Tesla Model S: More Concept Car Than Prototype

Much of our skepticism is based on the fact that the guts of the car have yet to be determined. Despite various reports that said Tesla was developing its own chassis, we got a much different story from Mike Donoughe, Tesla's Vice President of Engineering and Manufacturing. "We're still talking with a few manufacturers about using a preexisting architecture. It makes sense to save money in that area," Donoughe told us.

No big surprise there as developing a chassis from scratch takes huge amounts of time and money. That said, without a chassis in place, the rest of the car is pure speculation at this point. From the design to the performance to the range and cost, nothing can be determined for certain without knowing the exact specifications of the underlying structure.

Donoughe did tell us that it would likely be an aluminum-intensive chassis that would incorporate the best designs of current luxury sedans. Sounds plausible from a performance standpoint, but what about cost? There aren't many all aluminum sedans on the market right now for a reason - it's expensive. The Jaguar XJ starts at almost $66,000 while the cheapest Audi A8 is $74,000. Tesla says the Model S will have a base price of $57,400.

There are several other cost considerations as well. Tesla says the Model S will be built in a plant in Southern California - not exactly the epicenter of cheap land or labor. And take a look at the brakes, they're 15.9-inch slotted discs with six-piston monobloc Brembo calipers up front. Not exactly production looking parts.

And then there's the interior with its suede-covered dash, 17-inch touch screen monitor and panoramic sunroof. All cool stuff, but not the kind of equipment you find on a typical $60,000 luxury sedan.

Obviously, this isn't designed to be your typical luxury sedan, but that doesn't mean it can disregard cost in its quest to grab customers. With production not slated to begin until 2011, there's still time for Tesla to make huge strides toward making the Model S a reality. Just don't expect it to look just like this concept or perform like this concept for $57,400.