Jump to content
Create New...
  • William Maley
    William Maley

    GM's CEO: Cadillac Will Take On Tesla

    William Maley

    Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

    September 23, 2013

    Tesla has apparently gotten under the skin of General Motors' CEO Dan Akerson. As we reported back in July, Akerson created a group to study Tesla and how it could effect the company. Now, Akerson wants to take on Tesla with Cadillac.

    “If you want to compete head-to-head with Tesla, and we ultimately will, you want to do it with a Cadillac,” Akerson said to The Detroit News.

    Akerson went on to indicate that he would like to compete with Tesla Model S directly.

    “But I do think when the (Cadillac) ELR comes out late this year, early next — it’s certainly in the same postal code as Tesla, but now we’re going to move up. It’s not going to be a mass-produced car."

    Akerson also gave Tesla a bit of a ribbing.

    “We’ll sell more (Chevrolet) Volts and lose less money on the Volts than they’ll lose on the (Tesla) Model S.”

    Source: The Detroit News

    William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    GM doesn't make an all electric car though. The ELR is closer to a plug in Prius than it is a Tesla Model S. I think this is more a move to draw attention to the ELR and Cadillac because Tesla gets a lot of free media attention. But in the end, none of these electric cars are money makers, they are too limited in what they can do until someone makes a super battery that can make an electric car perform like a gas car.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Yes they do. They make the Spark EV. But the implication Dan "foot-in-mouth" Akerson is making here is that he wants Cadillac to make a Model S competitor. If any of the big companies do it, I would expect it to be GM or Toyota. They both have the most experience with the battery systems needed to pull it off. Toyota is in bed with Tesla at the moment though, so they might not be able to pursue such a car due to some agreement.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    This is the best electric car around right now, in a straight line it crushes it's gasoline counterpart.
    mercedes-benz-sls-amg-electric-drive.jpg

    But it costs $500,000, so there can't be a very good business case for it. Full electric beating gasoline is a while away I think, maybe not decades, but at least 10 years before they get competitive. Diesel or hybrid diesel will be the future, if these diesel cars can put out 350 lb-ft of torque and get 50 mpg, that is hard to beat. Unless someone makes a battery that weighs 200 lbs and has 400 mile range and recharges in 10 minutes.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    The Tesla Model S is in the high $60k range, will out perform a 550i, and can recharge in 30 minutes.

    The Roadster could walk away from an Audi R8 like it was standing still.

    A Volt can do 0 - 60 in the same time it takes a 2.5 powered Malibu and that is mostly software limited.

    I'd say we're a lot closer than you think.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    And Dan's "ribbing" means nothing... Elon Musk is worth a few billion and knows he is building an Apple-like fan base. He's willing to lose the money for now to dominate the market later.

    A stock with P/E of ~170 producing cars at less than ~0.1% of industry is sure to see some major correction. How much market can Elon sustain for his +$70,000 cars? When the annual market for cars (sedans) exceeding that purchasing price in US is approx. 30,000 units, how much more can Elon sustain its Model S before the growth stops? If you use Warren Buffet's analysis, the company is yet to prove it is capable for a long run.

    I think Dan is concentrating more on $30,000 electric car than a standalone Model S competitor.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    And Dan's "ribbing" means nothing... Elon Musk is worth a few billion and knows he is building an Apple-like fan base. He's willing to lose the money for now to dominate the market later.

    A stock with P/E of ~170 producing cars at less than ~0.1% of industry is sure to see some major correction. How much market can Elon sustain for his +$70,000 cars? When the annual market for cars (sedans) exceeding that purchasing price in US is approx. 30,000 units, how much more can Elon sustain its Model S before the growth stops? If you use Warren Buffet's analysis, the company is yet to prove it is capable for a long run.

    I think Dan is concentrating more on $30,000 electric car than a standalone Model S competitor.

    Valid and nicely put Z, Warren Buffet's analysis model shows that Tesla is not a long term company unless they can deliver on the $30K car soon and then push even lower to get mass production flow.

    I suspect Tesla will be owned by someone else in the near future say next 5 years.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I don't think your timeline is accurate Ocn.... Electrics are coming faster than you think and like.

    Totally agree here, based on the 90 day turn on Software design, as we move to electronics with faster rewrite of the code, we will see gains and change come at a faster and faster pace. In some regards this will scare people at how fast auto's will change based on the auto industry moving to a more fluid model of design, testing and output.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    The Tesla Model S is in the high $60k range, will out perform a 550i, and can recharge in 30 minutes.

    The Roadster could walk away from an Audi R8 like it was standing still.

    A Volt can do 0 - 60 in the same time it takes a 2.5 powered Malibu and that is mostly software limited.

    I'd say we're a lot closer than you think.

    The Volt has a gas engine in it. The Volt is the electric car that admits electric isn't as good as gas. I am not against electric, I think a quiet car with instant torque that is cheap to run is a great idea. But electric cars won't begin the take over until there is a 0-60 in 7-8 seconds, 400 mile range quick charging car that costs about $25,000. Because there are a dozen mid-size sedans for $25,000 that can do that. The day the Volt costs the same as a Cruze is the day electrics begin the takeover.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I was speaking to the Volt's propulsion capabilities. The gas engine being there isn't a statement about electric cars, it is a statement about electric car recharging infrastructure. When charging facilities are even half as plentiful as gas stations, the need for an on-board regeneration capability becomes unnecessary.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites



    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • google-news-icon.png



  • google-news-icon.png

  • Subscribe to Cheers & Gears

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001 we've brought you real content and honest opinions, not AI-generated stuff with no feeling or opinions influenced by the manufacturers.

    Please consider subscribing. Subscriptions can be as little as $1.75 a month, and a paid subscription drops most ads.*
     

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • Argh.  This is a question I almost want to avoid. The A380 is incredible.  Yes, I had a roundtrip through AA on British.  They have a small economy section at the back, upstairs.  Then I flew a one way from Italy to New York-JFK on an Emirates "fifth freedom" flight segment.  They have economy taking the entire main level, with none upstairs. Economy seats are a little wider on the A380 ... definitely on Emirates, at least.  It was an outstanding flight because of that.  On British, I paid for an economy seat upstairs and the curvature of the exterior translates into windows that are too sloped and with an odd and bigger void in between the cabin and the exterior.  I will be sitting downstairs if there is a future flight on one. The 747-8 isn't as comfortable in economy because the seats are traditional economy width.  I feel more comfortable in one because I know it.  It's also much more photogenic all the way around.  You feel good when it pulls up to the gate and you see that beautiful and proportioned machine through the big glass windows. The humidification is good on both planes. It's really sad that no more passenger quadjets are being produced.  It's easier to get onto an A380 if Europe bound (British, Lufthansa, Emirates, and others via connections, with Air France holding back).  For a 747-8, Lufthansa is the only choice and I am grateful to them for that.
    • My car has a supposed 525 mile highway crusing range on a full tank (19.5 gallons).   I haven't fully tested that since I tend to fill up at 1/2 tank when on road trips..but I have recorded averages of 29.5 and 30 mpg on road trips, which is pretty good for a comfortable 4200lb AWD sedan..
    • @trinacriabob in your flying in recent years, have you had a trip on an A380?    If so, how does it compare to the larger Boeings? 
    • Right.  It's not the aircraft themselves, but the haste and sloppiness.  ("Haste makes waste.")  This 777 X is ambitious and the folding wingtips are novel.  They will be very late with delivering this plane.  I now like some Boeing and some Airbus.  It's a mix.  In the recent past, I took a ride on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and I definitely like it more than the Airbus 350 (even though the Airbus 350 has that photogenic curved winglets).  The cabin fatigue from flying is much reduced on the Dreamliner. Yesterday, I was on two domestic Boeing 737 Max 8 segments back to back on Southwest.  I like its newer features - ambient lighting, larger bins, a little quieter.  So, if it's working, it's a very nice rendition of the 737.  It's too bad that their newest version of this storied workhorse had to be tainted.  I get on and sigh.  If it keeps a clean track record going forward, people may be less weirded out as the statistics may become better. It is.  However, I'm not a fan of the leg design, which is also now popular on sofas.  The biggest turnoff for me in sofas - when I bought a sleeper for another room with the last stimulus money - was the amount of product that had nailheads all over the place.
  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online
  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search