[Kevin Sharpe]

A few new details about Tesla’s upcoming ‘affordable’ electronic vehicle came out of a talk the company’s founder and CEO Elon Musk gave last week

http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/02/th...ile-range-be-roughly-20-smaller-than-tesla-s/

 

[Paul]

That's not that small.

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Kevin, you have the title wrong

Musk was discussing the Model X... not the Model E.

Listen at time 1:16 he clearly says Model X.

So the Model X will be 20% smaller... not the Model E

EDIT: Yes, the audio is not too good... he does say ..." for our vehicle after the Model X..." so that would be the Model E.

Apologies

I take it all back

 

[Matt Beard]

The audio is pretty bad, but what I hear is: "...for our vehicle after the Model X we are aiming to produce, er, a smaller car than the Model S, like maybe 20% smaller..."

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

Listen at time 1:16 he clearly says Model X.

Sorry but he's talking about the Model E not the Model X... have another listen and I think you'll hear it

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

A link to the original story;

http://electrek.co/2014/03/02/elon-...-48kwh-battery-be-80-the-size-of-the-model-s/

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Thanks. I didn't hear that first time trough... he says it qwuite fast and the audio is not great.

I have edited my post.

Apologies!

Commenting on the topic then...

20% smaller? I am having trouble with imagining what car size that would be... can anyone help me out? If it is 20% smaller than the Model X then what class of car would that make the Model E?

I was hoping it would be in the similar class as the Leaf or Ampera. Am I hoping for too much?

 

[Matt Beard]

"20% smaller" is a pretty useless statement. There are three ways to interpret that statement that are all quite reasonable.

1) The Model S is 4.98m long and 1.96m wide, so reduce each by 20% and you get 3.98m long and 1.57m wide (smaller than the Leaf!)

2) You could reduce the area taken by the car by 20%, 4.98m x 1.96m is 9.76m2 - so reduce to 7.81m2 which could be 4.3m long and 1.8m wide (similar size to the Leaf)

3) There are 3 dimentions - so you should consider volume. The model S is 1.44m high, making it 14.05m3 in volume. Reduce that by 20% to 11.24m3 and you could have 1.4m high, 1.85m wide and 4.34m long (again similar in general size to the Leaf)

So my conclusion? Probably in the same ballpark as the leaf, but you could interpred "20% smaller" to mean all sorts of things.

 

[brian orr]

The inference is that the 'E" will simply be a scaled down 'S" - 20% smaller, but half the price, sounds like a good deal!
Count me in!

 

[Paul]

The inference is that the 'E" will simply be a scaled down 'S" - 20% smaller, but half the price, sounds like a good deal!
Count me in!

I'm a fan of small cars (not that is really "small") so count me in too!

"20% smaller" is a pretty useless statement. There are three ways to interpret that statement that are all quite reasonable.

1) The Model S is 4.98m long and 1.96m wide, so reduce each by 20% and you get 3.98m long and 1.57m wide (smaller than the Leaf!)

2) You could reduce the area taken by the car by 20%, 4.98m x 1.96m is 9.76m2 - so reduce to 7.81m2 which could be 4.3m long and 1.8m wide (similar size to the Leaf)

3) There are 3 dimentions - so you should consider volume. The model S is 1.44m high, making it 14.05m3 in volume. Reduce that by 20% to 11.24m3 and you could have 1.4m high, 1.85m wide and 4.34m long (again similar in general size to the Leaf)

So my conclusion? Probably in the same ballpark as the leaf, but you could interpred "20% smaller" to mean all sorts of things.

Yup, was thinking about LEAF sized... not small.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

http://ecomento.com/2014/03/04/electric-tesla-model-e-half-price-20-percent-smaller-70000-model-s/

 

[brian orr]

I remember penning a comment that the problem with with Teslas was that it was American, oversized and over here! Well Kevin's post makes the point that it's American, right-size and (will be) over here!
The Tesla is a much more practical proposition for European roads and the size/price/style are nicely balanced - unfortunately it will undermine the Model S as and X. However, that might just balance out the production capacity with only one factory for the S/X and a much larger one for the E!
Bring it ON!

 

[jontracey]

So 3 series vs 5 ?

 

[Paul]

So 3 series vs 5 ?

But I like the 1!

Or 2...

 

[jontracey]

there is a lot of talk about how big the model S is, however during a test drive I really did not find it to be that big at all, its easy to manouver, it light on the steering only thing I would worry about is very tight parking spaces

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

I think for me the size is the only thing stopping me seriously considering a Model S... well... and the £70K price tag!

Correct me if I am wrong but it looks very much like it is sized very similarly to the Jag XF. Lots of people own a Jag and are happy but for me, parking spaces in the UK are narrow compared to the US and there is less space here in general. I would be nervous taking it to the supermarket.

I am hoping I feel differently about the Model E.

 

[jontracey]

not seen to many XFs to compare but a modern 5 series is similar in size I believe. I agree on supermarket carparks so I will probably park in the back corner space and walk over (could do with the exercise)

 

[markweatherill]

I hope the display screen inside is also 20% smaller...

 

[brian orr]

I hope the display screen inside is also 20% smaller...

Its a gimmick - dump it Tesla. A paged display of half the size is just as effective. Its well know - big displays, more data, more scan time and more risks of errors. Displays should be very much task-oriented - if its needed - show it. If its not needed - it should not be there! Take a cue from cockpit ergonomics - the largest cockpit screen is (I believe) only 12"!

 

[Talon]

Its a gimmick - dump it Tesla. A paged display of half the size is just as effective. Its well know - big displays, more data, more scan time and more risks of errors. Displays should be very much task-oriented - if its needed - show it. If its not needed - it should not be there! Take a cue from cockpit ergonomics - the largest cockpit screen is (I believe) only 12"!

I do agree that the Tesla Model S display is a little on the large side. Personally I would also prefer a smaller screen in the future Model E.

However, if you think car makers are slow to adopt new ideas and technologies then I'd like to introduce you to the aircraft industry! I think that's the main reason for the small displays within cockpits to be honest. The in-development F-35 is the first jet aircraft I've seen that will contain a much larger (and touch screen) display in the cockpit than previously seen:

The display can be effectively split into different sub-displays. This is actually quite similar to how the display in the Model S can be split to show different types of information.

More info here on Wikipedia if you're interested.