Chinese Conglomerate LeEco Wants To Give Away Its 'Tesla Killer' Electric Supercar For Free (ndtv.com)

 In Southern California Tesla Model "S" cars are starting to show up everywhere.

Soon enough there will be some stiff competition in the electric car field it would appear...

At an event in Beijing this week, Chinese technology conglomerate LeEco showed off its LeSEE self-driving electric supercar.

 A slide noted that LeEco's car can reach 130mph which is a fair bit behind of the Tesla Model S' top speed range of 140 to 155 mph. 

Nonetheless, the company said the final product should beat Tesla in "all aspects of performance."

  The car sports a rounded design with a giant LED screen plastered on the front of the vehicle. 

If the car is being used for cab services, for instance, the screen can show if it's available for hire or not.

 There's an arched transparent roof and what seems to be generous cabin space. 

The interior sported a futuristic-looking steering wheel with a lit-up centre that quite possibly would

replace the traditional dashboard and was complemented by a monitor next to it. 

It also had ridged backseats that may look uncomfortable but is actually memory foam - a polyurethane material used in mattresses that can adapt to the shape of a passenger's body for maximum comfort.

Perhaps the most interesting component of its LeSEE concept has nothing to do with the technology, but rather the business models involved.

 For one, the company believes it has a huge role to play in LeShare - a time-sharing electric vehicle platform that's present in Beijing and Shanghai with plans to expand to five more cities in China.

 Electric vehicles and charging resources will be shared between LeShare and LeEco-backed Uber competitor Yidao. 

In addition to this, LeEco believes that the car will eventually be free, in line with the same business model it has for some of its other hardware, charging users for content, subscriptions or memberships.

For a refresh, LeEco (LeTV) was founded in 2004, and has since become a major name in many technology-centric markets.

It offers live-streaming, e-commerce, cloud, smartphones, TV set-top boxes, and smart TVs among many other products and services.

The company has a market capitalization of at least $12 billion.