With Tesla, its either "Fast" or "Free"

[spuwho]

Elon Musk shows that getting a charged battery swap in your Tesla at his station is actually faster than filling the gas tank.

http://www.latinospost.com/articles/21954/20130621/elon-musk-shows-tesla-battery-swap-option-want-fast-free.htm

He is building this network of electric "filling stations" where you can either "super" charge your battery, or merely get the battery swapped in immediately.



The video showing the swap compared to a standard gas fill is here:

http://vimeo.com/68832891

One of the biggest drawbacks for Tesla Motors to make its all-electric cars acceptable to the general public is the option for long car trips. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, Inc., took another step on Thursday night towards that goal, introducing "battery swap" for the Tesla Model S sedan.
Battery swap is Musk's answer to the problem of charging the Model S battery on the go, and at a swanky event at Tesla's design studio, Musk announced the innovation. Musk said it would be an option for Tesla drivers, in addition to the supercharging stations that he introduced last year in October.

"When you come to the Tesla station," said Musk on stage, "you have the choice of the Supercharger," the Telsa's battery charging station, "which is and always will be free." Musk continued, "Or, you have the choice of the battery pack swap, which is faster than you can fill a gas tank."
"So, the only decision you need to make, when you come to one of our Tesla stations, is do you prefer faster or free?" said Musk to applause. He then demonstrated, on stage, how technicians working in a pit under the Model S can swap out the battery for a fully-charged replacement in just over 90 seconds. On the big screen, Musk had a video of a person filling up the gas tank of his sedan, which took approximately twice as long. By the time the video was over, two Tesla Model S cars had already driven off to the side of the stage, fully charged battery installed and ready to go, to much applause.

While most people don't drive hundreds of miles per trip every day, it's been axiomatic that, for an electric car to really become an ordinary car for American life, it has to be able to take us across the country.

In fact, the vast majority of trips people take with their cars range less than 20 miles, according to a 2009 survey by SAE, a U.S.-based professional association and standards organization for automotive engineers. The EPA has officially rated the Model S with a fully-charged 85 kWh Li-ion battery for 265 miles.

In October, Musk introduced the Tesla "Supercharger," which promise to provide charging stations for the company's electric cars. Currently, there are only a few charging stations, but Telsa is planning on installing them across the country in a few years' time.

The drawback with Tesla's supercharger is that, even with its advancements in charging Tesla cars' batteries, it still would take a 30-minute stop to fully charge the battery. Perhaps that would be a good time to grab some food, and Tesla owners would have a little extra money, because charging stations are free to all Tesla owners. Still, the idea of having to wait for 30 minutes for a charge can turn off drivers who know they can pop into a gas station for 5 minutes and drive out.
Musk said that the cost of swapping out the battery pack in a couple minutes' time is roughly equivalent to filling up a 15-gallon gas tank. That's about $60 to $80. According to Reuters, drivers could return to the station on their way back and reclaim their original battery, or pay the difference in cost for a new pack.

Red dots indicate a Tesla charging station available now or soon, and the gray dots are planned stations (Credit: Tesla)
Right now, Tesla's stations are only in some major metro areas and both the charging and battery swap options depend on more and more stations opening up, so don't expect Tesla to become the new Chevy just yet.

[spuwho]

However, Tesla is causing problems with the auto distribution establishment it seems......they don't like his sales model and are getting laws made to "ban" him.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/21/autos/tesla-new-york/index.html?iid=s_mpm



NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Tesla's battle with dealership owners is coming to a head in New York, where legislators are considering a bill that would block the electric-car maker from directly selling vehicles in the state.
Tesla said in a statement Friday that if the bill passes, it will be "put out of business in New York," with all employees in the state losing their jobs.

"The bottom line for New York consumers and New York suppliers is that if this bill passes, special interests in Albany will once again have gotten their way while robbing New Yorkers of choices in the marketplace," Tesla (TSLA) said.
The current legislative session was originally scheduled to conclude on Thursday, but work continued in both the Senate and Assembly on Friday, and it is unclear when it will end.

CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter Friday as legislators were considering the bill, urging New Yorkers to call their representatives and ask them to vote it down.
The New York State Automobile Dealers Association did not respond to a request for comment, though the association is also urging supporters to contact their representatives, saying the pending bill is "designed to maintain the health and vitality of New York's retail automobile industry."
Tesla has tangled with dealership associations in a number of states in its effort to sell its Model S electric sedan directly to consumers rather than using franchised car dealers.
General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Ford (F, Fortune 500), Toyota (TM) and others don't sell cars to customers. They sell to independently owned and operated dealers or distributors who, in turn, sell them to the public, usually after some negotiation over the final price.
Tesla's showrooms, by contrast, are owned and operated by the company. Most are in shopping malls, with only enough cars on hand for display and test drives. Every Tesla car sells at full sticker price, and service on the cars is performed at separate garages owned by Tesla.

Auto sales are mostly regulated at the state level. In some states, Tesla has had little or no problem opening its stores. In others, auto dealers and their allies in government have resisted Tesla's plans, fearing they could ultimately undermine the system of franchised dealers.
Earlier this month, legislators in Texas failed to vote on a bill backed by Tesla that would have loosened the state's restriction on dealerships owned by automakers. Virginia rejected the electric-car maker's dealership application earlier this year.
Dealers argue that the traditional franchise system is best for car buyers because it preserves competition between dealerships selling the same products.
But Tesla worries that traditional franchised dealers, who also have gasoline cars to sell, won't represent its products properly or aggressively enough. Dealers pressed to make quick sales will likely be tempted to steer customers to gasoline cars rather than explain the benefits of the Model S, Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla's vice president for business development, told CNNMoney last month.
"From the beginning, Tesla's goal has been to catalyze the market for electric vehicles, and selling through intermediaries at this stage of the company will not work," Tesla said Friday. 

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Meanwhile Tesla wins one in Massachusetts......

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-wins-dealer-suit-20130104,0,6007556.story

Judge dismisses lawsuit against Tesla for setting up car stores

By Jerry Hirsch

Tesla Motors won its latest round in a battle against auto dealers and their associations that want to prevent the upstart electric car company from opening its own stores.

The Palo Alto company won dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Assn. that argued Tesla had violated Massachusetts law by selling cars directly to customers rather than setting up a dealership network.

Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fishman dismissed the case, saying that state law did not intend “to protect a motor vehicle dealer from an unaffiliated manufacturer operating a motor vehicle dealership.”

Essentially, he ruled that because Tesla does not have existing franchised dealerships in Massachusetts, the automaker is free to open its own stores and sell directly to consumers. Fishman signed the ruling Monday and it was disclosed by Tesla on Friday.

Tesla has a dealer license from the Town of Natick’s Board of Selectmen to operate a store within the municipality.

“We are delighted by the outright dismissal of this case and the validation that we are operating our business in compliance with the laws and expectations of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said Elon Musk, Tesla co-founder and chief executive. “We are confident that other states will also come to this same conclusion and look forward to following through on our commitment to introduce consumers to electric vehicle technology in an open, friendly, no-pressure environment.”

He said a separate lawsuit filed against the individual elected officers on the town’s board “is a very unfortunate action taken” against officials who “thoughtfully made a decision that was both legal and in the best interests of the citizens of Natick. We look forward to supporting the Board of Selectmen in this case.”

When Tesla started selling its flagship Model S luxury hatchback last year, it decided to bypass  the traditional dealership network to open its own stores.  By selling directly to consumers, Tesla gets to keep the profit that dealers make on new-car sales.

It's also the only way an electric car will get a fair shake, Musk said at the time. "Existing franchise dealers have a fundamental conflict of interest between selling gasoline cars," Musk said. "It is impossible for them to explain the advantages of going electric without simultaneously undermining their traditional business."

But the sales strategy drew the ire of many car dealers and their associations. The nation's roughly 18,000 new-car dealers got a cut of every one of the 14.5 million new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. last year.

The franchised new-car dealership system dates back to the start of the U.S. auto industry, when hundreds of manufacturers were fighting for market share. Setting up showrooms was expensive and time-consuming. So automakers sold other entrepreneurs the right to market their cars in specific cities.

Tesla is the biggest nameplate to try to sell cars independently of the dealer network. It operates  22 stores and galleries in 12 states

[tufsu1]

saw a Tesla sedan in Nassau County a few weeks ago....we both got on I-95 at the same time and the Tesla blew by me...btw, I have a turbo engine (wasn't using it though)

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There is a dark red one floating around the Avenues area. I have seem him 3 times, even on the day he got it, temp tags and all.