Tesla Chairman Elon Musk recently told Fox Business Network [via just-auto.com, sub] that the EV startup has inked a deal with Daimler. With its Roadster safely at "good-enough" status (says them), the California firm is turning its attention to its planned WhiteStar sedan. With full-EV and serial hybrid versions of WhiteStar planned, Tesla needs some help with the various technical elements– such as an internal combustion engine. "We have a deal right now with Daimler," boasts Musk. But like much of Tesla's efforts (transmission, batteries, deliveries), the details haven't quite been ironed-out. "[The deal is] still in the early stages," Musk admits. "We have a small deal that could potentially lead to a very big deal." Autoblog speculates that WhiteStar's serial-hybrid ICE could use a Daimler-sourced SMART three-banger. But just as there are no Roadsters available for delivery at Tesla dealerships (or anywhere else), there's no firm info on this hook-up, including its actual existence.
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Trailer queen joke, anyone ?
Now that the roadster is seen everywhere, it’s off to the next project. Oh, wait, the roadster is’nt straightened out yet, is it?
When I go to LA, I always scale the information people provide me back a couple orders of magnitude. For example, when someone says, “I’m the lead in this blockbuster movie that just came out” I interpret that to mean, ‘I’m an extra in a student film that is on youtube.’ I use the same filter for Tesla press releases.
Tell the Daimler people to not pay cash.
Can Elon Musk see me frantically waiving him off? NO! Elon! Wave off man, wave off!!!! Mercedes will suck the life force out of your company (if you have any) and then blame you when the arrangment goes south. They are German, after all, they know more than you.
Didn’t Diamler learn their lesson with Chrysler.
Video here.
Tesla’s “deal” could be that they went to the nearest Smart dealership and ordered a few replacement engines to experiment with.
“We have a small deal that could potentially lead to a very big deal.””
Another Elon Musk “you couldn’t make this stuff up” quote.
The Daimler-sourced turbo three banger in the Smart is history since 2007, it has been replaced by a cheaper, less efficient Mitsubishi three-banger. (Except for the diesel, which is still a Daimler engine)
Which is a shame, because the Daimler three-banger was a fantastic engine.