Electric Vehicle Forums - Tesla asks for $400 M. loan

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/bu...digi.html?_r=1

Quote:

. . . The company is requesting $400 million in low-interest federal loans as part of the $25 billion loan package for the auto industry passed by Congress last year.

The program is intended to encourage automakers to improve fuel efficiency, . . .

I say YES. Instead, the New York Times is trying to say this money should be used just by GM. Now I have no problem with the critical parts of the article about Tesla but I do have a problem with them saying this should negate the intent of these $25 B. Tesla is following the rules and should get the loan. But Randall Stross of the New York Times doesn't stop there:

Quote:

. . . Earlier this month at the Los Angeles auto show, BMW unveiled its all-electric Mini E, with a smaller battery, a motor with about 20 percent less horsepower than Tesla’s and a shorter range, 150 miles. BMW believes that current technologies used in the all-electric vehicles have not been tested enough in real conditions to be ready to be sold to the public. It will begin by leasing for one year a fleet of 500 Mini E’s for $850 a month each. At the end of the lease term, the cars will be returned to BMW for testing.
. . .

Of course they want to test them:
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...14017.1-lg.jpg
Here is an example of GM testing their EV1s.

So as I read the article, the author added:

Quote:

. . .
LAST week, I visited the Tesla showroom in Menlo Park, Calif., and took the Roadster out on the highway. As I headed back to the showroom and waited at red lights, ready to hit the accelerator and fly, I realized that I was experiencing a guilty pleasure derived not just from the speed available at my touch but also from temporarily possessing something that shouted to the world its exclusiveness.
. . .

Nothing is wrong with that. The first airplanes were single seaters and the play toys of the rich. So what? New technologies are always expensive and not ready for mass production. But these market leaders are necessary before down-scale systems like the 'Mini-E' will ever show up. Except of course, the 'Mini-E' isn't for sale ... it is following the GM EV1 marketing plan.

Bob Wilson