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Tesla Motors

September 06, 2006

Tesla Motors

Have you ever thought about buying an electric car?

Let's see, I estimate that 50% of you readers rolled your eyes, and the rest snickered.

Electric cars have a bad reputation among enthusiasts who crave speed and performance. Why? Well, they look silly, they barely move, and you have to charge them every hundred miles or so.

Well, I suspect that once you've taken a gander at today's FamilyFirst site, your opinions just might change.

The site is the official offering of Tesla Motors. They have created (and have already sold out of the first run of) an electric roadster that is not your grandfather's electric car.

Are you ready for some amazing statistics?

Zero to sixty in FOUR SECONDS!

A range of 250 miles.

Cost to operate: ONE CENT per MILE!

Price? A surprisingly affordable $100,000.

I sincerely hope that there are OPEC members feeling a little sweaty under the collar about now.

Not only that, but the two-seat roadster is one hot car to look at!

I have to tell you, I'm impressed. If these babies prove reliable, the price will likely go down as production is increased. Imagine: a vehicle that is nearly silent. That is pollution-free. That makes you much less concerned with what happens to gas prices every time a firecracker goes off in the middle east. And that looks good enough to impress the opposite sex! ;-).

Check it out for yourself.

http://www.teslamotors.com

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Written by baldguy at September 6, 2006 12:14 AM

Comments on “Tesla Motors”

So far, there are 7 comments on this entery. Why not add yours!

  1. David Ross on September 19, 2006 11:38 AM

    "Surprisingly affordable at $100,000"??? HAH! Perhaps for those accustomed to buying Bentleys & Ferraris, but certainly not affordable for 95% of the general public! The average car already costs more than a year's income for most, and this guy says $100,000 is /affordable/ ? Come back to earth friend.

  2. norm on September 19, 2006 02:33 PM

    That is pollution-free?
    It just charges with magic?

  3. Kevin Lawson on September 27, 2006 03:43 PM

    The price tag is hefty, but it is impressive!
    Will be interesting if they can put this motor and battery in a production style every day auto and see how it performs..

  4. nick on September 30, 2006 05:10 AM

    It is a fact that electric motors generate massive instantaneous torque and are vastly superior to conventional internal combustion piston or rotary engines for automotive performance. The macho muscle cars truly are dinosaurs compared to the untapped potential of electric motor power plants, its too bad this is not commonly advertised to the public. People if you want heart stopping performance throw away your Ford Mustangs and rice burnres and get a performance electric car, you will leave every car you thought was fast in the dust at stop lights. Internal combustion engines simply can't produce torque rapidly enough to compete against electric motors. Time to get rid of your dinosaur and accept quiet power.

  5. nick on September 30, 2006 05:22 AM

    Another point:
    Think about the savings and the freedom of gas station stops, oil changes, tune ups, air filter changing, and all the complexity of dirty, noisy IC reciprocating engines. And say goodby to those ugly oil puddles at every parking lot stall. Electric motor power trains are so simple and low maintenance, it is a no brainer. Did you know well over 50% of gasolines energy in a conventional car engine is lost as heat, and is not transferred to move your car. Half the money you spend on combustion auto gas is simply lost to the atmosphere - not used to move your car. Electric cars operate at close to 75% effeciency (compared with about 25% for conventional gas engines) and the emmissions from electric generating power plants are much cleaner than any car tailpipe emmission and produced much more cheaply.
    Think about how many street walking pedestrians will have cleaner lungs and better hearing as electric cars become more widespread. We could easily cut the oil consumption in the USA by 50% by shifting to electric cars, simply because power generation at electric power plants is so much more effecient than fuel consumption in automobiles.

  6. nick on September 30, 2006 05:30 AM

    trivia:
    Massively heavy freight trains can't use internal combustion engines to begin acceleration from a stand still because internal combustion engines can't deliver the instantaneous torque needed to move the massively heavy train from a standstill (the piston engine would blow up), only electric motors can do the job and only after an electric motor powerplant starts the train moving can the piston engine take over without sustaining damage.
    Think electric motors are whimpy now?

  7. Jeff Mauldin on October 2, 2006 05:46 PM

    "That is pollution-free?
    It just charges with magic?"

    The tesla motors site has a bunch of info about this point. According to them, the end-to-end efficiency of the first tesla roadster will be around twice as good as the best current hybrid (and this in a high performance sports car). This means if you consider how much energy is used from original source (e.g. natural gas, land for ethanol, land for solar, oil, etc., etc.), this is lots better than the most efficient internal combustion engine there is. Overall emissions are improved as well (maybe even more than 2x better, I'd have to go back and look as well). And there's also the advantage that we can produce the electricity by any means--it doesn't have to be oil (or ethanol).

    100K is not terribly expensive for a very high performance sports car, and this should give them a steady income stream from which to continue work. I hope the theoretical family sedan will be much more affordable.

    Check out the website--I was very impressed.


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