"From Elon Musk - the guy who brought the world a branded flamethrower - it somehow tracks that Tesla is now making pickleball paddles. The EV company launched its latest lifestyle product on Friday: a $350 pickleball paddle created in partnership with Selkirk, a sports equipment company. The paddle, made of carbon fiber with a foam core, was "optimized for high-performance play," according to the product page."
""This wasn't simply a branding exercise. It was a true engineering collaboration," Selkirk's co-owner and director of research and development, Tom Barnes, said in a statement about the release. "Tesla's design group and our R&D team spent more than a year trading data, refining geometry, and stress-testing prototypes." A Selkirk spokesperson told Business Insider that the paddle's creation was first conceptualized after a conversation at the 2023 USA Pickleball National Championships between Barnes and members of Tesla's engineering team."
"After Barnes delivered a custom batch of Tesla-themed paddles to the EV-maker's staff, Selkirk leaders visited the Tesla factory in Fremont, California. While there, they connected with Javier Verdura, Tesla's global director of product design, who is an avid pickleball player, and began the design process. Prototypes were sent to Tesla for aerodynamics testing before the design was finalized."
Tesla launched a limited-run $350 pickleball paddle produced in partnership with Selkirk, constructed from carbon fiber with a foam core and optimized for high-performance play. Selkirk and Tesla design teams collaborated for over a year, trading data, refining geometry, and stress-testing prototypes. The project began after conversations at the 2023 USA Pickleball National Championships and included visits to Tesla's Fremont factory and aerodynamics testing of prototypes. The initial batch sold out on Tesla's website in under three hours, and plans for a restock remain unclear amid a surge in pickleball's popularity and common sub-$100 equipment pricing.
Read at Business Insider
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