OK, I see the challenge is on. Jason Calacanis, founder/CEO of Mahalo, tonight, told me he had to find something better that whatever I saw at Microsoft last week that made me cry. I didn’t realize just how far he’d go to outdo Microsoft.
What I experienced tonight made it impossible to cry.
Why?
Well, let’s just say that my tear ducts are now implanted on the back of my skull.
So, what did Jason do? Well, he gave me a fun tour of Mahalo that we’ll have up on FastCompany.tv in early March and then invited Rocky and me to dinner where we met up with Elon Musk. Who’s he? Chairman of Tesla Motors (as well as a few other things, he was one of the co-founders of PayPal). Who are they? They are making a new all-electronic sports car. You might have heard of it.
And what was he driving? His just arrived, first production model, Tesla.
Of course I begged for a ride.
Wouldn’t you?
The thing is, we did a little Santa Monica street racing. Tesla vs. Vette.
Let’s just put it this way. The Tesla smoked the Vette.
We have video proof. But first, here’s Calacanis standing in front of his Vette:
Jason and Rocky rode in the Vette and broadcast on Qik live. I rode in the Tesla and also broadcast my experience live on Qik from my Nokia N95 cell phone (my video includes a 25-minute interview with Musk). How’s that for a two-camera shoot? Not to mention that we had a live audience and were talking with people around the world about the Tesla. The people we’re talking to are actually chatting with us WHILE we broadcast the ride live from our cell phones.
I love it when Jason lost sight of the Tesla and asked Rocky “where did they go?”
Seriously, the experience was something I’ve never experienced in a car before. This thing just slams you to the back of your seat like a fighter jet does. The sound is interesting too. Sort of a whine. You’ll hear it a bit in the video I shot.
OK, Jason, you win. The Tesla is cooler than what Microsoft showed me although at $100,000 it better be (Musk is designing a sedan that should run about $50,000).
I shot a bunch of photos, some of which I’ve embedded here, but the rest are over on my Flickr page.
Amazingly the Tesla only costs about three dollars to “fill up” with an electric charge that’ll last you more than 200 miles. Let’s put it this way, my Saturn only goes about 20 miles on gasoline that costs that much.
Calacanis has ordered one, already. So have about 900 other people. Much more is covered in the video interview I did with Musk. He admitted that he used to own a $1.5 million Mclaren F1 supercar and that the Tesla outperforms that car between 30 and 70 MPH. Wow. Wow. Wow.
I’m trying to calm down from the ride three hours later. Wow.
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It seems a little far fetched that battery power in a car could output so much torque, but then again people didn’t believe you could exceed 56K speeds over twisted copper pair. I’ll have to check out the QIK, looking forward to it
Aido: it’s well known that electric motors can kick out a lot of torque. This car blows away anything I’ve been in (and I’ve been in plenty of nice sports cars).
well, even Tony Stark has one Tesla Roadster. so if it is good for Tony stark. then it is good for me.
@Aido:
More like: TOO MUCH TORQUE actually, that fact is gonna cost them 10-30 million more, because they are developing their Third transmission i think.
it has so much torque it destroys the transmission.
When is the thing going to be available in the UK?
$100k is about £50k… and at that price, it’d be a steal.
While I love my Bentley, it has ludicrously high running costs, and this thing looks even faster
Totally cool. Although, as you say, with that price tage, it had beeter be! I wonder if they’re looking to produce a cheaper version that John Q Public can afford – because unlike the Bentley-driving Mark, I wouldn’t consider £50K a steal (in fact, stealing one would be the only way I could get it!). Much as I drool over fast cars, when it comes to actually buying a car for myself, I wouldn’t be looking for something that performs like a racing car, but one that deals economically and comfortably with the daily commute to work and back, will protect my family in the event of a collision and has enough boot space for the groceries. You know – mundane stuff like that.
Oh, and by the way, for $3, which is about £1.50, I’d be able to buy less than 1.5 litres of fuel – not much more than 1/4 of a gallon, on which my very fuel efficient (diesel) car would manage far less than the 20 miles your car is giving you!
Karyn: they are working on a sedan that would sell for about $50,000 US. Still expensive but within the range of a lot more people.
Even at $50,000, with Malaysia’s crazy vehicle import duties, it’ll probably be sold at around $150,000 here. That’s about half a million in local currency. I’ll never get a Tesla
Ah, rich kids street race tales
Me? I ride an SUV – wife, kids… you know the drill, don’t you Robert?
and it beats the load capacity of that Tesla anytime of the year 
Try buying a 80″ HDTV and load it inside that puny little car 
Have you seen that bumper sticker that goes “You’re looking at my other car”
RBA: that’s what delivery services are for! Heheh (I rented a truck to bring mine home). Maryam still drives a BMW.
Robert, at the DLD conference earlier this year, Shai Agassi, formerly of SAP, unvelied his plan to get Israel completely off oil for transportation within the next 10 years.
It involves electric cars which will be manufactured by Renault/Nissan. The difference with these cars is that you can swap out the battery.
So, when your battery starts to run down, you go to a battery swap station (all gas stations in Israel will become battery swap stations), and swap for a fully charged battery. No downtime waiting for your battery to charge.
This model is fully transportable to other countries. Check out the video explanation at http://www.tomrafteryit.net/shai-agassis-better-place-project-explained/
Tom,
That sounds like an amazingly clever plan.
I suspect that, for obvious dependancy-concern reasons, Israel will lead the way on this one, kind of like they did for cryptography in the 70s onwards
Just hoping that no-one patents any aspect of the swappable batteries – if ever there was a call for a truly OPEN standard, this would be it!
Mark
Mark, I’d expect no less from Shai Agassi!
Wow! Nice post!
How was the dinner with Elon Musk? I am sure that both you and I can learn a ton from him.
I am trying to start a blog called: “Learn From a High School Student” and plan to write about the experiences and lessons that I learn from the influential people I speak to. Any cool lessons you learned from Elon?
Thanks!
Very cool! What were some of the lessons or things you learned at dinner with Elon? I am sure you can learn a ton from him.
I am trying to start my blog called: “Learn From A High School Student” and plan to write about my experiences and lessons that I have leaned from the influential people I speak to.
Do you have any lessons you would like to share with us from Elon?
And you were crying about a shitty telescope?
Now THIS is interesting nesw!
> Amazingly the Tesla only costs about three dollars to “fill up” with an electric charge that’ll last you more than 200 miles. Let’s put it this way, my Saturn only goes about 20 miles on gasoline that costs that much.
That’s not a deal.
Even with $5/g gasoline and free recharge, the Saturn is cheaper for the first 200k miles.
Isn’t “how long” to recharge a bigger issue?
Tom, the real accomplishment is that Shai managed to get the Israeli government to put up 100 Mio. of his funding to get this done. Now that’s one hell of a financing pitch well done!
Well, that sparked my interest. It’s as fast as lightning. Does it come with a turbo-charger? Or do I have to charge it on my Visa?
Ya know, since it’s got so much torque it should come with a trailer hitch. The ads can show it towing a giant airstream trailer. Or maybe they could sell a plastic chevy-suburban shell that you can bolt to the top when you want to haul guests.
;-D
“used to own a $1.5 million Maclaren F1 supercar and that the Tesla outperforms that car between 30 and 70 MPH”
Huh? He can’t be talking about top-speed, as the F1 already goes over 200mph, and I just can’t envision a car as lightweight as a Tesla being able to stay on the ground at 250mph without some serious help from Ferrari or Bugatti. Is he talking about quarter mile speed? (I can see it out-accelerating an F1 off the line but how far could it hold off a v12 supercar?)
Keith: if you watch my video he explains what he meant about beating the F1. It out accelerates it from 30 to 70 MPH and almost keeps up with it from 0-30. Since you’re not allowed to drive more than 75 MPH in the United States anyway the top end speed is totally useless unless you’re going to get on a race track.
“Since you’re not allowed to drive more than 75 MPH in the United States anyway the top end speed is totally useless”
Hahahahaa, funny
@25. Likely so does a motorcycle. I’m not sure I see the point of the comparison.
“Since you’re not allowed to drive more than 75 MPH in the United States anyway the top end speed is totally useless””
Errrr..right!!!! Because we all know that those that buy McClarens, Vettes, Bugattis, Porches, Ferraris only want to go 75 MPH.
“the Tesla outperforms that car between 30 and 70 MPH””
Define “outperforms”. How is the 70-0 braking? What’s the cornering performance? torque?
They waiting for the final trans units, or going temporary swap out? Heh, every few months, new transmission time.
Eberhard gone, with layoffs, firings, investors kicking out the other founders, missed production schedules, expenses seriously out of control, government ratholed money, misleading claims, no Big 3 backing, going for the trendy market, courting bloggers and techies…
Sounds like a start-up about to go supernova. DeLorean Part 2 de jour.
Wow – illegal street racing. That’s impressive or irresponsible.
Robert, I hope I didn’t come across as cynical, I’ve grown up with my head under the bonnet and hands greasy. I said far fetched because people over here (Ireland) still wouldn’t believe it. I mentioned it to a mechanic whom I would admire and trust when it comes to ability for fixing cars, he thinks outside the box and from him I’ve learned a great deal. He agreed but said a saloon or people carrier would better suit the Irish market.
That said I cant think of anyone who wouldn’t want one. People might question its overall ability but nuff said, I like it I really like it, would it ever make it to Irish shores?
Over promising and under-delivering? Telsa doing the Microsoft Model? So granting a car, with KNOWN bugs (failing transmission) and then promising a retrofit fix? Hah. And I seriously doubt the transmission is the only known problem, if they are having so much trouble with an simple electric to a trans, they are gonna have a heck of a time with thermal, software, emissions controls and etc. The transmission is a serious reputation-killer. Telsa was just supposed to provide the electric components, mainly their battery, so what’s proving so impossible about a stock Lotus with an electric retrofit? The only thing that is new is the battery…kinda unreal that they can’t find a transmission that works.
Public Beta’s hahaha. It’s doomed because people who don’t know cars, are the hypemasters.
If you really want fun, start Jason’s video in one browser window (not a tab) and approximately 50 seconds or so later start Robert’s video in another browser, pull them close together and watch them sync’d in close to real time. Nothing against Jason, but you might want to mute his audio since Scoble is actually interviewing Musk during the 27 or so minute ride. Very cool stuff!
PS – But just having a venture-hustler like Elon “Colonize Space” Musk as chairman, is enough to sink it. So I am assuming you agree with Musk’s blog censorship and treatment of Eberhard then?
PSS – Elon Musk was in Mahalo’s second round, conflict of interest, eh?.
But both are doomed.
Now if you could only put the sound of the Vette into the Tesla. This thing certainly has it’s share of haters and lovers. thanks
Electric cars are too cool as evidenced by this YouTube video of an electric car vs. a Ferrari and a Porsche.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqqtJpfZElQ&feature=related
The most gutting thing about these not being available in the UK is that they’re built in the UK at the Lotus factory.
Anyways, the reason the torque is phenomenal is because it’s an electric motor. The physics of it are just completely different. You get the maximum torque when you turn it on from a standing start, compared to an internal combustion engine, which doesn’t work at all unless it’s in motion.
Anyways, from what I’ve read it’s not a stock Lotus, there have been a lot of changes to it. The lack of an internal combustion engine and fuel tank, and the addition of the electric motor and battery instead have forced some rethinks in the design as well as a few other modifications.
Hey guys ever heard of Skoda? They got off to a bad start but over a few years built up a decent brand rep. Not in the same league by any means, but if you have the passion and drive
@37,
Skoda makes great stuff. I love watching their rally cars. But, we all know nothing touches the Ford Cosworth in the rally…
On a different note, your photography is incredible Scoble. I don’t know the intricacies of photography, but those shots look great. The angles and perspective, etc.
Robert – I normally like your stuff – but keep in mind who your readers are.
You can only take the cult of personality thing so far. I find it annoying that you show off fancy gadgets (and now cars) that I can’t afford. If people are affording you the privilege to buy said fancy gadgets – use them for something meaningful, not just galvanting off in a new car to enlarge the size of Calcanis’ piece.
nice photos — but guess what, nobody cares.
Robert,
Great to finally meet you, sorry we didn’t get a chance to see the ride as well! Keep rocky well feed, for such a big guy, what a picky eater.
Take care,
Sean
@39. Indeed. With the shadows,lighting and perspective, Calacanis looks like he has boobs.
Can somebody please explain to me how a 248hp Tesla with a top speed of 125 mph beats a Corvette with 430hp and a top speed of 200mph? Does Calacanis not know how to drive?
As the man-in-black said in The Princess Bride: “This isn’t as easy as it looks!”
Mechanical Engineering is hard. Transmissions are particularly hard. The M1 Abrams tank used to destroy its transmissions. It’s powered by a gas turbine derived from a helicopter engine. It too is very different from a piston engine.
mitch: are you really that lame? Top speed doesn’t equal off the line performance. Watch the video, we cover all this there.
Not rich: I can’t afford to buy these things either, but they are interesting pieces of technology and I cover people in the technology industry. It’s not every day you get to ride around Santa Monica in a one-of-a-kind car and interview one of the guys who started PayPal.
To the whiners:
Anyone who is overly jealous of other really needs to get a life. The information provided here by Robert is just reporting the facts and circumstances.
That’s the problem and the reason so many people are in debt. Be happy with what you have. It’s nice to dream and want cool gadgets, but the wise man always realizes that wanting is the better part of having.
Maturity dictates when reading posts about cars most people will never drive let alone see. It’s a car for pete’s sake — it gets you from point A to point B. No more no less. So many people think a mere car or gadget is somehow going to improve their lot in life. No chance. People are nothing but the sum of their experiences. Be happy with your lot in life or strive to change it realistically.
Be happy that Scoble reports on things you might not get a chance to see. While you may never drive a Tesla, the overarching theme here is that this kind of development will, in the long run, trickle down to everyday cars that you will be able to afford and drive.
@Wreck totally agree. Part and parcel of life is to have fun no matter what your circumstances are make the best of it.
When it over laps with technology for me even better. I cant stand people ho take pop shots because something is out of their reach.
I’ve met Jason (in London once) nice guy, never met Scoble but if I did I’d be tempted to put my hand on his ass, as thats probably the closest I’ll probably ever get to the inside of the Tesla Roadster
LOL @ 55 Aido
Too funny! Life is meant to be enjoyed while you can.
At the Moment I Love this “green” car :
http://www.ac-schnitzer.de/en/bmw-cars/pop-ups/fastest-gas-car-worldwide/
Ok… 200 miles for like £3 or $6…I take it that isn’t when you are doing 0-60 in sub 5 seconds. Why don’t companies concentrate on what people will want. The 4 door saloon car is what people use, sports cars are a luxury most people can’t afford. If you are wanting to make it big, make a peoples car, then make the odd exotic one. IF …you could get the same mileage as a normal car (350 miles) from a fillup, then you would be doing well, and competing with real cars. A £30,000 saloon with the range of a normal car… even £10 to fill it.. Would be worth it for me.
I found this article funny and probaply full of total false information. Firstly McLaren F1, not MacLaren. Secondly: Seriously 30-70MPH faster??? I doubt Tesla breaks any McLaren F1 record (maybe fuel efficency). Please Scobble try write correct information and maybe think 2 mins before posting stuff you hear.
Skeptic: have you ever owned a McLaren F1? The guy in the video has.
Oh please Scoble, guy owns the firm ofc he is going to say something like that. Lets put facts together however: McLaren F1 0-60MPH 2.6sec, Tesla 0-60MPH 5.7sec.
I live in a gated community where we can drive golf carts around the community roads. I have an electric, my neighbor has gas. From a standing start, I can leave him a hundred feet behind any day, level surface, up hill, whatever. Electric motors have incredible torque..
Boy, is it easy to con this younger generation or what!!! This boob is shilling for an obsolete EV design because this overpriced $100,000 car with the $30,0000 battery pack that lasts 5 years gets 200 miles on $3 of
electricity. By my calculations, he’s claiming that it’s worth the extra $30,000 for the first battery pack and $6,000 per year in battery costs
so that you don’t have to buy 500 gallons of gas. And people wonder why the younger generation can’t compete. With anyone. Anywhere. No wonder
the Chinese (and everyonme else) is cleaning our clocks. This yokel obviously is not even remotely up to speed on electric propulsion. He’s time warped into the the 1980’s when idiot GM CEO Roger Smith and the California CARB board decided that they could build a practical electric car.
They were only missing one thing – the first thing they should have considered before trying to build anEV – a battery. It’s the battery, stupid!
Now this yoyo , who has been conned into thinking the Tesla roadster
is actually a viable alternative to a ga powered car because it goes swishy quick, doesn’t even know that it contains thousands of flashlight batteries that are 1st generation, small cell examples of batteries that NONE, repeat NONE, of the other dozen (professional) automakers would ever consider using for their new electrics. And only those automakers without the engineering capabilities are building oxymoronic battery-only vehicles,
like the Tesla, which make no economic sense and have virtually no advantage over a 40 mile range plug-in hybrid in terms of either emisions reductions or gasoline avoidance. Plug-in hybrids are the only intelligent electric propulsion technology around right now. And the Fisker Karma, out next year, looks twice as good as the Tesla, is quite fast, costs $20K less, carries twice as many passengers and their luggage, travels 50 miles on battery power and another 500 on liquid fuel, and has a battery pack that will last indefinitely. Anyone buying a Tesla needs to have their head examined. This yokel never heard of the Fisker. Or of third generation lithium ion batteries that it contains. Tesla claimed they were going to build a practical plug-in hybrid a year ago, but obviously soon realized that they simply didn’t have the abilities.
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