Porsche Mission E Due In 2020 But Will Tesla's Lead Be Too Great By Then?

As a current Porsche owner and future Tesla Model 3 owner, I'd say bring it on Porsche. Of all the potential competitors, Porsche seems to be the most capable although its target specs still fall short of those of current Model S. With Porsche badge, it can charge a premium over compatible Model S. However if it's priced above the Panamera it will be a tough sell.

...and still no word from Porsche (or Mercedes or Audi) about pricing of their all-electric sedans. The Tesla Model S starts at $66k. Fully optioned blown out with Ludicrous 7-seat air bag everything around $136,000. Now let's really see what these German "competitors" start their pricing. My bet is that a Porsche and Mercedes will START at $150k. Insane speed models optioned up $200,000. These are "competition" for Tesla the same way a $8500 Tag Huer is to a $20,000 Rolex. In other words, totally different price points to even compare. Audi? Probably start at around $110k. Still almost twice as much for the bottom level model. The Germans have a long road to haul.

If GM were smart, Buick would have an Electra EV coupesedan in the works to hit Tesla straight on.

While it's safe to assume that the cost-no-object Germans will overshoot Tesla's price point, Tesla will die a fast death if they match it or come close.

I'd definitely go with a German EV over Tesla.

I suspect that the Germans have their technology ready to go but are not being quick to the market given how low gas prices are.

Anyone assuming that Tesla's engineering will be superior to Porsche/Audi or Mercedes needs to have his head examined.

Considering that they have less than 10 year experience on the Model S (the Roadster didn't count as the body/chassis was sourced from Lotus), the engineering work is not too shabby by anyone's standard.

I drove the P90DL (with Ludicrous mode) when it first came out late last year, and I can tell that its acceleration and "seat of the pants" feel is on par with the Porsche turbo rush sans the intoxicating sound. Handling is not too bad either. I drove the MS and the Porsche over the same stretch of public road (a mix of bumpy and smooth pavement, several curves, elevation drops, ... ) and the MS handled pretty well.

In order to have objective opinion about the Model S's performance - and the engineering work behind it - I strongly recommend that you take a test drive (it's free) and compare it to cars with similar performance. It's no use to compare it to other EVs - even the semi-exotic i8.

Since you mentioned engineering, let's take an example of the Ford Focus EV (FFE). While the FFE mechanicals are based on the regular Focus, it drives like crap compared to the ICE version. Then comparing the FFE with other EV such as the Nissan Leaf, it's still slightly better in handling. And, they are all severely under-powered and range limited.

Now the big question is if large companies such as Ford and Nissan who can regularly produce high performance ICE cars but can't build decent EVs, what does it tell you about the state of engineering work on these EVs ? if it was easy as you said many times, these companies must have deliberately made their EVs lousy drivers (I doubt it), or the engineering challenges for EV are just too hard for them to overcome.

That's probably why it will take many years for the Germans to come up with something comparable to Tesla's without embarrassing themselves.

I have driven a Model S but I honestly have no idea why someone would chose it over a Panamera, CLS, or A7.

The Focus EV--like all converted EVs--is hampered by not being designed from the outset as an EV.

To assume that Tesla has leapfrogged the entire industry on technology and engineering is foolhardy.

I still think that the big companies are not diving in yet because of gas prices and the reality that an EV simply is not a complete replacement for an ICE vehicle.

Once an EV can be recharged as quickly as filling a tank with gas, the reason for being in the market will be greater.

It would not surprise me if Toyota or Porsche/Audi is readying that technology.

The design of the Mission E looks fantastic. However, most car companies deliver production cars that look far worse or are severely toned down from the concepts they are based on (Tesla being the exception). Hopefully the final product looks similar.

The market is plenty large enough for both companies. I think Porsche may take the high end of the market (above $150k) while Tesla becomes more oriented towards the mass market. The specs are a little disappointing on the Mission E, especially coming from Porsche. 0-60 of 3.5 seconds? Today's Model S can do it 2.8. Even Tesla's minivan (Model X) can do 3.1. By 2020 the Model S performance will only be more impressive.

Kind of silly to talk about performance of electric vehicles at this point.

Handling is far behind ICE vehicles due to the ludicrous battery weights (a P90D weighs 4,840lbs). And acceleration is impressive until you realize that 3 9-minute laps of the nurburgring zaps the battery. Someday these issues will be resolved. But will take years or decades.

99.9% of car drivers are not doing laps around the Nurburgring. Crazy acceleration whenever you need it in everyday driving situations is well worth talking about. I'm sure professional racing will move to electric powertrains as well in the future, but the reality is anyone can get amazing performance today in their daily driver.

Also, despite the weight there is a very low center of gravity and it handles surprisingly well. It sounds like you have never driven a Tesla before.

You so kneel before the "altar" of Musk.

You so kneel before the "altar" of Musk.

Better than being psychosomatic Mattie and bending over while Musk takes him in his aids riddled ass.