It felt like a dream sequence.
With thousands of incoming requests, I happened to be at the right place at the right time to sign up for the first Tesla Model S Sedan, a fully electric, zero emissions car that can go 300 miles and 0-60 in 5.6 seconds.
(The “S-1” designation is a bit magical for me since the filing of a “Form S-1” with the SEC is the commencement of the IPO process. =)
After the car drove out into the party inside the SpaceX rocket plant for it’s public unveiling, Elon Musk took me for the first test drive of the new machine. I took a video of the whole ride.
One cool detail I missed in the video was the door handles extending linearly outward (providing a big grip for opening) and then retracting back into the door frame for a perfectly smooth surface.
The interior design is as radical as the iPhone; most of the dash is a 17″ touch screen. There are no buttons or dials. And with a software-defined UI, various skins and web services are available over the 3G data link (as well as Internet browsing and HDTV). I’ll put another request in for an open interface for downloadable engine ring tones (the car is silent, so why not have the drive-by-wire data feed trigger the sounds of your favorite vintage gas-passing vehicle or rocket…)
The batteries and liquid-cooled AC induction motor (i.e., the entire weight of the drive train) are below the wheel line so it handles unlike any car I have experienced.
And that means that there is a trunk in front and in back and more interior space than any other sedan. Toss bikes with the wheels on through the hatchback. Or seat seven people.
Clearly I am enamored. Another short video from outside as the new customers for the Sedan take test drives around the block.
Doug_Dirac_Delta: a soft horn is a great idea.
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