2013 Tesla Model S Performance Sedan 4d on 2040-cars

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Saleen FourSixteen kicks the door open on Tesla Model S tuning

Steve Saleen kind of shocked us when he announced that his company was working on an electric car late last year with no solid details to speak of. It just seemed like a complete about-face from the big muscle Ford Mustangs and supercars Saleen had built its reputation on. If anything, it was even more surprising when the business revealed that the new model would be a tuned Tesla Model S to be dubbed the FourSixteen. We finally got a glimpse of it during Monterey Car Week, and while the sedan's styling might have been polarizing, the car was still an intriguing project.
Xcar Films is taking an even deeper look into the FourSixteen's creation in its latest video with interviews with Saleen and other principles of the tuned Tesla's creation. According to Steve in the video, the company's focus is still on tuning pony cars and building supercars, but "electric vehicles are here to stay."
While Saleen leaves the Model S electric motor and batteries alone, it touches nearly every other part of the Tesla. The FourSixteen feature a new final-drive ratio and tweaked suspension, plus lighter wheels and carbon ceramic brakes to shed quite a few pounds. Of course, the most obvious change is its contentious body kit, especially at the rear, but Saleen claims that it's completely functional by channeling air more efficiently around the car. Like it or not, the FourSixteen might be the future of auto tuning.

Tesla 'Model E' to likely get steel construction, sane price tag

Tesla may have made major inroads with its Model S, and it's poised to enter new territory when it finally starts selling its Model X, an iconoclastic gullwing crossover. Neither of those may be as important as the model thereafter, which is expected to be its make-or-break sedan. It won't be called the Model E (thanks a lot, Ford), but the BMW 3 Series-challenging EV will be the litmus test that will determine if Tesla's EV future is palatable to the masses.
Part of that means proving that Tesla can be an affordable alternative to conventional internal-combustion-powered vehicles. According to the company's VP of engineering, Chris Porritt, the new sedan will do just that, thanks in no small part to the company's forthcoming gigafactory battery operations. But beyond that project, there are other things about this new EV that will make it a more alluring option to the average consumer.
Porritt mentioned "appropriate materials," to the UK's Autocar, which is likely another way of saying it's ditching the aluminum-intensive architecture of its big brother.

Tesla Model X reservations 20,000 strong and counting

Those falcon wing doors appear appropriate for the Tesla Model X, as pre-orders for the battery-electric SUV are flying. That's what Gas2.0 is saying, citing various sources. So despite Model X deliveries not happening until the spring of 2015, folks are lining up. Company spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson called the estimated sales figures "merely speculation." All told, more than 20,000 Model X vehicles have been pre-ordered from Tesla's retooled Fremont, CA, plant. In fact, sales are accelerating, as about 8,000 of the SUVs have been ordered during the past six months, and more than 1,300 were pre-ordered in August alone. And that's despite the fact that Tesla has disclosed neither the Model X's price nor its single-charge range. Either way, the percentage split is about 75/25 for North America vs. oversees orders, according to Gas2.0. If there were really 1,300 units ordered in August, the Model X would be the fourth best-selling plug-in in the US, trailing only the Nissan Leaf battery-electric, Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in and, of course, the Tesla Model S sedan. Tesla itself is being quiet about its figures. Company spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson, in an e-mail to AutoblogGreen, called the estimated sales figures "merely speculation" and declined to confirm them. In late July, Tesla said it delivered a quarterly record 7,579 vehicles for the three months that ended June 30 and that it was on track to deliver more than 35,000 vehicles this year. And more recently, Tesla said it planned to build its massive gigafactory near Reno, NV, as the Silver State promised an incentive package worth over $1.2 billion over the next two decades.