Will the Tesla Model S Cost Just $49,900?
We've been skeptical of the Tesla Model S sedan since day one. It promises the world, but the engineering behind it is still very much a work in progress.
You wouldn't know it from listening to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, however, as he's touted the car as if it's a finished product. He got a nice plug on Letterman recently, and is once again taking the Model S on tour to drum up business.
Not everyone is convinced. Dan Neil from the Los Angeles Times recently got some seat time in the Model S and was hardly overwhelmed.
“This lovely, porpoise-sleek design study, unveiled to worldwide hoopla March 26, is just barely ambulatory — more like a glorified golf cart than a harbinger of tomorrow tech. The windows are fixed in their frames. The power-steering motor groans. The seating position and outward visibility make a Lamborghini feel spacious. The car's signature design flourish — a 17-inch, touch-screen control panel with haptic feedback in the center console — may not even make it to production, concedes Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen. 'The car is only about 90% there on the outside and about 40% there on the inside.'”
Another website, The Business Insider, attempted to break down the cost of building the Model S and came up with numbers that made its $49,900 base price look a little optimistic. Much of the discussion has focused on the cost of the 17-inch touchscreen, but that's peanuts compared to the money required to stamp aluminum body panels.
L.A. Times: Tesla S: a model Citizen
The Business Insider: There's No Way Tesla's Model S Will Cost $57,400
