Industry Darling Tesla Motors Builds 500th Roadster

What a world we live in!

General Motors and Chrysler find themselves bankrupt, Microsoft offers up a new search engine and Amazon is about to roll out yet another Kindle ebook reader. Economic considerations aside, the development of new products and the selling of the same continue almost unabated, although having your day in bankruptcy court tends to slow things down a wee bit.

Hats Off To Tesla Motors

One “tech” company getting a lot of press, far more than what it probably should receive given the size of the company, is Tesla Motors. Tesla, in case you aren’t aware of it, builds a beautiful pure electric roadster that retails for about $108,000 or twice what you would pay for a Corvette. Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the car can go from zero to sixty in about four seconds flat and travel as far as 244 miles on a single charge. But, so far all we have seen are 500 Tesla Roadsters because these cars take an awfully long time to build.

No matter, Tesla isn’t letting its limited production schedule keep it on the sidelines, bad economy or not.  In March, Tesla announced a new model, the “S” which will be a four door sedan with seating for as many as seven people. This car won’t be nearly as pricey as the Roadster as Tesla hopes to build many more copies and aim the car down market, but only somewhat. With a $7500 federal tax credit, the Tesla S could cost buyers just a few dollars under $50,000 when it hits the market around January 1, 2012.

Tesla Expands Their Retail Network

Perhaps the most significant news about Tesla is that the company is finally expanding its retail network (showrooms) beyond its California base.  Until now, if you bought a Roadster and lived elsewhere, then the only hands on service you’d get would be from a handful of California shops. Beginning this summer Tesla will be opening new sales and service centers in New York, Seattle, Chicago, Miami, London, Monaco and Munich.

I haven’t been in a Tesla showroom yet, but from what I’ve read it is similar to what customers would find in a Starbucks or Apple store, which means you can surf the ‘net in addition to test driving a Roadster or hanging out to learn more about Tesla and their business philosophy.

A Tech Company First

As I mentioned earlier, I called Tesla Motors a “tech” company because the automaker’s emphasis seems to be more on technology than on car building, which may explain why the company had so many problems getting the Roadster on the road in the first place (the original transmission was insufficient and had to be replaced).

Nonetheless, even if Tesla Motors remains a “bit player” in the world of automobiles the company has found its niche and continues to exploit it. Beyond a two seater sports car and with a sleeky four door sedan next up, Tesla Motors probably has a thing or two it can teach General Motors, a company who builds more cars in an hour than what Tesla Motors can build in a year.

After all, GM is bankrupt while Tesla Motors is humming along, proving to the world that a California tech company has what it takes to produce automobiles that customers want.

See Also — Tesla S Unveiled!