The Tesla Roadster

The Tesla Roadster:

• electric motor, rear wheel drive, only two gears (70MPH in 1st!)
  
• 250 mile driving range at full charge
  
• 0-60MPH in under 4 seconds...top speed of 130MPH
  
• Lotus-engineered
  
• batteries last 100,000 miles
  
• plug it in any standard 110V wall outlet (faster charge on 240V circuit)
  
• hardly any regular maintenance (no filter, spark plug, oil changes, etc.)
  
• no more sending cash to tyrannical foreign governments (and
  Canada...) and corporate-subsidied oil companies
  
• twice as efficient as the Toyota Prius (efficient meaning the entire length of the fuel supply line [PDF])
  
• zero exhaust emissions
  
• almost dead-silent operation
  
• custom PIN means the car is a bitch to hotwire
  
• company's named after friggin' Nikola Tesla, a mad genius if there ever was one

More pictures. Wired Magazine review and NY Times coverage. Jalopnik sez:

Even judging from our brief test ride, we'll proclaim that this thing will slay on the backroads. The torque is unbelievable. And eerie. The power just comes on right now and does not abate. It's absolutely batty; unlike anything we've experienced. We think our kidneys may still be embedded in the seatback. And it sticks.

[...]

[Tesla Chairman Elon Musk] claims they started in the segment they did to produce a profitable vehicle that will lead to more development, and according to the Wired article, their $50k sedan project is due around 2008. We were skeptical of the Tesla project when we first heard about it. We're believers now.

From the Tesla Motors blog:

If electric cars are so great, why have they failed? Over the next few months, I will talk a bit about what has changed on the technology front - and indeed, technology is a key component of the answer. But today I want to focus on Tesla's different attitude.

My observation is that most electric cars were designed by and for people who fundamentally don't think we should drive. Ideally, we should walk or take public transportation; EVs are a necessary evil for when these don't work. This mentality has lead to dozens of unappealing electric "punishment cars"

[...]

We at Tesla Motors love cars. We love to drive; we appreciate beautiful and fun cars. And Tesla cars are built for people who love to drive. So our optimization is not for ultimate low cost, but rather for performance, aesthetics, and sex appeal.

Tesla's pro-driver attitude:

Since we were creating a no-compromise driver's car rather than the cheapest possible car, we took the opportunity to fix the worst problem of past EVs: driving range. It is no secret that fitting enough batteries to get a decent driving range is not easy. So most EVs could only make it 60 or 80 miles on a charge - short enough that you would spend most of your time worrying about where you might get your next charge, instead of enjoying the drive.

It costs an estimated $80,000.

I'll take one in dark green and a tan leather interior, thanks.

Posted by Drizzten at July 21, 2006 02:54 PM