Autoline #1309: Fork in the Road

Fork in the Road It's one thing to sing about electric cars like Neil Young is doing on his new concept album (Fork in the Road), it's another to actually design, build and sell them like Tesla motors is doing. Started from scratch six years ago, this small California startup is producing one of the few road-ready electric car currently available to the public -- its luxury two-seater roadster. That car will soon be joined by not only a sport version roadster but also a new more affordable sedan called the model S. This week on Autoline Detroit meet the team behind Tesla. During January’s North American International Auto Show John McElroy sat down with the braintrust of this electric car company to find out what it was like to create a car company, especially one with such a specialized and dare we say "expensive" product. Joining John from the Tesla stand at N.A.I.A.S. are Chairman & CEO Elon Musk, Executive Vice President and former Chrysler honcho Mike Donoughe, Senior VP of Global Sales/Marketing Michael van der Sande, as well as Chief Designer -- by way of GM & Mazda -- Franz von Holzhausen. Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla’s VP of Business Development joins John on Autoline Extra. Meanwhile, for an insider's tour of Tesla’s Northern California campus including its headquarters, sales showroom as well as the final assembly point of its luxury roadster, join Isaac Bouchard on Autoline Extra as he reports from Menlo Park, California.