Tesla Roadster prototype

Yesterday I visited Tesla Motors in San Carlos, CA, about 45 minutes south of San Francisco, where I am visiting family for a few days. Anybody that is considering buying the car can view it there and get a presentation (by appointment). Nobody gets to drive it yet, but "members" (those who have put down a $50K priority deposit, or a $30K second-list deposit) will be given a ride in it. Since I was willing to travel so far to see it, and I guess they felt I was seriously interested, they made an exception and gave me a ride in it without being a "member."

Some time this summer they are going to build a run of the cars, and all members will be invited to test-drive it. Since the deposit is refundable, but the interest on it is not, the cost to drive it is the lost interest during the time your deposit is with them.

Most of what they told me in the presentation was stuff I already knew, and is available on their web site for all to read. One bit of trivia I was not aware of: The founder of Tesla Motors wanted a tzero. He was 4th on the waiting list. But they only ever built 3. So he founded the company so that he could have a similar car of his own.

A few points I was uncertain about were cleared up for me: The Tesla Roadster has traction control and ABS, but does not have VSC. The man told me that traction control would help prevent skidding, but would not correct a skid that had already begun. He also told me that a rear-wheel-drive car (which the Tesla is) is easier to control than a front-wheel-drive car, and therefore needs VSC less than a FWD car. I have no idea if this is true. The big battery pack is just ahead of the rear wheels, putting more weight on them. He told me the weight ratio, which I forgot, but he said it was calculated for optimum control.

Charging is linear. I.e. I was mistaken in thinking that a 2-hour charge would get you near full, with the last 3 hours being tapered. However, the charge time is less than I had thought: Using the 70-amp home charger (which must be installed in your garage by an electrician) a "standard" charge, to 92% SOC, takes 3 1/2 hours. You can program the car to take 100% charge if you want, but this will shorten battery life. You can also program it to charge at the time you set, so if you have off-peak electric rates you can take advantage of the lower night-time rate. Plugging the car into a standard 220-v 30-amp circuit will charge it from empty in 7 hours. Plugging it into a standard 110-v plug will charge it from empty in 24 hours. Since he told me charging is linear, the following should apply: Drive it 60 miles, you can top it off from a 110-v circuit in 6 hours. However, since the car is not intended for long road trips, you will probably always be charging it at home with the home charger. Its 250-mile range should be plenty for all but extended road trips.

Battery life is estimated at 5 years, and I forgot to ask what the replacement will cost. However, that's only an estimate. Full-charging and deep-discharging will shorten battery life, as will hard driving. Gentler driving, and charging before it's low will extend battery life.

The drive-train technology is leased from AC Propulsion.

The man who showed me around was optimistic about the expected reliability of the car. I have no idea whether that means anything. I think he is a salesman. The woman I had been talking to over the phone and by email was unable to be there, due to a family emergency.

THE RIDE: Impressions:

The car is very low to the ground, with a very low profile. To get in you face away from the car, then sit, then swing your legs in. I imagine this is normal for sports cars, but I have no experience to compare. To get out, you swing your legs out, slide your rump up onto the door sill, and then stand up. Not for extremely overweight people, or people with bad knees.

The seats in the prototype were not very comfortable, and had me leaning back. I was not sitting upright. However, he told me these are not the production seats, which he said will be more adjustable and more comfortable. But he didn't seem sure, or else wouldn't say, whether the production seats will allow a more upright seated position. I didn't like that leaned-back position. It seemed impossible to see towards the side-rear blind spots, and he told me there was no point in trying: you have to use the mirrors. I didn't like that. He said (and I did not like this idea at all!!!) that you don't need to see towards the back, because this car is so fast that if nobody is next to you you can change lanes by accelerating out of the way of any car that could possibly be in your blind spot. The obvious question is, What if it's another high-performance sports car? Bottom line: you'd better adjust your side mirrors properly and check them carefully before changing lanes.

The prototype had first gear disabled. So we drove in second. And still it had amazing acceleration. This car is POWERFUL!!!

But it is not quiet like the Prius, because it has a refrigeration system to cool the motor. It can be very quiet, under gentle driving, when the cooling is not needed. But don't expect "stealth" when you are hot-rodding in a Tesla. On the other hand, it puts out zero emissions. And since our electricity in WA comes from hydro, I could call this a water-powered car, if I owned one.

The man told me that due to its low profile, it handles very well in high winds. His own car is a 2005 Prius, so he knows about the cross-wind problem so many of us have experienced, and he insisted there is none of that in a Tesla.

The soft-top can be easily removed and stored below the floor of the (rather small) trunk. The trunk is big enough for all the groceries I usually buy at one time, if I have them in plastic bags, rather than paper. It is the width of the car, but very shallow and narrow. It would not hold a large suitcase, and I think it might not even carry the largest carry-on suitcase. This is not the car you'll drive to the airport. But you probably would not want to leave a $100 K car parked at the airport anyway. A hard top is an available option.

A valet mode restricts acceleration, speed, and range. Built-in NAV is an option, as is XM satellite. CD/MP3 with iPod connection is standard. PIN anti-theft system is standard.

My conclusion: I'd have bought one yesterday if it had been available to drive away. With an estimated delivery date of May, 2008, for orders placed now with a $50 K deposit, I'll have to ponder it a bit. The deposit is refundable, but the interest is not. It's a really nice-looking little car. It looks smaller in real life than it does in the photos. Could be a great girl-magnet, though I fear that even this car would not get me a girl. If it was half the price at half the power, I'd have ordered one. As it is, I'm still not sure. A much cheaper sedan version is, I believe, in the planning stage.

Base price is $92 K, but there's an $8 K premium for buyers outside their service area, to pay for the added cost to them of warranty service.

 

I forgot one very important item:

I mentioned to the man who gave me the ride and the tour that I didn't like the fact that the car has gears. There are two gears, but no clutch. There's a shift lever that can be operated at any time. The woman I had talked to previously said that it operated electrically, and was analogous to the electric transaxle on a big truck.

So when I mentioned it to this man, he told me the reason is efficiency: The car is more efficient when operated in the appropriate gear, and he said the optimal point to shift was (if I remember correctly) around 60 mph.

You can easily drive it in second gear all the time, and as I experienced, it still has plenty of acceleration from a stop. But optimizing the efficiency, by having two gears, increases both the acceleration (it is a sports car after all, and their primary target buyer is a sports-car enthusiast) and the range.

I'd still rather have a single gear, somewhere between the two, with a top speed maybe 90 mph (I'd never drive faster than 80, for passing). It would have plenty of acceleration and would have one less part to go wrong. And maybe take a few K off the price. But again, I'm not their usual customer.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Feb 27 2007, 08:49 AM) [snapback]397229[/snapback]</div>

Too busy pondering to be grinning.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Feb 27 2007, 08:49 AM) [snapback]397229[/snapback]</div>

I'm not a race-car driver. Safety is my first concern. I'd really rather have the VSC.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Feb 27 2007, 08:49 AM) [snapback]397229[/snapback]</div>

My mirrors are adjusted to the Tom & Ray specs. But I still like to glance to the side-rear when changing lanes.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Feb 27 2007, 09:45 AM) [snapback]397278[/snapback]</div>

Fit and finish were not good. It was definitely a prototype, not a finished product. I do not believe we can make any assumptions about the production cars based on the prototype.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dipper @ Feb 27 2007, 10:32 AM) [snapback]397310[/snapback]</div>

Spokane is not Seattle. We do get rain and snow, but nothing like the rain of the coast. With two mountain ranges between me and Seattle, Spokane is fairly dry.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Feb 27 2007, 10:42 AM) [snapback]397319[/snapback]</div>

Remember that I did not get to drive it. I only rode in it. We did not go all that fast. However, we accelerated very rapidly. Very briefly on the freeway, up to the speed limit in the blink of an eye; and on the surface streets, again, rapid acceleration but not to very high speeds.

The car seemed to me louder than the Prius. Floored, the motor is not quiet. I didn't realize until we were back at the shop that some of the noise was the refrigeration unit. Once the refrigerator shut off, and he moved the car slowly inside the building, it was silent. What I never got a chance to hear was the full noise of the refrigerator while I was outside of the car.

But remember, that if I say it's louder than the Prius, the driver was accelerating and braking hard the whole (fairly short) time. And I drive my Prius gently. Maybe, driven like the Prius, it would be quieter. He was definitely making that motor work.

It's also possible that it was not noisier: It could have been an artifact of my expectations: I was expecting an extremely quiet car, so the noise I heard seemed loud, and maybe that skewed the comparison. It annoyed me a bit because I love the near-absolute quiet of the Prius in electric mode, and that's what I was expecting with the Tesla. So maybe I'm overstating it. Memory is a very tricky thing.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Feb 27 2007, 11:40 AM) [snapback]397366[/snapback]</div>

As Darell says, the sedan is years away from production.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Feb 27 2007, 01:42 PM) [snapback]397444[/snapback]</div>

Yes. I told Doreen that I was going to post my experiences here, and she was pleased about that.