Before Eberhard co-founded Tesla, he wondered why no one could build an electric car with the same performance and design as one powered by gasoline. “When I looked at so many electric cars out there, it seemed to be that they were built by people who considering driving a necessary evil,” Eberhard said. “You really shouldn’t drive. You should walk or take a bike or ride the bus. And if you must drive then a little glorified golf cart would be fine.”200
Nor von Holzhausen understood why an electric car couldn’t look like a gasoline car. “What we set out to do for the Model S was to be the cornerstone of the brand, to identify the building blocks,” von Holzhausen said. “The Model S does not look like a science project, you will be comfortable parking it next to a brand with 100 years of experience.”239
To design Model S, Tesla interacted with the early customers, they spent a lot of time at the stores, and they developed a short feedback loop. Concerns, ideas, and issues were constantly evaluated. “The hardest thing to do with a blue-sky project like this is to contain yourself. It is easy to overshoot,” von Holzhausen said. “The Karma [Fisker Automotive’s car] is a great example of that.”239
Designing an electric car is different compared with designing a gasoline car. The advantage with the car powered by electricity is that the designer has much more space to work with. In the Model S, von Holzhausen realized almost everything above the wheels would be free to mold. The small electric motor didn’t use much space, and the batteries formed the bottom of the car. Because of all free space, von Holzhausen could live up to Elon’s demands. Seven people could sit in the car, including two small children in the trunk. With seven people in the car, it’s still possible to have luggage in the front trunk, or the “frunk” as Tesla calls the front trunk.51
Another aspect the designer of an electric car has to consider is to optimize the design to lower the wind noise. The wind noise in a gasoline car is not audible because of the noise from the engine, but an electric car is silent. Some drivers are not used to the silence, so engineers have suggested adding a fake gasoline engine sound. “Some people are going to miss the sound of a roaring engine, just like people used to miss the sound of horse hooves clippity-clopping down the street,” Eberhard said.272 But some drivers enjoy the silence. “I opened the sun roof, rolled down the windows, and I pulled out,” one electric car driver said. “It was like a magic carpet. You hear people laughing, talking, and you’re interacting with the city.”381
As when Tesla designed the Roadster, Elon could suggest materials and techniques from SpaceX to improve Model S. “In the rocket business, we are used to dealing with very light weight materials, so a lot of advanced aluminum, advanced joining techniques, new types of welding and bonding and that kind of thing,” Elon said. “We employed that also in the Model S. The body and chassis is all in aluminum, which is rare. Most cars is steel and maybe a little bit of aluminum.”449
Elon and Steve Jobs share the same eye for design. Once, Elon brought in several competing cars so they could compare them with the Roadster and the Model S. Because of the comparison, you could hear the following comments from Elon:
“…the screws on the hinges feel like knives stabbing me in the eye.”
“…find the best visor in the world, and then make a better one.”
“…that’s like a midget cave. It’s good to get a sense for just how bad the other cars are.”51
But Elon has been described as nicer than Jobs and a bit more refined than Bill Gates.51 Elon actually tried to talk to Jobs when they attended the same party. Larry Page, who lived three blocks away from Jobs, introduced Elon to Jobs. But Jobs was super-rude to Elon. Despite the rudeness, Elon is still a fan. “He was an incredible guy and made fantastic products, and there was a certain magic about him that was really inspiring,” he said. “I think Steve Jobs is way cooler than I am.”363
The original plan was that Model S wouldn’t be a true electric car. “We were looking closely at doing a plug-in hybrid at Tesla and for a brief period the Model S was gonna be a plug-in hybrid,” Elon said. “But as we drew deeper and deeper into the design, we concluded that we could not make a compelling hybrid. We just didn’t like what we came up with. The market will decide whether we were right or wrong.”435
Due to the electric engine and the material, the Model S got a better acceleration compared with a sports car. A favorite prank at Tesla is to invite a prospective customer and ask the unsuspecting passenger to turn on the radio. At the precise moment as the passenger leans forward towards the control panel, they accelerate. Because of the fast acceleration, the passenger can’t lean forward enough to reach the radio.
Model S got a large touch-screen between the driver and the front passenger seat. The 17” screen looks like an iPad. “It is a leap forward, you need no knobs,” von Holzhausen said. “Before we launched we were a little unsure if some would miss the old world. Customers love the screen; it’s amazing how fast they become totally comfortable with it.”239
But even the best designer makes mistakes. The Tesla team decided not to install reading-lights in the backseat. They didn’t think people would read traditional books – they thought people would read on e-book readers that doesn’t need an external light source. Once, when Elon drove his Model S with his kids in the backseat, one of them decided to read a book. But he couldn’t find a light, so he said, “This is the stupidest car in the world.” Elon, who always seek out negative feedback, decided to install reading-lights in the backseat.419
Building a car is similar to building computer software. “There are a couple of key milestones,” Elon said. “You’ve got the alpha phase, the beta phase, the release candidate, and then finally you are in production. The beta vehicles will be almost indistinguishable from the final production designs.”441 In March 2009, Tesla completed the Model S prototype (the alpha phase) an unveiled it in front of hundreds of people in the SpaceX factory. A proud von Holzhausen pulled the silver sheet off the car, and it sparkled under the white spotlights. “You’ll see that this isn’t some show car that doesn’t do what it says it’ll do. It’ll go fast with a lot of people in it,” Elon told the crowd.
But everyone weren’t convinced. “I wouldn’t call it Tesla Motors yet,” a critic said. “I would call it the Tesla prototype company. My concern is that there are people in charge who don’t have a realistic view of the car industry.” The same critic thought the Model S would never see daylight. Tesla would need 30 to 40 years to become a profitable company, and $700 million to successfully develop and mass produce Model S. “I will eat my hat if we spend anything close to $700 million on our model-2 car [Model S],” Elon replied.372
Neither Tesla’s customers were enthusiastic when photographs of a Model S beta leaked on the Internet. Tesla had tested the car on the streets in Palo Alto and someone took photographs of it. “Wow, I hope that wasn’t a Tesla design bound for production, or I’m pulling my reservation,” one said. “That thing was not what they have been selling on their website. The proportions were, in a polite term, boring.” Another customer said, “There is no way Tesla is going to get most people to pay $50 000 or $60 000 for the car in this photo. It looks like a Ford Probe from the late 80’s.”442