Former Tesla employees who left to create their own EV brand Longbow share the 'critical' design change they made to help its battery range

Former Tesla employees who left to create their own EV brand, Longbow, share the ‘critical’ design change they made to help its battery range.

An EV challenger built by ex-Tesla talent says the real range hack is ruthless lightweighting.

In an interview with Supercar Blondie, the founders called it ‘speed of lightness’, and it shapes everything from parts to features.

With reservations capped and pricing targeted at about $110,000, the mission is driver first- always.

The ‘critical’ design change for battery range

Ask Longbow how it squeezed more miles from its sports car, and the answer lands fast: “Everyone, when it comes to EVs, is so focused on range and the issue is weight,” Jenny Keisu told us in an exclusive interview with Supercar Blondie.

The team’s mantra is ‘efficiency, efficiency, efficiency’, which means trimming mass before chasing bigger batteries.

“We’re car people… we want to build a car that people really want to drive,” design lead and co-founder Mark Tapscott said.

“And they want to drive it, not despite the fact that it’s electric, but in fact, because it’s electric.”

Co-founder Daniel Davey frames the whole plan as ‘speed of lightness’ with a mission to ‘change how the earth feels about sports cars’.

Davey’s own spark came years ago after a first drive in a Tesla Roadster in 2010, ‘that was the aha moment‘.

The proof for Longbow arrived two weeks ago.

“We drove the car ourselves for the first time… the proof’s in the pudding,” he said.

Keisu is blunt with reality – a new entry must win on desire and access.

“It needs to be better than anything on the market, and it needs to be affordable.”

Longbow says its Roadster target is about $110,000, with tight build numbers to protect rarity and create a tight-knit community called ‘The Guild’.

Former Tesla employees on the purpose of Longbow

The founders see a lane nobody has filled: “There are no two-seater electric sports cars… we have wide open green fields,” Davey said.

Rather than stack screens, infotainment and autonomy, they are doubling down on engagement.

‘Augment, not replace,’ as Davey put it.

Tapscott breaks the experience into three pillars: lightweighting, theatre, and beauty.

Even the name speaks to the bond between human and machine because ‘the bow is nothing without the archer’.

As Tapscott said, teasing touches like the gear shifter amplify the feel and excitement for the good old days of driving.

Featherweight, less fluff, but more feel – if Longbow delivers on that, the EV market domination is inevitable for these former Tesla employees.

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