Thursday, April 30, 2009

Up to NY to see the Model S

Still drunk on voltage from our test ride in February, Megan and I jumped at the chance to attend a private viewing of the Tesla Motors Model S sedan in Manhattan.

model_s_invite

I mean seriously - "invited" by Tesla to a "private viewing" of their new model? How could we pass on that? Even the reality that the event was 4 hours away on a Wednesday night couldn't deter us! Oh how I payed for that decision today running on only a few hours of sleep...

cUrVy

...but back to the subject. Tesla seems to do everything with style, as this event was in the IAC Building, which was like nothing I'd ever walked into before (thanks to Ankur for helping us get to the building). Slick lighting, Tesla decorations, brochures on tables, and motion pictures all over the walls. High class stuff!

loveThisCar

As for the goods they had to show: a Roadster, a fake Model S, and a Teslafied Smart Car (the last of which I got no pictures of). My father, who met us along with my sister, finally got to sit in a Roadster!

It's_a_DUD!

They had a Model S on display, but it was a dud. There was no interior (the windows were highly-tinted to keep you from noticing), and some of the components appeared to be fake (the brake rotors and calipers were curious).

IMG_2937

And then there was the Smart Car. I'm not a fan of the Smart Car, but I respect it and think it would prove a much more respectable EV than the moronic version they brought to the US that runs on high-test gasoline. It appeared that they were seriously tinkering with the one we got to sit in.

model_s

Finally, at 11:30pm we got our text message telling us that our ride was ready! So we dashed across the street where they were giving extremely short demo rides of the Roadster and real, drivable Model S. We jumped in the S with another couple, and a Tesla driver took us for a spin. He figures the machine we were riding in, all things considered, was 50% representative of what will roll off the assembly line in 2011.

meganGetsIn

Five thousand to reserve an S, huh? Hmmm...

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