I wrote a few months ago about our test drive of the new Tesla electric roadster.  Last week my husband and I got another jolt of excitement with a first look at Tesla’s next production, the Model S sedan.

 

The rollout took place close by, at Jack Northrop Field in Hawthorne.  Part of a large hangar, owned by SpaceX (another venture by Tesla founder Elon Musk, who made his mint founding PayPal) was dressed up for the occasion, with dark curtains marking off the space, some greenery, screens showing shots of the LA skyline, round red paper lanterns dangling from the ceiling, plenty of food and drink, and a generally age-appropriate soundtrack.  I felt like a member of a very exclusive club – which in a way I guess we are.

 

We had just arrived and were at one of the bars getting a drink, when one of the black curtains right next to us was pulled aside and from the depths of the hangar, a Model S carrying four people slid silently into the party.  There was very nearly an audible “whoosh” as everyone near us fell in behind it and gathered around as it stopped.  Not for the first time, I thought how wonderful it is that an electric car can share an enclosed space with human beings and not poison them with its exhaust.  (The first time I thought it was when I had the chance to drive a General Motors EV-1 from a downtown LA parking garage, and I realized this was one car the valets had no need to worry about.  I wonder if anyone’s ever done a health study on parking attendants in enclosed garages – but I’m kind of afraid to check.)

 

Elon Musk got out of the driver’s seat of his new Model S and spoke about their goals for the car:  priced around $50,000 (to be precise, $49,900 after a federal battery-car tax credit) and with a range of about 300 miles, seating several adults and competing with any other luxury sedan in terms of amenities and cargo space.  The car is very nice to look at – there are better photos at the company’s web site, though I hoped you’d find my candid shot more exciting.  I’ve always thought that my husband’s roadster, as a practical matter, should be our only electric car, but after seeing the Tesla Model S, I began to think again.

 

Test drives were then offered to those who had already bought a Model S.  We wandered off to look at some of the other cars in the space:  a couple of roadsters, even a Smart car that’s being retooled by Tesla and promises to have a hundred-mile range in its electric incarnation.  I was delighted to run into Long Beach Mayor Foster and his chief of staff, Becki Ames.  Apparently Tesla is considering using a former Boeing site in Long Beach as a potential factory for the Model S!  This would be a great catch for our city, creating a number of real “green-collar” jobs, and I’m very glad the Mayor was there.

 

The latest news for us is that my husband has “locked in” his options for the roadster and we expect the car to be under construction between now and June or July.  I promise another excited update when we get the car.