Tesla seem to be close to going down the pan - after delivering only 60 of the 1200 deposit taken orders they are struggling. With only 9 million dollars in the bank which is not even enough to pay back the deposits if required (deposits of 5k - 60k were taken).
Lotus at Hethel have laid off workers on the Tesla production line and those 60 cars that have been sold are due back into the tesla factory for retro fit of the new transmission and PEM that might go some way to addressing the indifferent performance of the first cars delivered. Only the new transmission is not ready yet and is significantly delayed. Also first wave owners are discoving some serious issues with the new cars - Martin Eberhard (the orginal founder) has shown that his car runs the ESS coolant pump continuously, pulling 3-4kWh of power a day which is a pretty big fridge sized lump of electric. Hardly good for your carbon footprint or your pocket, nor come to mention it your stress levels when your car needs topping up all the time if you wish to be able to actually use it now and then.
Tesla went after $100 million of funding this month and got none of it and it looks as though the EPA grant for the new saloon factory is on hold as the US government is too busy trying to stop the real US car industry sinking. It is worth remembering that the saloon car is to be the source of the fixed transmission for the roadster.
Elon Musk is going to have to dig into his own pockets to provide enough funding to keep the Tesla project going in the short to medium term but it will be a real shame if the Tesla Roadster never quite makes it out the door in finished form before Tesla dies.
