South African Elon Musk, founder, chief designer and CEO of Tesla Motors, delivered the Model S sedan — the world’s first premium electric sedan — to its first customers at an invitation-only event at the Tesla Factory in Fremont, California (USA) on Friday, a month ahead of the expected launch.
As CEO and head of product design at Tesla Motors, Musk oversees strategy for Tesla Motors. He guided the development of the Model S. He is currently busy with the development of the Model X (an SUV/minivan).
Musk developed the business and sales strategy to deliver Tesla vehicles to consumers worldwide and forged partnerships with Daimler and Toyota, through which Tesla Motors sells electric powertrain systems to those companies.
The Model S is the world’s first premium sedan to be built from inception as an electric vehicle. What is positive and interesting about the car is that it lacks internal combustion engine or transmission tunnel, the interior of the car allows for additional luggage space in the front of the vehicle and more space inside the car as well.
Deliveries of Model S in Europe and Asia will begin in early and mid-2013 respectively. There has been no announcement from Tesla regarding the car’s availability in Africa.
Another innovation from Tesla is how the car will be sold and delivered to customers. They will be sold from what will be known as a Tesla Design Studio where customers can customize their own Model S, and an interactive touchscreen experience designed to engage and inform customers.
Customers can also place their car orders online.
When it comes to delivery, all customers have the option to upgrade to a “Tesla Personal Delivery.” With this option, the car company says a representative will deliver the car wherever a customer chooses, whether it be at home, at work, or at a hotel while on vacation. As was the case on Friday, customers may also choose to take delivery of their vehicle at Tesla’s Fremont factory where they may also receive a tour to see where their vehicle was made.
The advent and mass availability of 100 percent electric powered vehicles seems to be gaining momentum as recently reported by HumanIPO on the launch of the launch of the all-electric Ford Focus.
This will go a long way into ensuring humanity is not reliant on fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions. We just hope such cars and technology would be available across the African continent as soon as possible.
