The new Chinese e-cars, with their comic book names and Crazy Eddie prices, might be whisking Foxconn executives through the streets of Shenzhen by then.John Voelcker, editor of Green Car ReportsEngineers and marketing people don’t understand what it takes to build a car company from scratch and make it last.
William Hughes. But those looking to crib from Musk are aided by the fact Tesla made much of the technology underpinning the sedan open-source. Kotaku. We've seen knockoff Porsches, Land Rovers, Teslas and … After all, it’s one thing to sell 50,000 cars a year to rich people.
Until then, Youxia is now accepting Thunder Power pre-orders in “Pikachu Yellow” or “Transformer Red.”One thing Mr. Musk probably didn’t envision was that a handful of Asian startups, backed by serious money and talent, would answer his challenge and start making counterfeit Teslas.Le* Car’s specs and cost are still anyone's guess (the company says pricing will be “very competitive”), but we know the motor, inverter, and battery technology are being developed in-house.Thunder Power says it's testing a working prototype in Milan, and plans to launch the vehicle in Europe by the end of 2017, with a rollout in the Chinese market scheduled for the following year, for $62,730. The last guy to do it was Walter P. Chrysler in 1924. Chinese automakers have a pretty strong track record of, let's be honest, totally copying other automakers' designs. If the Youxia engineers can actually deliver these numbers, the performance will be more than adequate. We’re happy to see Model S and Tesla's business model used as benchmarks for improvement. It's of course modeled after the Tesla Model S, although according to Chinese media Youxia X is targeted at the Tesla Model 3 area. In a statement, a spokesperson said, "China has shown a commitment to sustainable transportation, and Tesla is committed to helping in those efforts. Tesla's Latest Chinese Competitor Takes Screens to an Extreme. All rights reserved.Silent acceleration can be a buzzkill, but don’t worry. Speaking at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit last year, Musk explained the logic behind sharing his bulging patent portfolio with the rest of the auto industry. “I hope they do. We’ll try to be as helpful as we can.”Musk is eager to expand in China, but may well fall victim to the clone war.To temper its elitist image and lure more consumers, Tesla promises to launch the smaller, more affordable Model III in 2017. If only Youxia Motors will be able to deliver and will get incentives as a Chinese manufacturer, Youxia X could turn int a real thing.Expected price will be from 200.000 to 300.000 yuan (including 90.000 yuan green-car subsidy in China). Powered by Panasonic cells, the asynchronous electric motor will generate 348 horsepower, which translates to 0-62 mph in 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 140 mph. Choose from the new Ferrari 488 GTB, the Ferrari LaFerrari hypercar, or the Jaguar F-Type.One thing Musk probably didn’t envision was that a handful of Asian startups, backed by serious money and talent, would answer his challenge and start making counterfeit Teslas. The new electric car concept is heavy on flash, but has substance under the skin. Youxia X is planed for production in late 2016 with first deliveries in early 2017.It's of course modeled after the Tesla Model S, although according to Chinese media Youxia X is targeted at the Tesla Model 3 area.Motor peak power stands at 348 hp and 440 Nm of torque. And demand for EVs is mounting.
Tesla's at a disadvantage there, because its cars are subjected to high taxes in China and aren't granted the same tax breaks awarded to home-grown EVs.In addition to the hidden door handles and the obligatory 17-inch console touchscreen (“It’s all so science fiction!” reads the ad copy), the Ranger X comes with Tesla-like specs.