Tesla snares Mazda's star designer

It's been a busy week for Tesla Motors, everyone's favorite upstart-electric-carmaker-slash-green-icon- slash-venture-world heroes.

On Monday, Tesla announced it had hired a former Ford Motor Co. exec as its new chief financial officer. The new CFO, Deepak Ahuja, comes to the San Carlos, Calif., company via Ford's small-vehicle development program, and before that Ford Southern Africa.

Now Tesla is confirming that it has hired Mazda's Franz von Holzhausen, widely regarded as one of the most-influential and well-regarded young designers in the industry, to head its design operations. The electric carmaker has yet to officially announce details of the hire, but it is without doubt a coup for the start-up, which began taking delivery of its first completed, all-electric, $100,000 Roadsters in April.

Von Holzhausen, Mazda's North American director of design, has been at the Japanese automaker since 2005 and is credited with developing the carmaker's current "design language," which is industry jargon for the collection of styles and physical characteristics associated with a particular brand or series of vehicles. His language is called Nagare and can be seen in cars like this (pictured with Von Holzhausen):

 
Now he'll be coming to Tesla, presumably, to work on the company's hotly anticipated Model S (formerly known as the WhiteStar) sedan and the even-further-down-the-road compact car known as the BlueStar. Early speculation as to whether Von Holzhausen, who is based in Los Angeles, will open a Tesla design studio in the Southland has not been confirmed by Tesla.

The Dutch designer also worked at Volkswagen and General Motors Corp., where he was involved in the design of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky.

Wagging tongues were quick to point out that Von Holzhausen is not Tesla's first A-list designer hire. Until last year, Tesla had contracted former BMW and Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker to help create future models.

Ominously, that relationship ended poorly, with Tesla suing Fisker for allegedly stealing trade secrets that helped him develop his plug-in hybrid, called the Karma. That case is still pending.

-- Ken Bensinger

Photos: Tesla Roadster by Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times; Mazda Furai concept car with designer Franz von Holzhausen at the New York International Auto Show by Mazda; Franz von Holzhausen at Los Angeles Auto Show by Kirk McKoy, Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Arye Michael Bender]

No doubt your namesake, Nikola, would smile. Should I come by an extra $100,000 - you can bet a Tesla would be my first choice purchase.

Go Tesla.

[kerry bradshaw]

I love reflecting on how impotent automakers such as Tesla really are. Obama is dreamingof 1 miilion plug-ins by 2015. I laugh at how gullible the media and public are and how complete is their ignorance. 1 million plug-ins , even if they use no gasoline at all, and even if the fleet doesn't expand by at least 1 million gas powered cars by the time they arrive, will have zero effect on crude demand. The fact that the media didn't even realize this tells me just why this country's citizens are so damn dumb : the media is even dumber. Do the simple math ( "57 state" Obama's math is as bad as his geography)
and you'll see that 1 million cars is less than 1/2 of 1 percent of the private transportation fleet of over 220 million vehicles, which use about half the crude. That results in a reduction of crude demand of less than 1/4th of 1 percent, even if the fleet doesn't expand and the plug-ins use no gasoline whatsoever. Obama, simple, simple Obama.

[elvis christ]

Wow, Kerry. Turning an article about a car company hiring a new designer into an anti-Obama rant takes a special skill - or obsession. Maybe we could harness some of your vitriol to solve our energy problems.

[another dummy]

@kerry bradshaw

Why do you have to throw logic and sense into this? Just because you can do math, and the presidential candidates cannot, does not mean you are better than they are. Sheesh! And yes, Tesla is big on hype and little on impact. It is a freakin' Lotus with a battery pack. Much less of a big deal than most people want to admit.

[H]

Remember the first cell phones? Remember the huge Motorola expensive ridiculous brick of a cell phone? Remember the IBM PC that cost $6000 and had 128K of RAM and ran at 4kHz? Well the Tesla is the auto version. It's a expensive ridiculous brick, it's the 4kHz computer, but it's the start of a revolution.

[plurper]

KB: "That results in a reduction of crude demand of less than 1/4th of 1 percent, even if the fleet doesn't expand and the plug-ins use no gasoline whatsoever. Obama, simple, simple Obama."

So... Don't do it? Why bother? So let the air out of your tires, never change the plugs, and keep a few bags of sand in the trunk in case of ice. Sheesh. A program of ruthless inspection of older vehicles, like in Japan, might be a start.

[Roberto Minadeo]

Well, everybody it´s trying to make something to make the world less dependent on oil. Of course, Tesla´s success will be good for the auto industry.

But we can´t forget that Brazil pioneered this effort with the ethanol program in the 70´s, and nowadays with flexfuel´s technology, with millions of cars than can road with any kind of proportion gaso-ethanol. This second initiave is being adopted in various countries, and our ethanol and our technology to produce it are also being exported to some countries.

Prof. Dr. Roberto Minadeo

[Jack]

Guys - if there isn't any gasoline available and you have to get somewhere but there's plenty of electricity available you'll be glad you had a Tesla or an electric motorcycle to get you there - and that day is coming because the 600 million new drivers in China and India are going to make it so (coupled with our wonderful trade deficit of course).

[hey kerry]

i guess you dont understand halo effect or genre defining. i guess ford GT-40's dont help ford sell ford focus vehicles either. oh, and if it doesnt force everyone to change their 50+ year old transportation options overnight, they should just quit. bet you dont accomplish much in life, either.

[pkc]

HELLO Kerry Bradshaw,
Your state of mine is what actually the US auto makers have: If it ain't broke, then why fix it!!!
That's why the Japanese is ahead with the fuel efficient cars. The US got stuck in the bigger and better mode. Instead of doing math, go read some current news. Since the gas price spikes over $4/gal, the demand of gas is lower. People is starting to adjust by driving less or buying smaller cars. Yes, the falling crude price is contributed by many factors which including contract expiration and short selling, but the basic economics of supply/demand still play part of the reason.

[mike]

You can tell from the comment posters which people know how product development and engineering work in the real world.

Tesla is more proof that if you want a revolution, look to technology venture capital. Nobody else will do it - in fact they'll laugh at you for throwing away millions.

After all, this "internet" stuff is just a fad, right?

[Michele]

Ironic when a former designer leaves Tesla, builds a new vehicle and calls it "Karma". Hummm...

All of this electric vehicle talk when our friends at So Cal Edison announced that they are raising electricity bills by what 30%? Doesn't sound like electric vehicles are the answer. Gas hikes, Electric hikes... drive less, drive smart and adjust because it is what it is. Pressuring the automotive industry to develop new vehicles right now isn't feasible, anyone read automotive news? The money isn't there. I want to see our government flip the bill for the R&D costs if that is what they want to see.

[James Anderson Merritt]

Just because electricity rates may be rising. that is not a reason to reject electric cars. First, much of the rise in rates reflects inflation, which ultimately forces all prices to rise. The key is to look at the price relationship between electricity and gasoline or oil, and then to understand how much gasoline is needed to travel a particular distance, vs. how much electricity.

If your car gets 20 miles to the gallon, and gas is $4.15 (as it was at a pump in my california town yesterday), then you are paying about 21 cents a mile for fuel. If you are an "electricity hog" in my town, you will pay on the order of 21 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity. That kilowatt can propel a car like Tesla's for between 4 or 5 miles under normal city/highway driving conditions. So the rate for electricity would have to increase by four or five times before it would cost as much to drive an electric vehicle as a gasoline-powered one. EVs still seem like a pretty good deal, even if electricity rates double or triple, but that's assuming the price of gas doesn't go up, which it will also do to reflect the effects of inflation.

You could drive a more efficient gasoline-based vehicle, of course, but people can also get cheaper kilowatt-hours, too. In general, I think the substantial cost-per-mile advantage of electricity over gasoline holds under a wide variety of circumstances.

[jeffhre]

Michele wrote ...Pressuring the automotive industry to develop new vehicles right now isn't feasible, anyone read automotive news?

Most of the major makes have plug in hybrids or full electrics scheduled for 2010 through 2012 introduction, eg. Chevy Volt. Ford had stated it would take 5 years to put a plug in hybrid into production although their engineers have been seen driving a plug in escape prototype for at least the last six months. What auto news has missed these developments.

[PH]

Impressive looking vehicle...impressive performance...showing it can be done-impressive...price aprx. $109k-not impressive. A lot of money will be made but not by reaching the masses. Most can not afford even $20k much less $109k. Everyone would want one if it could be made for $10k or less and a profit still made. Right now 1100 or 1200 orders(even if 20,000 orders)- impressive. But think of 100million orders because its affordable-NOW THATS IMPRESSIVE.

[Dan]

Tesla has stated from the beginning that their intention was to make their first model a flagship car with high performance and a simarly high price, while still being a better deal than simalarly performing and equiped sports cars. The Roadster is meant to set the tone for the brand, and with a reasonable profit margin, generate the capital to fund future developement in the cars most of us will be driving a few years down the road. It's a reasonable, and historicaly defensable startegy. Most of the technology we use in our everyday lives started as something few could afford. The wealthy pay the premiums that generate the revenue to pay for manufacturing capabilities that bring prices down, quality up, and so forth, till there's one in every home.

And KB's position is laughable. As is the statements of anyone who puts forth that lack of impact on overall oil consumption, or moving oil consumption from the car tank to the electric companies is a reason to not pursue this kind of technology. No frsh startup with instantly have market saturation from day one. Judging their environmental imact based on their initial ramp up to production is foolish. And as for moving the oil from the tank to the electric plants that generate the electricity... Not the fault of the car manufacturer. If they make a car that runs on clean electrical fuel, their job is done. If there is now a problem with how the electricity is generated, that's a new problem to be dealt with in a seperate way. Don't like how the electricity is being generated? Install solar panels on your home. It's even a package you can buy with the Tesla. Think that oil, gas or coal fired electric plants are too dirty? Me too. Buy your electricity from cleaner generated sources wherever possible. Make a big enough business case for it that outdated fuel ran powerplants don't have a customer base large enough to compete with wind farmed, solar farmed, geothermal generated or any other kind of renewable sourced energy generation. Once the electric car is made, it's not the weak link in the green chain anymore. Wherever the pollution moved to is the new weak link and the new industry deserving on scrutiny.

Congrats Tesla. If I don't see you in the showroom for your second model, I'll definately see you for the the third.

[Brian H]

Dan makes lots of sense.

My hope for the generation side is that within 5-8 years, Lawrenceville Plasma Physics ( tinyurl.com/5dp77d ) will be making its first production-model Focus Fusion plants. If all continues to go well, they will cost $250,000 per 5MW unit, and output power at 0.2¢/kwh. Fuel is readily available boron.

[Stan Risdon]

If plug-ins, and electric cars in general, result in any "drop" in crude demand, it will represent a sea change in the underlying assumptions of the oil futures market. It will also change the direction of automakers long term planning.

Yes, the Tesla is a Lotus with an electric engine. But Colin Chapman proved years ago that power-to-weight, and design changes could still dramatically raise milage standards via the reciprocating engine. Remember, 80% of gas power is wasted.

At some point "expensive" off shore drilling and oil shale will drop by the way as OPEC pushes production to maintain share.

[Bruce Allen]

Kerry has a point here that we aren't perceiving. The question is will these and others like it be affordable when gas hits the breaking point of 6.50 per gallon? There is going to be economic destruction, it's too late to do anything about that, we've pulled our puds too long on it. I'm all for the tesla but as a collective we don't have the motivation to make all this happen fast enough. We've all waited until the last second, until nobody could afford to buy gas to agree that BEV's are the way to go and hydrogen is a joke.

The average american, about 250 million of them, are about to get an economic lashing that they will never forget. There is a price to pay for being ignorant for so long. We'll just have to wait to see how bad the lashing is. You'll likely see an america that is in the process of going clean and sensible as well as certain areas looking like the former soviet union. We'll see.

[Gordon Aymar]

Hat's off to Telsa! Someone has to start thinking about the future and Telsa should be commended for starting a revolution that surely other car manufacturers will follow. The competition for the EV space will improve the technology and bring down the cost of production. A great decision made by Telsa going for the high end model first to prove performance superiority over current highend sports cars. Within 5 years we will see EV products that will be not much more costly than the Hybrids we see today.

As far as energy and green technology goes. EV vehicles are only a small part of reducing our worlds carbon footprint. We will need technology advancements in solar, wind, geothermal, gas, nuclear and hydrogen technologies. No one source of energy will ever dominate the world market. I see big oil buying and investing in green technology companies as they slowly see their business squeezed.

[Luca del Carlo]

The major automotive companies are behaving like typewriter companies back when Steve Jobs was pioneering a revolution in his garage. Big Auto faces becoming Smith Corona.

[MaryR]

If Quincy Jones the musical chief is giving this car brand the thumbs up then count me in!
It is important to focus on the positive these are the champions who are bringing the power of the Electric car to the front.This is a beautiful time in our history in so many ways please strive to look at all the good advancments and find a way to see through the turbulance of our era. ThankYou

[Scott M Williams]

As a current Mazda 3 (white 5-door) owner, and a big fan of the styling direction of Mazda, this warms my heart. After all, I have a goal to be in a Tesla showroom to purchase their sedan. I've always wondered what it would look like, however. I have much more confidence now.