Last summer, roughly 300 Tesla owners and enthusiasts packed a Milpitas hotel for TESLIVE, the first ever Tesla users conference. This was the now infamous event where CEO Elon Musk drank wine while answering questions from the Tesla faithful, some of who flew in from Hong Kong and Japan for the event.
This year, the gathering—to be held at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey July 18-20, is called TMC Connect. The event is being organized by the Tesla Motors Club, a volunteer-run organization that is independent of Tesla Motors and is wildly popular among early adopters of the Roadster and Model S. The Tesla Motors Club was founded in 2006 as the first independent online Tesla community; its heavily-used forum is a deep well of information about the company, its cars and musings about what the future holds.
Our keynote speaker is Diarmuid O Connell, Tesla s vice president of business development, said Doug King, a Mountain View resident who got involved in TMC in its early days and is one of the main organizers of this year s conference. Diarmuid can talk about the autodealers, the gigafactory, the patent stuff.
A group of Tesla owners are leaving Newark, Delaware on July 12 and driving across the country to attend the conference in Monterey. At least a dozen vehicles are expected to make the trip, with more likely to join along the route; a private BBQ will be held at the home of one California Roadster owner the night before the conference. You can get updates on the 3,605-mile road trip here.
