2012 Tesla Model S: 'Blank Slate' With 'Awesome Door Handles'

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2012 Tesla Model S: 'Blank Slate' With 'Awesome Door Handles'

John Voelcker

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Tesla Motors has a bit of a problem: It needs to keep itself in the public eye between its last electric Roadster and next summer, when its 2012 Model S electric sports sedan is scheduled to arrive.

Toward that end, the company has been publishing regular updates on the new car on its blog.

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The latest, posted last week, is an interview with chief designer Franz von Holzhausen and program director Jerome Guillen, in which they discuss the challenges and opportunities of a designing a brand-new mid-size luxury sedan around an all-new powertrain.

We won't excerpt the whole thing here, but below are some of our favorite quotes.

The "awesome door handles" will only "present themselves when passengers approach the car," or at least that's the plan
The charging port will be located toward the rear of the car, on the driver's side, and will look "nothing like a traditional fuel door"
There will be no spare wheel-tire combination, except where it's required by law; instead, the Model S will have a tire inflator kit
Windows will be frameless, with a short drop to free them when the door opens
No tow-bar or trailer hitch will be offered on the 2012 Model S

You can read the entire interview at the link below.

[Tesla Motors blog]

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Comments (14)

James Davis Posted: 7/27/2011 10:00am PDT

Now that's a car worth spending our dollars on. I hear that is will be priced way under the Chevy Volt, which really isn't an electric car anyways. Telsa should price it compatible with the Leaf. I also read that it will get better MPC than the Leaf and it will blow the Volt right off the planet.

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John Voelcker Posted: 7/27/2011 10:29am PDT

@James: I note you have posted three separate comments disparaging the Chevrolet Volt today alone. What gives?

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James Davis Posted: 7/28/2011 4:11am PDT

John, I have several billion problems with GM (Government Motors) and the Chevy Volt and also with Chrysler. GM laid off thousands of workers and then received one of the largest tax payer welfare checks ever in the history of our country that wasn't an oil company, coal company or natural gas company and GM has not hired back those employees, but they are still on the payroll receiving full pay and GM is still feeding the people bag full of lies. GM did not use those billions of dollars to retool their plants to manufacture electric cars; instead, they gave us that Volt and duped everyone, except the smart ones, into believing that it was an electric that delivered incredible millage...

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James Davis Posted: 7/28/2011 4:20am PDT

Your blog and other blogs like yours continued GM's big lie by your continuing to compare the Volt, a hybrid with the best all electric in America - the Leaf, outside Telsa's Model S of course. GM deceived the people and the blogs follower GM around like little pups looking for a tit to suckle. All the other "real electric cars" had a very reasonable price tag on their cars - about all of them under 25,000 until GM stuck that 40,000 dollar price tag on their fake electric, the Volt and now all the "real electric cars", even the ones that look like they belong in a circus with clowns crawling out of them has a close to or above 40,000 price tag on them.

Ford has to hold off on bringing...

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James Davis Posted: 7/28/2011 4:28am PDT

their "real all electric" to market until GM promotes their "fake electric" Volt. Hopefully Ford will blow GM out of the water like Telsa is now doing.

Yes, I am really upset with GM for continuing to follow the Bush administration in doping the people and all the blogs following in line.

Why don't you compare the Volt with other hybrids and not with all electrics. It is not fair to the manufacturers who has spent their own money, like Telsa, to build all electrics to be compared to a hybrid, like the Volt, that is now government owned and getting backing form all the blogs.

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John Voelcker Posted: 7/28/2011 4:22am PDT

I'm confused by your comments that the "thousands of workers" that were laid off "are still on the payroll receiving full pay." Sources, please?

Also, as noted in this article:
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1063910_even-a-3000-mpg-chevy-volt-has-to-turn-on-the-engine-sometimes

the Volt can deliver anything from 37 mpg (if operating 100% on the gasoline range extender) to 3000+ mpg. It all depends on how much of its total mileage is covered on grid power, so it's tricky to generalize. Most early Volt owners clearly maximize that number. What would you consider to be "incredible mileage"?

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James Davis Posted: 7/28/2011 8:18am PDT

John, I cannot give you the link where I read about GM keeping all, or most, of the people they laid off on their payroll, but GM said that they were keeping their best people on payroll so they can call them back after they came out of bankruptcy...they never called them back.

I believe that at the auto show in California last year, there was an engineer there who developed a converter that when placed on an ICE car, I believe he said the converter would cost about $2,500.00, you could get 763 MPG, and he even had a big sign on the hood of his car stating that, and I know I read on Telsa's web site, a year or two back, that the roaster could get 350 MPC. ....

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James Davis Posted: 7/28/2011 8:25am PDT

but I have never read, or seen stats, that the Volt could get 3,000+ MPG. I did read though, and I believe it was on your site or your sister site, that the Volt could get 0ne Mile at 25 mph on the electric motor.

For an ICE car, I would consider 7,582 MPG good; for an EV, I would consider 950 MPC - with a 5 to 15 minute recharge time good. I believe that is what the Obama administration is trying to reach.

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CDspeed . Posted: 7/27/2011 11:01am PDT

The Tesla Model S base price is $57,400. and top version with the 300 mile range is $77,400. Yeah it's pricey but it was designed to be a luxury car from the start it was not meant to compete with the Volt.

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Noel Park Posted: 7/27/2011 3:21pm PDT

In your dreams, LOL.

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Noel Park Posted: 7/27/2011 3:21pm PDT

Meh.

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Stan Finberg Posted: 7/28/2011 5:40pm PDT

Hey there J. Davis.
You are jealous that you do not own a Volt, or you would not talk nasty about it. It is really the best EV right now, as I have never had to worry about running out of a charge. I read about quite a few Leaf owners driving anxiously, and a few who had to be towed somewhere. Sure, there will be an all EV from GM soon too.

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George Parrott Posted: 7/29/2011 2:40am PDT

Personally funded for our family cars BOTH the Leaf and the Volt. The Volt seemed overpriced when I ordered it, but after 5000 plus miles on each, the Volt is totally $8000 more car.

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