Kicking the tires on the Tesla Model S

Sometime back in the 1980s, famed investor Jimmy Rogers was listening to one of his young turks talk about the virtues of a certain stock -- a company that made tennis shoes.  After nearly ten minutes of watching slides on earnings momentum, corporate leverage, insider buying, and the like, Rogers asked, "are the shoes any good?"  Taken aback, the young turk, a Harvard MBA, told him, in so many words, that he didn't know, and it didn't really matter to his analysis.

"Well, if you ask me, it's going to matter quite a lot to the shareholders whether people like the shoes," Rogers told him.  "Here's 50 bucks" -- hey, I said, it was the 1980s.  "Go buy a pair of those shoes and see how you like 'em.  

In that spirit, we went out recently to see the latest Tesla (TSLA) models -- the all-electric car that some think will be the autos of the 21st Century.  To kick the tires, literally and figuratively, on the company as an investment. 

The models, which sell for around $100,000, are mostly for the highly affluent for the foreseeable future.  Furthermore, the cars now being ordered are for delivery in 2012.  

But looking ahead, these cars get better than 1,000 miles to a gallon of gas (given they don't use any); have a range of about 300 miles; don't pollute; and accelerate from 0 to 60 in about 5.6 seconds.  They're sleek, and attractive, as you can see in our video report on Tesla, here.

Are the cars any good on the road?  I can't report that yet, Mr. Rogers -- we just looked, couldn't do a test drive.  But there are at least two strong trends that should enable Tesla (or some other automaker) to ride the wave of socio-economic change:  1. Gas is expensive, and 2. A lot of people want to live a greener life.  

Factor #1 will help make electric cars somewhat less pricey compared to gas cars when one considers the whole lifespan of ownership and operation.  Especially as the company gets into mass production and prices come down.  

Factor #2 means Tesla (or some other auto maker) may have a decent market, at least among affluent consumers, in the short run...  a base of support to carry the company through its early years and the transition to realizing its potential -- as a pioneer of "the cars of the 21st Century."

Ownership disclosure:  At the time this product was published or posted, Damon Vickers & Co. owned Tesla Motors (TSLA) and was  “long” its common stock.