Are we friends with Tesla drivers?

[smicker]

Originally Posted by def

Man these tesla threads go downhill way too quick.

I see more tesla's on my commute than I do lotus up here. I've waved at a couple when in my elise, and will continue to do so. It may not be for everyone, but why the hate!?

It is pretty crazy. I think for the most part it's a few people with an axe of some sort to grind.

[ads_green]

Thing is I can believe the 7% shared components. I have the parts manual for the 211 and you'd be surprised how many components are different between that and a normal elise.

For a pendant point of view a part is different if it has a trivial change. For example you could have identical parts that look the same but a slight different alignment or a hole drilled/not drilled etc. It doesn't take alot to manke the part "different". I've seen two official lotus brakets with different part numbers but look 99% the same. So doesn't take alot...

The thing is, I don't get why companies want to distance themselves from Lotus? Surely a startup like Tesla would try to leverage credibility by using as much from the link as possible.

The windscreen surround is strong enough to hang on no worries. There are lots of pics of upsidedown elises sitting on the windscreen frame. the problem is that it flexes enough and the screen is so thin that it's easy to crack the glass.

[mopho]

Originally Posted by delise

hmm

Read your own post, you said "Seriously you don't want to try and defend Tesla marketing's "factual data" it is kind of a running joke that their "facts" are a bit dreamy and spun."

That is a general statement and my point is I see a lot of so called "experts" on the internets claiming that they know more about Tesla than Tesla, and their facts are no more reliable or any less biased than those coming from Tesla

For example, you sat in a Tesla and somehow you are now an expert as to what percentage of parts are in the car?! And your word is any more reliable than Teslas because....?

BTW I got an engineering tour of the car last year and despite appearances, a lot has been changed.


And why is it every ****ing time Tesla is mentioned on this forum it has to turn into bashing the company? Get a life people!

[LouieLaguna]

Hey guys,

I have actually had a great experiences with Tesla drivers. Matter of fact there is a orange one I see nearly every weekend..we always wave...cool dude.

As far as their $50k sedan...have you seen the images of it. Its gorgeous. Looks almost exotic. If they get the battery range in check with reality..they will sell crap loads.

Like it or not Tesla (and other 'hybrids') are the way of the future. Us petrol heads are the past. Just a fact. But, fear not. As Jay Leno said..the Teslas of the world will make it so we can have/ enjoy our petrol cars well into the future. Political ramifications of 'global warming' or 'peak oil' aside the simple fact is that the global think is now towards hybrids. Think of it this way...was there anything wrong with CDs? Nope, worked fine. But, when MP3s came about....and Ipods replaced CD changers and players....the worlds desire for the older technology shifted. Never to shift back. We are in that sort of stage now.

[IamBatman]

Originally Posted by mopho

And why is it every ****ing time Tesla is mentioned on this forum it has to turn into bashing the company? Get a life people!

people get stuck in their ways and are resistant to change. Some people hate "green technology" just because its green and they related it to tree hugging hippies.

Some people also have automatic responses to any topic. post something about the economy, some people automatically bring up Obama being a socialist (and Noisycow automatically post poorly produced youtube videos). Bring up the war, Bush automatically comes up. etc etc.

With that said, some of the criticism against Tesla are valid. They have missed every single one of their promised performance, production, time, and cost goals. I just don't think they have the right management in place to be successful.

are Tesla drivers our friends? hell we're not friends with all Lotus drivers

[Spudboy]

I think some number of Tesla drivers probably don't have a clue that their car is based on a Lotus Elise at all. Face it, a lot of them are probably not car enthusiasts at all. So I wouldn't automatically "hate" them, they may just be being ignorant.

[MikeinAlexandria]

With so few Lotus owners in the US in general, heck yeah we should be friends with Tesla owners. Think of a Tesla as an all-electric Elise. (No, in reality, it isn't, but it could be)

Besides, it would not surprise me if folks who buy Teslas have similar interests to Elise owners.

But then, I try to be friendly to all who appreciate nice/cool vehicles.

[RoadKids]

Originally Posted by erics75218

Are we friends with Tesla drivers?

If you're not, you should be, especially if they are playing Hannah Montana on their radios.

HANNAH MONTANA FTW!

[chapster5]

Originally Posted by RoadKids

If you're not, you should be, especially if they are playing Hannah Montana on their radios.

HANNAH MONTANA FTW!

Yeh i reckon its Roaddad has hacked Road Kids account....

[Simba]

Depends on the driver. If someone gives me a thumbs up or a nod on the road, they get the same in return, no matter what they drive.

If they're in a smugmobile (into which I group the tesla) and give me attitude, I pull in front of them, slow waaay down, and then blast off in the sunset while they try and synergize their way back up to speed.

[EliseSC]

I make a distinction between Tesla's CEO, who seems like an unethical ding-dong and a poor leader, and Tesla car owners. Owners are mostly car enthusiasts who want to own something different and exciting and with lots of torque! I love any kind of high-performance car and enjoy talking to the folks who own them.

[Bgwilly31]

Originally Posted by chapster5

Tesla's are the enemy! take them down at all cost!

hahah i was thinking the same thing when i read the title. :lol:

[delise]

Originally Posted by IamBatman

With that said, some of the criticism against Tesla are valid. They have missed every single one of their promised performance, production, time, and cost goals. I just don't think they have the right management in place to be successful.

This

I am not bashing the car or concept or the pushing of the green tech envelope, in fact I think the roadster is quite cool! I am bashing the marketing and the lack of props they give to Lotus in their rhetoric. Hell I think in the long haul once the tech is ready I might consider converting my Elise to electric. I did get to check out a couple of the Teslas/parts racks on the assembly line in Hethel when I was at the Lotus factory btw, I never claimed to be an expert but I do have eyes, as I said they are even using the jointly designed Yokohama LTS (lotus) designated tires. And as somebody mentioned the parts can be called different even though they are essentially the same but have a different #, again marketing spin... They seem to want to totally distance themselves from Lotus and not give them any consideration in producing the roadster as a finished real world product. My beef is the same as I have with Dodge claiming the EV / Europa as a Dodge product - no sorry it is an electric Lotus Europa with some different body panels and bits . On the Tesla website Tesla seems to imply that they essentially designed and built the roadster, I have yet to find any mention of Lotus even in their showroom literature but I could be missing it ?

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by smicker

Del, the 7% figure comes from a diff of the parts list--it's not marketing spin, it's simply fact. Look closer next time you're in the showroom, the windshield is different.

Maybe the key thing to remember is not the actual part count that is common, but more that the Tesla chassis is derived from the Elise chassis. The exact parts may not be interchangeable, but much of the design is.

As for the original question...

Of course we Lotus owners are friendly with Tesla owners. First, we're not snobs unlike a lot of marquee centric car people.

Second, every Tesla sold helps Lotus' bottom line, and that's good for us too.

[mjf]

I imagine that the same 7% shared parts number could be used with the Evora and the Elise. But it's still built by Lotus.

I don't understand why Tesla wants to distance itself from the Lotus brand. They certainly designed a derivative product, using many lotus parts, even if they're not the same parts as the Elise. It's not like the Lotus brand has a negative image.

To the OP: I've met a few Tesla drivers in the Seattle area at weekly brunch car meets. They're car people too and excited to have a zippy sports car that's just a little unique. Hey, that describes me too, I just bought a more environmentally friendly Elise than they did (hyuk hyuk). Mine burns gas. =)

[Gizmo3000]

Originally Posted by erics75218

I've been seeing a lot of these UGLY little buggers around town here in Los Angeles. Are we supposed to be friends...they look at me as if we are brothers.

But I don't think I like it..I know I don't like the Tesla...I know we share a chassis...but is that enough?

To be completely honest, in the past month, I've spotted 2 Teslas and 0 Lotus here in LA.
I'll take a stab that this might be due to the fact that the people who buy Tesla's are more inclined to drive them as their primary cars?

But I'd say the cars share enough DNA to be considered close cousins.
-or perhaps the illegitimate child Lotus had with a mistress.

Even if the parts are a bit different, the two cars look similar enough, and even tho Tesla does it's best to downplay Lotus's involvement, we all know the truth.

I'd give those guys a warm welcome tho. Their money is indirectly helping fund Lotus, and while those cars appeal to a different kinda crowd - I'd say they're definitely a higher class of people than many other brand owners.

[mikester]

Originally Posted by TimMullen

As for the original question...

Of course we Lotus owners are friendly with Tesla owners. First, we're not snobs unlike a lot of marquee centric car people.

Second, every Tesla sold helps Lotus' bottom line, and that's good for us too.

Absolutely ! The question strikes me as bizarre - why shouldn't we be friends with any fellow niche car owner, or anyone else for that matter ?

It's a no-lose deal....

What is this, the Jets and the Sharks ?

[Gizmo3000]

Originally Posted by mjf

I don't understand why Tesla wants to distance itself from the Lotus brand. They certainly designed a derivative product, using many lotus parts, even if they're not the same parts as the Elise. It's not like the Lotus brand has a negative image.

While Tesla obviously wouldn't have been able to produce such a car if it wasn't for Lotus, ya can't really blame them either for trying to downplay the Lotus involvement.
Nobody likes to admit that they needed help

I think they're just on the defensive when people try to refer to their cars as Electrified Lotus's, so they're then forced to explain the differences.

I think the only bump anyone gets for mentioning Lotus would be if they were involved in the handling of the car. "Lotus suspension" might help.
"Built by Lotus" or "Lotus Build Quality" doesn't quite do the trick.

only thing worse than that would be "Lucas Electronics" hah.. if Lucas was still around and made electric car parts, people would probably be dying from electrocution!@#

[qu1Z]

I'm in seattle right now, and yesterday I was cruising behind an LP640 and it threw up a rock and I got a rock chip on my window. I went to park place and asked where I could get a chip sealed and they told me safelite... so I went there and there was a gray tesla in the parking lot.

I've seen 3 Teslas so far in seattle... blue, red and gray. I haven't seen any lotus's driving around, other than the ones at exotics at remond. Crazy.

[mjf]

Originally Posted by qu1Z

I've seen 3 Teslas so far in seattle... blue, red and gray. I haven't seen any lotus's driving around, other than the ones at exotics at remond. Crazy.

I almost never see another Elise except when I'm not in mine. And I drive mine every day. =/