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Jim Motavalli

MNN exclusive: One-on-one with Tesla CEO Elon Musk

The wunderkind behind the battery-powered car revolution chats with MNN about his company's future.
Wed, Jan 20 2010 at 2:41 PM EST
15 Comments

Photo: Paul Sakuma/AP
 
Click on the 'play' button below to hear our audio interview with Elon Musk and then read the article below:
 
 
DETROIT -- Elon Musk is a billionaire, not a rock star, but he was nonetheless mobbed when he met the press at the Detroit Auto Show last week. This is, of course, a glamorous story. A mega-rich young businessman — cofounder of PayPal and whose other enterprise involves space flight — sets out to build the sexy, range-friendly, high-performance sports car they said would never hit the road.
 
Actually, the very dirty white example on the show floor demonstrated that Teslas are not for display only. Tesla’s loyal employees took turns driving that example from Los Angeles to Detroit (with charging stops at RV parks and people’s houses) and didn’t even get around to washing it.
 
 
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Tesla Motors has sold 1,000 Roadsters (capable of 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds) for $109,000, and is poised to expand the company’s reach with the four-door and four-seat $57,400 (with an available $7,500 federal tax break) Model S in 2011. The company sold a 10 percent share to Daimler for $50 million, and also landed a $465 million low-interest loan from the Department of Energy to build production capacity for the Model S.
 
Musk admitted that 1,000 cars looks “small and humbling” when compared to giant automakers such as General Motors and Toyota, but it is “a huge milestone” for a small EV company, and indeed few others in the last 40 years (since the late 1960s battery-car revival) can claim that kind of volume.
 
“Sales are doing very well,” Musk told me. “The economy affects us obviously, but we’re comfortable producing the Roadster at levels of 700 to 1,000 annually.”
 
The half-priced Model S could quickly escalate Tesla’s sales volume, and Musk said it can break even at volumes of 8,000 to 10,000 annually. But the company will have to build them first. The one in existence, once silver and now Tesla red, gleamed on the show stand. Musk assured the press, however, that the car we were looking at is “not a static model, but a real car that’s capable of 100 mph.”
 
Tesla now has a dozen boutique-type stores in such cities as Los Angeles, London, Seattle, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. It’s also trying to finalize a plant for the Model S, and Musk fielded some questions from MNN about toxic concerns at a possible brownfield site in Downey, Calif., (which also houses an active Hollywood movie studio). “All environmental questions will be resolved on any site we select,” Musk said. “We’ll do the due diligence.”
 
Musk hopes that Tesla Roadsters will one day become “collector’s items,” as the company goes on to produce vehicles for the mass market. It has just such a third model in the works, though the company’s chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, told me that all hands were going full-tilt with the Model S right now. But there are definitely sketches in a notebook somewhere.
 
“It’s exciting,” Musk said. “We’re building an American brand.”
The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.
 
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    • Comments

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    will they ever actually go Public???

    Posted By questionable - Mon, May 03 2010 at 1:37 PM EST

    Tesla has high hope, a speedy growth, and uncertain financials, when you look at the bottom line...i wonder if the FCC will actually ever approve their attempt to go public...especially with the big loan to pay back to the govenment...

    Batteries upgradeable?

    Posted By JMahoney - Mon, Mar 08 2010 at 3:02 PM EST

    I own a Segway dealership and one thing they have done right is made the Segway capable of upgrading the battery system. All one needs to do is upload a new software package online and your machine is ready. I hope Tesla and others will have the foresight to do this.

    Dirt

    Posted By Brian H - Wed, Jan 27 2010 at 10:25 AM EST

    Actually, Tesla was very careful NOT to wash #750 on its way to Detroit. They wanted to prove it could take the hard driving in real dirt.

    Better Batteries II

    Posted By Tim Jordan - Mon, Jan 25 2010 at 12:40 PM EST

    To reinforce Wes's "Better Batteries" above.
    I will cite:
    Stanford University (2007, December 20). New Nanowire Battery Holds 10 Times The Charge Of Existing Ones. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2007/12/071219103105.htm

    and

    TU Graz (2009, October 30). Battery Of The Future: New Storage Material Improves Energy Density Of Lithium-ion Battery. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­.... More

    Great Interview

    Posted By James - Mon, Jan 25 2010 at 11:15 AM EST

    Well done interview. You asked a number of things I've been wondering about. Clearly you did you research and didn't conduct another "what is Tesla?" interview (of which there are many).

    Can not wait

    Posted By Fred Y - Mon, Jan 25 2010 at 8:55 AM EST

    There are 3 EV coming out and I really looking forward to having the opportunity to drive them all: the Tesla; the Nissan Leaf and the Aptera. As far as the Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius go - they still have gasoline engines; oil pans; radiator coolant; and transmissions with oil fluids and need to be serviced about every 5 K miles. We don't need more pollutants and spend more money in the middle east support their terrorist ways!

    You are incorrect about the Chevy Volt in one area!

    Posted By Correction - Wed, Mar 31 2010 at 4:11 AM EST

    Correction, the Chevy Volt does NOT have a transmission!

    Go TESLA!!

    Posted By CST - Mon, Jan 25 2010 at 1:26 AM EST

    I will be buying a Model S. Looking forward to Tesla pushing every car company in this direction sooner then later.

    Better Batteries

    Posted By Wes Wilson - Sat, Jan 23 2010 at 1:35 AM EST

    One thing people have to realize is that newer types of batteries can replace older types. There is a British company at the moment that has designed lithium ion batteries that use air with the lithium. They hold 5 times the charge and recharge 7 times faster. Soon they will be hold 10 times the charge of conventional lithium batteries. The American military is also working on this. EV's are the future and creating your own electricity at each home. In Canada they have a program where.... More

    Tesla car??

    Posted By RockyMissouri - Fri, Jan 22 2010 at 10:50 PM EST

    We need to do much better than this! We need to produce electric cars like the ones that people leased in California several years ago!! The company (forgot the name) recalled them, in SPITE of the people BEGGING to buy them! They were ALL destroyed! Shocking AND terribly
    wasteful!! California could have had a different economic path with this vehicle...........!

    Profit

    Posted By Brian H - Wed, Jan 27 2010 at 10:22 AM EST

    The EV-1 was a financial disaster for the manufacturer; they were heavily subsidizing every user. Tesla is making cars at a profit, which is far more impressive.

    ev-1 by gm

    Posted By howard - Sat, Jan 23 2010 at 8:51 PM EST

    Yes, there was just such a car. The EV-1 made by GM.
    Rent this movie and invite some friends:
    http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/

    correction

    Posted By Dave - Fri, Jan 22 2010 at 8:50 PM EST

    Actually, the Model S starts at $49,900 after the $7,500 tax rebate.

    thanks

    Posted By Jim Motavalli - Fri, Jan 22 2010 at 10:05 PM EST

    Yes, you're correct, and the text is suitably amended above.

    Thanks

    Posted By Dave - Sun, Jan 24 2010 at 1:05 PM EST

    Thanks for making the correction. Great article. Can't wait until the Model S comes out.

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    About Jim Motavalli

    New York Times contributor blogs about green transportation.

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