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The Tesla Motorcycle: Why This Is Never Happening

A motorcycle is something Tesla will never build - here's why.
The Tesla Motorcycle: Why This Is Never Happening

Tesla Motorcycle: Not Happening

Tesla is never going to make a motorcycle. They are far too dangerous for Tesla and its mission of safe and sustainable Energy vehicles. This is both a good and bad thing. If you're looking to buy a motorcycle from Tesla sometime in the future, unfortunately, you are out of luck. However, an EV motorcycle from another company may be an option.

Let's explore what would happen if Tesla were to build a motorcycle and how much it would cost, along with weight, battery range, and more. We'll also look at a few current EV motorcycles to see if there are any good options available. Lastly, we'll look at the worldwide market for motorcycles to see if anyone should take advantage of this market.

Tesla Building a Motorcycle

Even though Tesla will never build a motorcycle, here's what I think it would look like if they did. The average motorcycle weigh between 300 and 500 pounds. A variety of factors can affect the weight, but let's start with this. A motorcycle also has two wheels.

Right away, I am looking for an aero-dynamic, very efficient motorcycle. I'm looking for a motorcycle that has a 10 kWh battery pack. I'm looking for a motorcycle that can get at least 6 miles per kWh - 10 is ideal. That gives it 60 to 100 miles of range.

That doesn't seem like much at all, however, we need to look at the cost of this motorcycle and areas of the world that can use it. We can use around $130 as a cost per kWh and that gives us a $1,300 battery. Would Tesla be happy with a 60 to 100-mile range? Probably not.

Let's use a 20 kWh battery that is structurally built into the motorcycle. That would give it 120 to 200 miles of range. That's still pretty low. The cost to build this would be around $4,000, including the battery for the 60 to 120-mile range version and $5,300 or more for the 120 to 200-mile range version. I think Tesla would want a 200-mile range version or more. These are just estimates, and a motorcycle in the U.S. would be different from one made in other countries around the world.

For instance, a motorcycle in India would cost around $400 to $1,300 based on the information I've seen online and therefore, it would not really be feasible to build an electric motorcycle there due to the cost of the battery. Unless you built it in such a way that it got 10 miles or more per kWh and had a small battery pack, around 5 kWh. 50 miles of range, and it could be charged regularly if someone needed it for a daily commute.

The target market for such a bike for most people in the world would be someone needing a cheap form of transport. I don't see Tesla making anything cheap, as everything is geared toward infotainment and autonomy. But, another company could make one that is very reliable, and has 0 emissions.

If Tesla has no choice and made a motorcycle, I see them making a $5,000 to $10,000 or more motorcycle that gets 120 miles or more of range - closer to 200 or more if possible, and has great performance and functionality with a few cameras and systems to alert the driver of anything wrong. It would have a center screen on the front.

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What EV Motorcycles Are Available?

What are some of the available electric motorcycles today?

* Harley-Davidson LiveWire - Price: $29,799 - Range: Up to 146 miles (235 km)
* Zero SR/S - Price: $21,995 - Range: Up to 161 miles (259 km)
* Energica Eva Ribelle - Price: $23,490 - Range: Up to 143 miles (230 km)
* Lightning Strike Carbon Edition - Price: $20,000 - Range: Up to 120 miles (193 km)
* Cake Kalk OR - Price: $14,000 - Range: Up to 3 hours (mixed riding)
* Damon Hypersport HS - Price: $24,995 - Range: Up to 200 miles (322 km)
* Arc Vector - Price: $117,000 - Range: Up to 270 miles (434 km)
* Tarform Luna - Price: $24,000 - Range: Up to 120 miles (193 km)
* Johammer J1 - Price: $31,250 - Range: Up to 124 miles (200 km)
* Vespa Elettrica - Price: $7,499 - Range: Up to 62 miles (100 km)

Here are 5 cheaper electric motorcycles with estimate range and price:

* NIU NQiGT - Price: $3,599 - This is a compact and lightweight electric scooter with a range of up to 50 miles (80 km) and a top speed of 28 mph (45 km/h).
* Super Soco TSx - Price: $3,999 - This is a stylish and versatile electric motorcycle with a range of up to 40 miles (64 km) and a top speed of 45 mph (72 km/h).
* SUR-RON X - Price: $3,999 - This is a dirt bike style electric motorcycle with a range of up to 50 miles (80 km) and a top speed of 45 mph (72 km/h).
* Evoke Urban S - Price: $5,299 - This is a sleek and modern electric motorcycle with a range of up to 124 miles (200 km) and a top speed of 80 mph (129 km/h).
* CSC City Slicker - Price: $2,495 - This is a lightweight and affordable electric motorcycle with a range of up to 35 miles (56 km) and a top speed of 46 mph (74 km/h).

As you can see from this list, there isn't any motorcycle with a long range, except the Zero SR/S or the very expensive Arc Vector at over $100,000. Creating a motorcycle that has 60 miles of range for $5,000 or less looks like a daunting task, and only the Evoke Urban S gets there. It is originally made in China and has around a 9.7 kWh battery pack. The U.S. version costs around $9,500.

There are about 550,000 motorcycles sold in the U.S. each year and worldwide, this number reaches north of 50 million units as people in countries that look for a cheaper mode of transportation buy them.

Furthermore, the average selling price of a motorcycle ranges from $4,000 to $20,000. A cheap used motorcycle could be bought for a few hundred dollars, and the finest new motorcycle costs up to $60,000 or more.

There is an opportunity if someone can get more range out of a motorcycle than all the others and bring the cost down to have a large market. I know there are several designs for single passenger EVs that are being made, and I think a motorcycle is part of this market. They are just very unsafe, however.

Would you get an electric motorcycle?

In Related News: Tesla's 3-Part Ecosystem

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Jeremy Johnson is a Tesla investor and supporter. He first invested in Tesla in 2017 after years of following Elon Musk and admiring his work ethic and intelligence. Since then, he's become a Tesla bull, covering anything about Tesla he can find, while also dabbling in other electric vehicle companies. Jeremy covers Tesla developments at Torque News. You can follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow his Tesla news coverage on Torque News.

Image Credit, Stable Diffusion, Screenshot

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