The world has been going through financial worries for almost 2 years now. In the recent past, almost as many as 35 companies either postponed or cancelled their IPOs for the fear of not finding enough investors. But being so different from the rest of Wall Street is what gives Tesla Motors Inc. it's poise to be the first American automobile company to raise an IPO after 54 years.
True story.
The previous company to do it was Ford Motors in 1956.
That's a big name to draw parallels with. On top of that, Tesla has never ever booked a profit. Whereas Ford has been a standard for the industry for a century.
About Tesla
Evidently, the company borrows it's name from the great scientist - arguably the inventor of electricity - Nikola Tesla. It does so for a very good reason. Many companies have been attempting at providing carbon free cars with Toyota's Prius leading the path. Different engineers have reached different options - hydrogen, ethanol, electricity, etc. One guy called Stan Meyer even developed a car that works on water! Truly amazing engineers. However, Tesla is the only company till date to have successfully created a road-worthy car and it works purely on electricity. It has no exhaust pipe. The car is as silent as a snail but swift as a rattle snake. It's not worth picturing a Maini Reva when I say electric car. Tesla Roadster (picture given) is way ahead of that.
- Power - 288 horse power
- Torque - All the power is available at almost all levels with a few variations. From 0 to 14000 rpm.
- Acceleration - 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. (Who would believe that of a non-petrol engine?)
- Top Speed - 125 mph (Electronically limited - which I assume is a polite way of saying, "the engine is capable of much more, but your State Traffic Law wont permit anyway!")
- Battery Life - 7 years or 100,000 miles
- Price - Base model $ 101,500/- Sport Model $ 120,000/-
Ford was led by men of iconic stature. The brain child of Henry Ford and was later headed by Lee Iacocca. He was later fired from Ford. Lee Iacocca then presided over the Chrylser board and made the company a fierce competition for Ford itself. The story of Tesla is similar.
Tesla's is based in Palo Alto, California (the universe where ideas form the ether and college drop-outs become the stars) and although founded by Martin Eberhard & Elon Musk together, it is currently headed by Elon as the CEO.
Elon Musk is the same guy who founded X.Com which later became PayPal Inc. and is now a part of eBay.
Martin and Elon had a fall out and eventually Martin had to quit. Martin even filed a suit against Elon alleging that he was virtually made to leave. Supposedly, one of the clauses of the suit contains that Elon didn't let Martin have the first Roadster that rolled out of the factories.
The founders have not been the only people excited about driving a complete car that doesn't pollute. Media friendly celebs like Brad Pitt and George Clooney drive Roadsters. (Guess the Ocean's Eleven couldn't steal any gas.)
The car is a masterpiece. However, one can't help but notice that the car is never noticed! The price one pays for the car is definitely one major parameter in this regard. Not many can afford a $ 100,000 car. Even if they can, there are better options! The emission front doesn't persuade enough to indulge in an expensive car like the Roadster.
The company has recently launched another vehicle with the name Model S. Deliveries may begin in 2012 and the car currently can be booked for approximately $ 50,000/-.
What remains to be seen is whether the Model S can be our generation's Ford T ?
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