TAG Heuer and Tesla Motors launch worldwide partnership

Unique TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster commemorates Swiss brand’s 150th anniversary.

GENEVA – Pioneering luxury Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer and electric carmaker Tesla Motors have teamed up in a worldwide partnership as the iconic Swiss brand celebrates its 150th anniversary.

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On display at the Geneva Motor Show is the 2010 TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster. This one-of-a-kind collector’s car includes a unique interior by Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen, incorporating TAG Heuer avant-garde design elements and a specially designed center console due to host TAG Heuer’s cutting edge concept watch, to be revealed in Basel on March 18.

This car also features a TAG Heuer Meridiist mobile phone as well as a one-fifth second Heuer Limited Edition Stopwatch. This Swiss-made timepiece with mechanical movement pays tribute to the 1860 founding of the company and evoques the mythic revival of the brand’s vintage stopwatches.

The car’s exterior color scheme is Foucault Field Gray, embodying the innovative spirit of both companies. The design was inspired by the new TAG Heuer concept watch, a technical milestone in mechanical movements, which brings technologically advanced art to life through motion.

The 2010 TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster will remain at the Tesla booth during the public show days, March 4-14 at the Palexpo-Geneva conference center. The car will then be driven to Baselworld, the world’s largest watch exhibition, for a special event March 18.

Relentless focus on technological innovation

Since its founding in an artisan’s workshop in the Swiss Jura, TAG Heuer has become one of the world’s best-known luxury brands — maker of avant-garde watches, eyewear and premium mobile phones for refined consumers around the globe.

TAG Heuer, a star brand from the luxury group and worldwide leader Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), also has deep roots in the automotive sector. Company founder Edouard Heuer received in 1911 the patent for The Time of Trip, the first car dashboard chronograph, followed in 1933 by the Autavia — the first dashboard timekeeper for both automobiles and aviation. The benchmark in cutting-edge chronographs and timekeeping technology since 1860, TAG Heuer is the watch brand that can claim the longest and strongest association with motor sports and dream cars. Both watches and chronographs are inspired and driven by motor sports, from Formula One to GT cars.

“TAG Heuer has a rich history and expertise with the world’s most prestigious racing teams — but this is the first ever partnership we’ve forged with an electric sports car company,” said Jean-Christophe Babin, President and CEO of TAG Heuer. “We believe that high-performance drivers are increasingly searching for products that are efficient, socially responsible and stylish. TAG Heuer and Tesla are two of the few companies arleady achieving these ideals today.”

Tesla Motors began developing an electric sports car in 2004 and remains the only automaker selling highway-capable electric cars. The Tesla Roadster accelerates faster than nearly any other supercar yet is twice as energy efficient as a Toyota Prius — the only car that delivers supercar performance guilt-free, with zero tailpipe emissions and a carbon footprint dramatically lower than any comparable sports car.

Based in California’s Silicon Valley, Tesla has delivered more than 1,000 cars to consumers in 21 countries. Advertising Age magazine recently named Tesla one of America’s “hottest brands.” The Tesla Roadster is quickly becoming the must-have car among Hollywood celebrities, European royalty and socially responsible trendsetters worldwide.

“Engineers at both TAG Heuer and Tesla understand intuitively that technology — whether worn on your wrist or driven on the road — can help us live better while we tread more lightly on this planet,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The CEOs of TAG Heuer and Tesla, along with celebrity customers of both companies, will launch their next collaboration in style on March 18 at a party during Baselworld 2010. This nine-month project, commemorating TAG Heuer’s 150th anniversary, will have worldwide reach and will raise awareness of technological innovation to consumers on three continents.

Referring to Lotus’s plans to produce the next Lotus Elise and Exige, the statement from Tesla said, “we do not plan to sell our current generation Tesla Roadster after 2011 due to planned tooling changes at a supplier for the Tesla Roadster”.

Most assembly of the Roadster is carried out by the Lotus factory in Hethel. Final assembly for U.S.-bound cars then takes place at a facility in Menlo Park, California. For European deliveries, the full vehicle is assembled on-line at the Lotus facility and pre-delivery inspection occurs at a nearby Tesla facility in Wymondham, England.

The timing means that Tesla may have no new cars to sell for a period until the upcoming Model S sedan is produced in 2012.

In the filing, Tesla details its arrangement with Lotus:

We are dependent upon our relationship with Lotus for the manufacturing of the Tesla Roadster.

In July 2005, we entered into a supply agreement with Lotus pursuant to which Lotus agreed to assist with the design and manufacture of our Tesla Roadster. Although we complete the final assembly of our Tesla Roadster in our Menlo Park facility for vehicles destined for the United States market, currently we are dependent upon Lotus to complete the initial portion of the assembly process of the Tesla Roadster for us in Hethel, England and we expect to be so until we discontinue sales of our current generation Tesla Roadster. We currently do not intend to sell our current generation Tesla Roadster after 2011 to accommodate planned tooling changes. We anticipate that our next generation Tesla Roadster, which we only plan to launch after we begin production of the Model S, will be manufactured in our own facilities.

Pursuant to the supply agreement with Lotus, we are obligated to purchase a minimum of 1,700 partially assembled or fully assembled vehicles over the three year term of the agreement, which will expire in March 2011. The partially assembled vehicles do not contain our electric powertrain and are referred to as “gliders.” If we are unable to meet this volume requirement, we are still responsible for payment to Lotus of the lesser of (i) the sum of Lotus’ actual incurred costs and an agreed upon profit margin per vehicle up to the minimum volume requirement or (ii) £5,400,000. As of December 31, 2009, we had purchased approximately 1,000 vehicles or gliders under this agreement. We do not currently have a supply agreement with Lotus for the supply of Tesla Roadster vehicles or gliders beyond the 1,700 minimum referenced above. We may be unable to enter into a new supply agreement or extend our existing supply agreement with Lotus on terms and conditions acceptable to us. In such event, we may be required to contract with another third party to replace Lotus which would entail redesign of the Tesla Roadster chassis, adjustments to our supply chain and establishment of a light manufacturing facility. The expense and time required to complete this transition, and to assure that the vehicles and gliders manufactured at that facility comply with all relevant regulatory requirements, may turn out to be higher than anticipated. Entry into any such contract with another third party might also require us to agree to terms with Lotus on which Lotus would license certain intellectual property rights necessary for the manufacture of the Tesla Roadster to such third party. There can be no assurance that we will be able to find a third party to complete partial manufacture of the Tesla Roadster on terms acceptable to us, if at all and, in addition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to enter into an intellectual property rights license with Lotus on terms acceptable to us. Additionally, because we are dependent upon our relationship with Lotus for the manufacturing of the Tesla Roadster, our business depends on Lotus continuing to operate as a viable and solvent entity and to continue to produce the Tesla Roadster vehicles and gliders pursuant to our supply agreement. Any delay or discontinuance by Lotus of delivery of the Tesla Roadster vehicles and gliders or failure by Lotus to produce the vehicles and gliders in accordance with quality standards would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk handed the keys to an electric blue Roadster Sport to Lennart Hennig, a German law student in Bonn. Tesla has also delivered cars to customers in England, Switzerland, France, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Spain, Monaco and Sweden.

“I am a socially responsible consumer who considers the environmental impact of my purchases,” said Hennig, 24. “As soon as I saw the Tesla web site in 2006, I knew I wanted to support a company dedicated to making more and more affordable vehicles so that mainstream people could have cars with a lower carbon footprint. I plan to drive this car every day so that people can see for themselves that the future of mobility is electric.”

The 700th delivery came less than a week after Tesla opened a store in Munich (Blumenstr.17) — its first regional sales and service center in continental Europe. Tesla opened its flagship London store in June and will open a store in Monaco later this year.

“Many of our customers are die-hard European sports car aficionados who switch to Roadsters over concern about climate change and the dangers of foreign oil addiction,” Musk said. “And some customers buy the Roadster simply because it will beat the Porsche 911 or Audi R8 off the line every time.”

Tesla’s Full 2010 Model-Year Lineup On Display in Frankfurt

Musk and Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen unveiled the production version of the second-generation Roadster and the even higher-performance Roadster Sport supercar. The Frankfurt Motor Show also marked the European debut of the Model S, an all-electric, seven-passenger sedan that Tesla plans to begin producing in late 2011. Photos are available online.

The Roadster 2, which Tesla is building and shipping to customers now, features an array of enhancements over the first-generation car, which Tesla began producing last year. Those include a more powerful heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, more comfortable seats and a far more luxurious dashboard and cabin. The interior is quieter than its predecessor, and the ride is forgiving over harsh surfaces — without sacrificing handling performance.

The Roadster Sport, which Tesla is also building and shipping to customers now, is an even higher performance car that does 0 to 100 kmh in 3.7 seconds, compared to 3.9 seconds for the standard Roadster. The Sport includes a more powerful motor, custom-tuned adjustable suspension and forged wheels. A customer’s Roadster Sport sprinted the quarter-mile in 12.643 seconds in late July, setting a new record in the U.S. National Electric Drag Racing Association.

The acclaimed Roadster – which has better acceleration than a Porsche 911 or Audi R8 and is twice as energy efficient as a Toyota Prius – is the only highway-capable electric vehicle for sale in Europe or North America. It’s the first EV to travel more than 300 km per charge and the first EU- and US-certified Lithium-Ion battery electric vehicle.

The Roadster has an estimated average range of about 400 km per charge and produces zero tailpipe emissions. In April, the Roadster set another significant EV record when it traveled the entire 390-km course of the Rallye Monte Carlo d’Energies Alternatives on a single charge – from Valance, France to Monaco, through the Alps. The Roadster was the only car to finish the course – and at the end it still had 61 km left on the charge.

The Roadster qualifies for numerous tax benefits in Europe, including sales, luxury and use tax waivers in Scandinavia and exceptional incentives in Holland, making the car an unquestionable bargain compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. The relatively high cost of petrol in Europe dramatically lowers Teslas’ total cost of ownership relative to gas-guzzlers. Eventually, Tesla expects sales to be roughly split between North America and Europe.

[Source: Tesla]

The William Ashley china shop in downtown Toronto has organized the demonstration in the past with a Lamborghini Superleggara and standard Lamborghini Gallardo.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Tesla Roadster

While current owners of the much-lauded, Lotus-based Tesla Roadster get to enjoy their cars today, those on the waiting list for 2010 models may have some upgrades in store.

Tesla Motors Club (TMC) member DrComputer posted about “a conversation with Ted at [Tesla] corporate” that appears to have leaked details on 2010 Tesla Roadster models.

Given Tesla’s close relationship with Lotus, perhaps we will see pertinent improvements transfer to related Lotus models like the Elise and Exige, or perhaps even the Evora.

The rumored upgrades include:

• Built in WiFi cards with online infrastructure

Tesla owners will soon be empowered to connect to the internet for both personal and business use and possibly even transform their Tesla into a mobile wireless hotspot with the addition of a router. Through this connection, Tesla Motors will be able to remotely update car firmware, unlock doors, know the car’s precise location (useful for law-enforcement authorities if the car is stolen), and gather statistics. Plans are also in place to make such data readily available to owners through a tailored owner site where interaction with the car could be orchestrated in real-time.

iPhone/Blackberry applications would now have an open door, so you could monitor your car from essentially anywhere.

Such data collection and remote access certainly raises privacy and security concerns — how would you feel if Lotus implemented a similar system? While this is speculative on our part, don’t be surprised if Lotus management has serious interest. Lotus Engineering has made a name for itself as an engineering vanguard, and this technological edge from Tesla neatly dovetails with that mission.

According to the TMC post, there are still some liability issues Tesla will need to address. Owners will have to sign a legal waiver to enable the wireless access and will have the ability to restrict access to defined periods or turn off access at any time.

• Switchable performance modes from the key

From the key, Roadster owners will be able to instantly switch operating modes from range to standard to performance (and back to standard but not back to range). A clearly useful feature for those who drive their cars often and many Lotus owners would surely be interested in this feature as well.

Rounding up the list of 2010 Tesla Roadster improvements are:

• New power electronics module
• Better cooling for the power electronics
• Improved air conditioning system with variable fan speeds
• Glove box that locks when you lock your car (perfect for leaving the car with the top off)

[Source: Tesla Motors Club via Autoblog Green]

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The 500th Roadster was delivered to Martin Tuchman, a philanthropist who lives in New Jersey.

Tuchman, a former automotive engineer, said his new Roadster “drives like a dream” (no surprise given the Lotus DNA) and that he plans to use the car for commuting. The all-electric Tesla Roadster complements Tuchman’s 1937 Chris-Craft boat which he previously converted in order to pilot it on Lake Carnegie, which does not permit gas-powered boats.

Thanks to engineering and manufacturing assistance from Lotus, Tesla is currently the only company in the world selling highway-capable electric vehicles in significant volumes.

Following the 500th vehicle delivery announcement, Tesla confirmed plans to expand its network including new dealerships in New York, Seattle, Chicago,  Miami, London, Monaco, and Munich. Tesla’s first European store in London will open later this month.

To celebrate the 500th car, Tesla also organized a “Roadster Rally” through some of our favorite Southern California canyon roads. You can read more about the rally on the Tesla Motors official blog.

Bolts that attach the rear hub to the suspension flange may be improperly torqued in some cars, which could lead to “degradation in vehicle handling and a rubbing noise from the rear of the vehicle” according to the NHTSA recall notice.

The problem was found after a Tesla owner complained about the handling of his particular car.

Both Lotus and Tesla have stated they will replace the bolts for free.

Lotus recall notice

Tesla recall notice

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Thanks for the tip Christoph!

Reserved for an elite clientele, the new Welcome In France apartment development will be located near Paris and focus on a green lifestyle. Environmentally-friendly features include extensive use of solar panels and geothermal energy, and the development will even have its own water treatment facility.

To encourage green motoring, the development is giving away new Tesla Roadsters to each of the 40 projected apartment owners. As you may recall, the completely electric Tesla Roadster is heavily based off the Lotus Elise.

Other features of the development include a golf course and helipad, which are not green at all!