Erik Nordeus - The Engineer

A friend of a friend called von Holzhausen and told him he should consider working for Tesla. Von Holzhausen had earlier read about Tesla and he thought their solution was too complicated. But it turned out von Holzhausen planned to leave his current job because he had become sick of Mazda’s priorities. “We had just come off a car that was all about being green in the racing environment,” he said. “We had done a lot of work with sustainable materials. We were the only ones to have non-vinyl interiors in the industry, but the company was not really embracing it.” 240

Because von Holzhausen wasn’t happy at Mazda, he decided to meet Elon. “I came up to Tesla and did a tour of the facilities and we talked about opportunities,” he said. “Here was a company that was putting all its marbles behind what it believed in. Until that time I had worked for companies that talked a good line, but their core values were in a different direction.” Elon gave von Holzhausen an offer he couldn’t refuse. If he joined Tesla, Elon would give him the opportunity to design a new car from a clean sheet. It’s a dream job for all designers, so von Holzhausen accepted the offer and became Tesla’s chief designer. 240

Elon told von Holzhausen he wanted a four-door sedan that seated seven together with their luggage. “That’s an SUV, not a sedan,” von Holzhausen replied. 210Elon told him he wanted to redefine the sedan concept and he also needed a car with a capacity to carry himself, his wife, and his five children. So von Holzhausen set out on the mission to design Model S together with a team of designers. “We immediately began building the design team, which eventually grew to eleven people,” von Holzhausen said. “We worked grueling hours, fueled by countless take-out dinners, lunches and breakfasts, not to mention ample caffeine and snacks in the SpaceX cafeteria.” 274

Before Eberhard co-founded Tesla, he wondered why no one could build an electric car with the same performance and design as one powered by gasoline. “When I looked at so many electric cars out there, it seemed to be that they were built by people who considering driving a necessary evil,” Eberhard said. “You really shouldn’t drive. You should walk or take a bike or ride the bus. And if you must drive then a little glorified golf cart would be fine.” 200

Nor von Holzhausen understood why an electric car couldn’t look like a gasoline car. “What we set out to do for the Model S was to be the cornerstone of the brand, to identify the building blocks,” von Holzhausen said. “The Model S does not look like a science project, you will be comfortable parking it next to a brand with 100 years of experience.” 239

To design Model S, Tesla interacted with the early customers, they spent a lot of time at the stores, and they developed a short feedback loop. Concerns, ideas, and issues were constantly evaluated. “The hardest thing to do with a blue-sky project like this is to contain yourself. It is easy to overshoot,” von Holzhausen said. “The Karma [Fisker Automotive’s car] is a great example of that.” 239

Designing an electric car is different compared with designing a gasoline car. The advantage with the car powered by electricity is that the designer has much more space to work with. In the Model S, von Holzhausen realized almost everything above the wheels would be free to mold. The small electric motor didn’t use much space, and the batteries formed the bottom of the car. Because of all free space, von Holzhausen could live up to Elon’s demands. Seven people could sit in the car, including two small children in the trunk. With seven people in the car, it’s still possible to have luggage in the front trunk, or the “frunk” as Tesla calls the front trunk. 51

Another aspect the designer of an electric car has to consider is to optimize the design to lower the wind noise. The wind noise in a gasoline car is not audible because of the noise from the engine, but an electric car is silent. Some drivers are not used to the silence, so engineers have suggested adding a fake gasoline engine sound. “Some people are going to miss the sound of a roaring engine, just like people used to miss the sound of horse hooves clippity-clopping down the street,” Eberhard said. 272But some drivers enjoy the silence. “I opened the sun roof, rolled down the windows, and I pulled out,” one electric car driver said. “It was like a magic carpet. You hear people laughing, talking, and you’re interacting with the city.” 381

As when Tesla designed the Roadster, Elon could suggest materials and techniques from SpaceX to improve Model S. “In the rocket business, we are used to dealing with very light weight materials, so a lot of advanced aluminum, advanced joining techniques, new types of welding and bonding and that kind of thing,” Elon said. “We employed that also in the Model S. The body and chassis is all in aluminum, which is rare. Most cars is steel and maybe a little bit of aluminum.” 449

Elon and Steve Jobs share the same eye for design. Once, Elon brought in several competing cars so they could compare them with the Roadster and the Model S. Because of the comparison, you could hear the following comments from Elon:

“…the screws on the hinges feel like knives stabbing me in the eye.”

“…find the best visor in the world, and then make a better one.”

“…that’s like a midget cave. It’s good to get a sense for just how bad the other cars are.” 51

But Elon has been described as nicer than Jobs and a bit more refined than Bill Gates. 51Elon actually tried to talk to Jobs when they attended the same party. Larry Page, who lived three blocks away from Jobs, introduced Elon to Jobs. But Jobs was super-rude to Elon. Despite the rudeness, Elon is still a fan. “He was an incredible guy and made fantastic products, and there was a certain magic about him that was really inspiring,” he said. “I think Steve Jobs is way cooler than I am.” 363

The original plan was that Model S wouldn’t be a true electric car. “We were looking closely at doing a plug-in hybrid at Tesla and for a brief period the Model S was gonna be a plug-in hybrid,” Elon said. “But as we drew deeper and deeper into the design, we concluded that we could not make a compelling hybrid. We just didn’t like what we came up with. The market will decide whether we were right or wrong.” 435

Due to the electric engine and the material, the Model S got a better acceleration compared with a sports car. A favorite prank at Tesla is to invite a prospective customer and ask the unsuspecting passenger to turn on the radio. At the precise moment as the passenger leans forward towards the control panel, they accelerate. Because of the fast acceleration, the passenger can’t lean forward enough to reach the radio.

Model S got a large touch-screen between the driver and the front passenger seat. The 17” screen looks like an iPad. “It is a leap forward, you need no knobs,” von Holzhausen said. “Before we launched we were a little unsure if some would miss the old world. Customers love the screen; it’s amazing how fast they become totally comfortable with it.” 239

But even the best designer makes mistakes. The Tesla team decided not to install reading-lights in the backseat. They didn’t think people would read traditional books – they thought people would read on e-book readers that doesn’t need an external light source. Once, when Elon drove his Model S with his kids in the backseat, one of them decided to read a book. But he couldn’t find a light, so he said, “This is the stupidest car in the world.” Elon, who always seek out negative feedback, decided to install reading-lights in the backseat. 419

Building a car is similar to building computer software. “There are a couple of key milestones,” Elon said. “You’ve got the alpha phase, the beta phase, the release candidate, and then finally you are in production. The beta vehicles will be almost indistinguishable from the final production designs.” 441In March 2009, Tesla completed the Model S prototype (the alpha phase) an unveiled it in front of hundreds of people in the SpaceX factory. A proud von Holzhausen pulled the silver sheet off the car, and it sparkled under the white spotlights. “You’ll see that this isn’t some show car that doesn’t do what it says it’ll do. It’ll go fast with a lot of people in it,” Elon told the crowd.