Tesla Model S In Alpha, Beta Coming In 2012

Frank Gruber February 9, 2011 Tweet

Tesla Motors, the Silicon Valley based premium electric vehicle manufacturer founded by Elon Musk, has a new vehicle coming soon and it is hot. It’s the Tesla all-electric Model S sedan. The Model S is being designed as a high performance electric sedan similar to the BMW 5-series.

The Model S has a $50,000 pricetag which includes a $7,500 US federal tax credit for purchasing an electric vehicle. Tesla is now taking reservations – all you need to do is put down a refundable $5,000 as production begins in 2012. You can also upgrade to the S Signature and be one of just 1000 owners by putting down a $40,000 refundable reservation. Of course, we would love to get a review unit for a test drive as soon as it becomes available.

Here are some of the interesting details about the sedan:

0-96 kmh in 5.6 seconds
195 kmh top speed
The 17-inch touchscreen with in-car 3G connectivity means quick access to streaming radio, gps navigation, restaurant recommendations and movie showtimes.
Seating for 7
More cargo space than typical sedans
One of three battery pack options to suit typical driving needs: 160, 230, or 300 miles per charge

Tesla will complete two vehicle testing phases, Alpha and Beta. The Alpha phase began in 2010 and they created this video (below) driving in California. This is sounding more and more like software development everyday!