Tesla Motors to unveil all-electric sports car

[bobr1]

A Silicon Valley start-up is expected to show off an electric car this summer that it says can hang with Porsches and Ferraris and has attracted investments from the founders of Google and eBay.

Tesla Motors says its Tesla Roadster can accelerate, brake and handle like a high-end sports car. The company, in fact, claims the car can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in four seconds.

The big difference is that it runs completely on electricity. It plugs into the wall and is not a hybrid. The battery gives it a range of 250 miles.[/b]

Full Story:
http://news.com.com/Electric+sports+car+re...ml?tag=nefd.top

- Bob R.

[kfarad]

Anybody got pictures of the Tesla cars?

[nerfer]

I started a similar thread on the environmental forum - it's an EV car, not specifically hybrid or Prius news was my thinking...although my link to the Mercury News (via evworld.com) did include their take on the Prius, which I thought was, well, interesting:

``I couldn't find a car that was nice enough to enjoy driving, and which also got reasonable gas mileage,'' said the Woodside resident. ``The Prius is terrifically ugly.''
[/b]

I haven't seen any pictures of it, even from Tesla Motor's website. Apparently they're keeping it under wraps until their grand unveiling.

[finman]

Okay, we know these exotic electrics kick ass and take Ferrari/Porcshe names, but PLEASE, can we get OFF the 0-60 times and get INTO a practical car that we ALL can use? What is the point here? What's wrong with making something that's good for more than a handful of people in the world?

The market is here and now and salivating at the thought of getting off gas.

I'm impressed, yes, I get it. Electric cars can be fast. That's a myth that has died a while back...or has it? Do electrics still require all this speed to prove they are worthy?

I say, go to the roller-coaster amusement parks to get your g-force thrills...the rest of modern society wants a clean, practical car to get to work and grocery store...NOW. One that's not likely to end up in a crusher (GM, are u listening? Toyota, you too).

Cheers,

Curt.

PS Does there have to be HP wars in electrics, too, just as with gasoline cars? How about an efficiency war? "How far can u go, how much less fuel can YOU use. Well, I can do better, with a cherry on top and less emissions." You know, stuff like that.

[hobbit]

Tour de Sol was a festival of high efficiency. [Well, as much as could
be expected given the weather.] Hybridfest will espouse much of the
same friendly competition thinking. Yep, there are pockets of good
sense here and there, but they're still really small.
.
_H*

[darelldd]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(beeri @ Jun 6 2006, 10:32 PM) [snapback]267112[/snapback]</div>

Anybody got pictures of the Tesla cars?
[/b]

A production vehicle doesn't yet exist to take pictures of.
I'll fill you in on this when I can, however.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(finman @ Jun 7 2006, 08:13 AM) [snapback]267231[/snapback]</div>

What's wrong with making something that's good for more than a handful of people in the world? [/b]

The only thing "wrong" with it, is that the "little" guys can't make it in the world of high-quantity/low-margin vehicle production. This will, unfortunately, have to be left up to the BIG automakers. Each little "production" EV business that has run the numbers has come to the same conclusion: The only way to stay in business is to produce a high-margin car to raise capital. That's exactly what is happening here.

You are echoing my feelings as well, believe me. In fact, I wrote as much on this page:
http://www.darelldd.com/ev/wrightspeed.htm

But please, don't blame the little guys for making the cars that they think they can sell. Any EV on the road is a good EV. No, it won't replace the family commute vehicle, but it will attract more money to the idea that EVs are viable. The folks to go after are the BIG auto makers, not the little guys who have such a huge barrier to entry into the automotive market. A company that can make a car like the Prius (and an excellent EV more than 10 years ago) can CERTAINLY build a family EV today.

The market is here and now and salivating at the thought of getting off gas.

I'm impressed, yes, I get it. Electric cars can be fast. That's a myth that has died a while back...or has it? Do electrics still require all this speed to prove they are worthy? [/b]

Not dead at ALL! Most people still think of golf carts when they think of EVs. I'm asked nearly every day if I can safely merge onto the freeway in my Rav4EV. Most folks are surprised to even hear that I can legally drive on the freeway with it! NO... that myth is very alive and well. Just ask the guys who Ian humiliated at Infinion what they thought about EVs *before* the races... and then after. They myth is over for those guys, but was alive and well just seconds before the green light.

I say, go to the roller-coaster amusement parks to get your g-force thrills...the rest of modern society wants a clean, practical car to get to work and grocery store...NOW. One that's not likely to end up in a crusher (GM, are u listening? Toyota, you too).[/b]

YES! Now you're singing my song.

PS Does there have to be HP wars in electrics, too, just as with gasoline cars? [/b]

You can clearly see the current problem by looking at some of the "hybrids" we have out now... and are coming. Aimed at increasing HP instead of max efficiency. To win the hearts of red-blooded Americans, the auto companies *think* that MORE POWER is the only way. I agree that it is silly - we have Minivans now with more power than sports cars had just a few years back. Who are we kidding here? Nobody needs this kind of power, but most car buyers think they want it. That's for certain.