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Tesla Roadster 3.0 package prototype announced with 400-mile possibilities

Once a car company ceases to manufacture a particular model, it is relegated to history, largely forgotten by its maker. Sure, warranties are honored and recall-worthy items are (hopefully) taken responsibility for, but post-production improvements are left up owners and the aftermarket. With the announcement of the Roadster 3.0 package, Tesla once again reminds us it is not most car companies. Following a heads-up given by CEO Elon Musk last week on Twitter, the company has now shared some details of a new upgrade it will be making available for its electric sports coupe sometime in 2015. For a yet-to-be-disclosed price, owners can opt to have their cars upgraded with a 70-kWh battery, some aerodynamically-optimized body bits and low-rolling resistance tires. Together, the enhancements should offer a 40-50 percent range improvement and give Roadsters a 400-mile range under certain conditions. Originally, it came with a 56-kWh unit and was rated for 245 miles on a charge. Tesla tells us that "this is a retrofit package currently in its prototype phase", and so it still isn't clear whether the changes will allow Roadsters to be compatible with the Supercharger network, or whether the body kit will affect the outward appearance. We do know that this automotive augmentation does not also apply to the Model S, though it does give hope that those cars will also be on the receiving end of similar upgrades in the future. The California company plans to put its 3.0 package to the test sometime early in the new year, with a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Interestingly, it says that this will not be the last time it offers improvements for its original model. You can get more details on the update below. Roadster 3.0 The Roadster 3.0 package applies what we've learned in Model S to Roadster. No new Model S battery pack or major range upgrade is expected in the near term. Battery technology has continued a steady improvement in recent years, as has our experience in optimizing total vehicle efficiency through Model S development. We have long been excited to apply our learning back to our first vehicle, and are thrilled to do just that with the prototype Roadster 3.0 package. It consists of three main improvement areas. 1. Batteries The original Roadster battery was the very first lithium ion battery put into production in any vehicle. It was state of the art in 2008, but cell technology has improved substantially since then.

Tesla considers adding overseas production

Tesla is currently using the old General Motors/Toyota NUMMI facility in California for Model S production, and despite the brand's rapid growth, it's still not coming close to approaching the full 500,000-unit production capacity of that former facility. Still, the EV manufacturer is shopping around for both European and Asian production facilities in anticipation of bountiful increases in sales.
While we'd caution that this counting of chickens isn't the best idea, Tesla has just cause for planning ahead. According to Automotive News, Model S production should crest at 21,000 units by the end of 2013, and 40,000 units by the end of 2014. It'll soon be joined at the Fremont, California factory by the Model X SUV, along with the rumored Model E, which will occupy a volume position for the brand below the Model S. And while the old NUMMI facility might have production capacity for far more vehicles than Tesla can build, churning three separate vehicles out of the same factory might not be as economically viable as just picking up a new factory altogether.
While Musk won't come out and say it, if his logistical predictions are any indication, it's a safe bet that he sees Model E becoming the big-selling model for Tesla. Speaking to Bloomberg, he said, "We'll try to locate those close to where people are, close to where the customers are, to minimize the logistics costs of getting the car to them."

GM admits Cadillac ELR no real competition for Tesla Model S

Last year, then-CEO of General Motors, Dan Akerson, made it clear that the company lookouts at the Ren Cen had California automaker Tesla in their sights. "If you want to compete head-to-head with Tesla, and we ultimately will, you want to do it with a Cadillac," he said. So, given the fact that the Cadillac ELR has a plug and sells for roughly the same price at the Tesla Model S ($75,000 vs $69,900, before incentives) and that Cadillac doesn't have any other electric vehicle on the horizon, you'd be forgiven if you thought that the way that Akerson wanted to challenge Tesla's EV success was with the ELR. Well, you'd apparently be wrong. "The ELR is a different car, it's a different price point. It's way-different technology." - GM's Mark Reuss Speaking yesterday in Detroit, GM's head of global product development, Mark Reuss, admitted that the ELR is not the Tesla competitor that Akerson promised. "People like to say the ELR is [competition for the Model S], but it's really not. It's a different car, it's a different price point. It's way-different technology." So, if we follow that logic to conclusion with Akerson's quote from last year, then the only way that Cadillac can eventually compete with Tesla is with a pure electric car, and that seems an outside chance, at best, for the foreseeable future. Through the end of July, Cadillac has sold 578 ELRs since it went on sale earlier this year. Tesla doesn't break out monthly US sales, but has sold 15,114 Model S EVs around the world in the first six months of 2014. For his part, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has already said that GM is headed down the wrong path with plug-in hybrids like the ELR or the Chevy Volt. Speaking about the Volt last year, Musk said, Chevy "sort of created something that's a bit of amphibian," which resulted in a car that's, "Okay but not great."