When we first looked at TREXA's open-source electric vehicle development platform late last month we were impressed by the concept, but one big question remained - how much will it cost? The answer has come sooner than expected with TREXA announcing a base price of US$15,999 for the lithium-powered, modular platform which is designed to facilitate the creation of custom "vehicle apps".
“The only way to reduce cost of electric drive technology is through competition and innovation," says TREXA’s CEO, Seth Seaberg. If we are to make a real difference, there must be a groundswell of hundreds, even thousands of new companies competing to develop the clean transportation solutions of tomorrow. We believe that it’s time we put the automotive industry back into the hands of the people, by offering them a cost-effective, well-supported vehicle platform to design and build for.”
While we now know the base price, the "unlimited design possibilities" promised by the platform of course means that pricing will vary depending on the components required. TREXA says it will release more detailed pricing options later this year.
I think this (TREXA..shouldn\'t it be Trexa) idea is cool, we readers should have a forum on what would a car look like if it weren\'t influenced by the presence of an engine and drivetrain. Certain elements of a car are functional and are incorporated stylishly by automotive designers. If those elements are no longer needed what would we get?
On the other hand, there is a lot that goes into vehicle safety here in the US. It would almost make sense to include the occupant cabin and rollover protection as part of the base Trexa in hopes of not needing separate crash tests for each vehicle design.
Final thought, when will this be open source? I would love to design something for this. I\'ve forwarded my question to TREXA... will post the response here.