supercharging feature that allows to charge battery in 1 hour(80kWh). With 5 star safety rating, it is one of the safest cars in the world

3. Tesla Model X:

Model X is Tesla's crossover SUV. It was first unveiled in February, 2012. The production and deliveries were suppose to start in early 2014 but it was delayed because of commercial and technical problem. In September 2015, deliveries of Model X were started and till April 2016 more than 2500 models were delivered. Stranded production model was priced around US$83,000(April, 16).

Model X with Falcon Door

 90KWh model has range of 257 miles and performance model can do 0-60 in 3.2 secs. It is equipped with falcon wing doors. This allows easy access to second and third row. The doors can open with one foot clearance from the sides. Second row seats can recline independently. It has largest glass panoramic windshield in production. The car has 5000 pound towing capacity. Model X has same platform as Model S and can use 60% of model S parts. Also, it has high safety rating as Model S. 

4. Tesla Model 3:

Model 3 is Tesla's most awaited car and was unveiled in March, 2016. It is mid range premium sedan which will compete directly with giants like BMW, Audi, Mercedes. Valued at US$35,000 Tesla is claiming that it is the best car you can buy. It will have 215 mile range and can do 0-60 in under 6 seconds (can decrease with performance model). All Model 3 cars will have autopilot and supercharging feature. Deliveries are expected to start b late 2017.

Tesla Model 3

All info is taken from internet.