First Ride: 2012 Tesla Model S

As a handful of journalists snapped pictures, poked at touch screens, and flipped open the charging ports on the trio of preproduction (Betas, they call them) Model S's parked outside the Tesla (ex-NUMMI) factory in Fremont, California, I had one solitary thought:

None of this can be said about the Model S. In its base version, it'll cost $57,400 (add about $1950 for destination) and be eligible for a federal $7500 tax credit (and depending on where you live, additional local ones). Here in California, for instance, that means the price will be about $49,350 (after including our state $2500 tax credit as well). Not cheap, but there's a whole lot of vastly less interesting sedans out there that regularly sell for $49,350. (Don't make me name names.) Moreover, unlike the Volt and Leaf, the Model S's charger is part of the deal, built right into car.

While the Tesla Roadster has been unfairly labeled an electric Lotus (derived, perhaps), that won't happen with the Model S as virtually every spec of it is original. Overall, its presence struck me as something like a more organic Audi A7, meaning it's a stylishly windswept four-door fastback with a clear accent on performance. Parked side-by-side with the Audi, they're just about the same length, with the Tesla measuring an inch taller and wider. And like the Audi, the Model S is almost entirely aluminum, with bolding via adhesives, rivets, and welds, depending on the circumstance.

In fact, they're removable, five-belt child affairs, so their occupants' size is literally restricted by law. I actually climbed back there, but being considerably past child-seat age (when I was a kid, I used to stand on a front bench seat, for heaven's sake) all I could judge is that they're definitely close to the rear bumper. But no more so than the third row of many minivans. Would I put a kid there? Well, the seats do provide some flexibility in a pinch...and that's about it.

View the original article here