I am afraid it will be way overpriced

Tesla Roadster: 135 mpg, 250 mile range, 0 to 60 in 4 seconds

Quote :

"Independent Silicon Valley-based automaker Tesla has unveiled the Tesla Roadster — an all-ectric car capable of accelerating to 60 mph in just four seconds, while offering equivalent milage of 135 mpg, and a 250 mile range. The high-performance roadster is capable of hanging with a Ferrari F430, Porsche Carrera S, or BMW M5. The car has a more-than-sufficient top speed of 130 mph, the automaker said. Funding came from several big names in the technology world, including Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Deliveries of the Tesla Roadster in the United States are expected to begin next summer."

Read technical details: http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/07/19/tesla-roadster-135-mpg-250-mile-range-0-to-60-in-4-seconds

7/19/2006 9:11:53 PM

i know insider info about this

but i cant say anything because it would be a contract violation

7/19/2006 9:41:13 PM

we could do a back-room deal

7/19/2006 9:43:12 PM

wasn't there an all-electric sports car released nearly 10 years ago? the zebra coupe or something like that? granted, i'm sure it didn't have the specs of the tesla, but...

anywho, i want one of these

7/19/2006 9:52:15 PM

***NEWS STORY OF THE WEEK***

ALL electric car gets 135mpg





























I mean WTF

7/19/2006 10:02:58 PM

Quote :

"equivalent milage of 135 mpg"

i'm assuming they came up with some sort of equation to equate the amount of fuel used to generate the electricity to the distance the car would go

so if the car has a 250-mile range and it takes burning the equivalent of two gallons of fuel to generate the electricity, then the "mpg" is about 135

7/19/2006 10:48:52 PM

oxymoron

7/20/2006 4:19:26 AM

another link with pricing!

fuck i cant get it to work but they say

80-120K to pay for R&D costs for future models

[Edited on July 20, 2006 at 8:29 AM. Reason : ]

7/20/2006 8:26:31 AM

Wired has a pretty good article on it: http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,71414-0.html?tw=rss.index

Apparently it was styled by someone from Lotus, hence the similarity to the Elise. I love the styling on this thing!

This first model will obviously be an exclusive car none of us here are likely to see very often, but I'm hoping it'll open up the electric car market a bit. There's some cool potential technology there. Some of the concepts for AWD cars with an electric motor in each wheel (no driveshaft weight, full variable power to each wheel, etc) are really interesting.

7/20/2006 9:41:51 AM

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/

7/20/2006 10:18:26 AM

looks good, but i'm not impressed

7/20/2006 1:14:16 PM

Quote :

"The car is expected to cost between $85,000 and $120,000."

Anyway, it is an exciting prospect for the future. Within a decade or two, prices will come down to what they are for gasoline cars.

And for those wondering:

Quote :

"Here is how you calculate mpg in an electric car Gasoline contains something like 189,000 BTUs of energy per gallon If this were to be burned in a powerplant, roughly 60% of the energy would be captured Our electric distribution grid is 90% efficient An average electric motor is 90% efficient So…. 91,854 BTUs of energy make it into the car, through the wheels, and onto the road. Convert BTUs into NM We will say that this number is Y Calculate the (mass of vehicle) x (rolling resistance)^2 x (coefficient of drag)^3 We will say that last calculation results in X Divide Y by X and…. hokus pokus you have an MPG figure (actual KmPG) "

And some more pics:

7/20/2006 2:50:49 PM

so its an electric elise.

k

7/20/2006 4:16:48 PM

so where do you recharge one of these bad boys?

7/20/2006 4:26:44 PM

nowhere but your garage prolly, thats the problem i am sure

plus you only get 250 miles per charge


need to make an alternator for it so it charges itself!

[Edited on July 20, 2006 at 4:49 PM. Reason : ]

7/20/2006 4:48:54 PM

i think i came a little

7/20/2006 4:59:29 PM

hey look, it's a 2 speed!

7/20/2006 5:09:56 PM

Quote :

"so where do you recharge one of these bad boys?"

It says it comes with a standard at-home kit to charge it, then there's an optional mobile charging kit you can take with you.

7/20/2006 5:43:05 PM

Quote :

"plus you only get 250 miles per charge"

that should be more than enough unless you're trying to do a long distance trip, i mean you can plug it in every night if you want.

7/20/2006 6:11:11 PM

not a bad first entry. we'll see how it holds up in the long run. the milage limit pretty much makes it a very expensive daily driver.

7/20/2006 6:32:15 PM

and think even if it is heavy the batteries are all probably mounted low in the chassis if they're not retarded so it would have a really low cog.

7/20/2006 6:56:00 PM

Quote :

"Upstart automaker Tesla has sold its entire initial production run of 100 cars, according to company officials. Tesla unveiled the electric sports car in July, which is capable of accelerating to 60 mph in just four seconds, while offering average equivalent mileage of 135 mpg, and a 250 mile range. Each Tesla Roadster sold for $100,000, according to. While that figure is described as a deposit, Tesla has said the car's final price will be between $85,000 and $120,000. British automaker Lotus helped engineer the car, and will be responsible for production."

8/16/2006 11:08:30 AM

Progress Energy just popped a massive woody.

8/16/2006 11:24:00 AM

^^^ 20K miles per year is average, which at 3 bucks a gallon on a 30mpg car, is $2000 a year. Might be a 100k car, but as gas prices continue to rise, it isnt all that unreasonable. Twenty years of ownership would save you 40K in gas.

8/16/2006 11:28:05 AM

^ yeah, you might "save" 2k in gas, but what is the cost to charge the thing? You're trading one expense for another. So no, you wouldn't save 2k a year.

8/16/2006 1:04:30 PM

According to the 135mpg you would spend $444.44 vs $2000.00 per year.

Let's say you own a car for 5 years before geting a new one and the average consumer spends 20K for a new car. That's an 80K difference in cost.

Saving $1,555.56/year you would have to own the car over 50 years to make up that cost difference.

The average price would have to come down to 30K vs 20K to make it a value in the long haul.

[Edited on August 16, 2006 at 2:27 PM. Reason : asdf]

8/16/2006 2:23:40 PM

thats not the right angle to take, b/c this isn't the car "the average consumer" would spend his $20k on. i doubt anyone looking to save piles of $ on gas would want a 2-seater sports car to begin with.

it's going to be a novelty at best, so some rich fool can say "i've got 100k for a fast ass car, hey why don't i get the electric one?"

8/16/2006 2:40:21 PM

exactly, this is a 4 second speed demon. Just happens it will save whoever buys it a ton of money.


Not to mention, if someone bought this and RACED it, they would save a SHIT TON on fuel.

8/16/2006 3:28:50 PM

ooooo that car makes me happy

8/16/2006 3:34:53 PM

^^ ^^^ good points, I was thinking this was more of a concept type car that would become a more consumer level design in a few years.

8/16/2006 3:45:26 PM

Eh, I wouldn't expect to "save money" on a limited production sports car. If you're dropping 100 large on a toy, the cost of gas is negligible. However, the cost of maintenance and parts will be significant, and I suggest you practice bending over so you'll be ready by then.

A damn cool idea, but call me back when they're selling for under $30,000.

8/16/2006 4:43:02 PM

I wonder how much you'd save over the course of a race season not having to tinker like hell with all the engine/drivetrain components. Hmmm

8/16/2006 5:34:48 PM

The point is to have a "cool" electric car to help change the image of electrics as being only one or two steps above a souped-up golf cart for celebrities to tool around LA in. I would think that the draw for someone who buys this is not at all related to saving money on fuel, but wanting to promote a more high-profile image of alternative-fuel vehicles. After this, the company is planning to make a 4-door coupe, but they wanted to do this first to help break the mold.

8/16/2006 6:26:10 PM

Second Showroom is officially open





http://greenhome.huddler.com/wiki/tesla-motors-silicon-valley-showroom

7/23/2008 1:46:55 PM

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/06/lightning-gt-all-electric-sports-car-revealed/
http://wot.motortrend.com/6271278/auto-news/lightning-gt-shown-in-official-photos-before-british-show-debut/index.html



Can recharge in 10 minutes using a 330v industrial outlet (reach 80% in 2-3 minutes), lifecycle of 12 years, similar specs to Telsa, 0-60 - 4sec., 130mph

[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 2:34 PM. Reason : ,]

7/23/2008 2:33:47 PM

HOLY SEXY SHIT JOKER! I like that car I like it, a lot.

7/23/2008 2:39:36 PM

700 hp and still 4 seconds? them batteries must weigh a ton

7/23/2008 3:01:17 PM

Quote :

"The high-performance roadster is capable of hanging with a Ferrari F430, Porsche Carrera S, or BMW M5. The car has a more-than-sufficient top speed of 130 mph,"

wtf?

7/23/2008 3:29:50 PM

sexy

7/23/2008 3:32:42 PM

700hp electric car fails emission...

test pipe stuck in coal power plant exhaust.

7/23/2008 3:33:19 PM

The Lightning GT looks good...but why does it have that hole for radiator? It looks like a loose wire is hanging in there.

7/23/2008 3:42:15 PM

700hp worth of electricity still needs one hell of a heat sink to keep it cooll...

maybe its water cooled and it does have a radiator

7/23/2008 3:49:23 PM

This sounds a lot like what I'm working on; its the battery being used in the second car:

Quote :

"AltairNano's primary product is the "NanoSafe" lithium ion battery. NanoSafe replaces the conventional anode with one made of a lithium titanate oxide formed into the spinel cubic structure. The titanate replaces the graphite anodes of normal batteries. NanoSafe is not the only battery to use nanostructured spinels, but other batteries, like those from A123 Systems generally replace the cathode rather than the anode. The primary advantage of the NanoSafe battery is that it can be charged very quickly. In testing a NanoSafe 35 kWh battery pack was charged in ten minutes.[1] Other advantages include longer life with up to 25,000 deep cycles, higher power density than other nanostructured cells, wider operating temperatures, and greater stability under electrical and mechanical stress (i.e. the cells cannot catch fire). On the other hand they have lower power density that the best conventional cells,100 versus 120 Wh/kg.[2] They are also more expensive to produce, US$2 per Wh, due to low manufacturing volumes."

7/23/2008 4:19:36 PM

Quote :

" Not to mention, if someone bought this and RACED it, they would save a SHIT TON on fuel."

racing one would be fine if it could go faster than 130 in a straight line.

it would have to be in it's own category.

7/23/2008 5:20:32 PM

"electric car" does not compute

7/23/2008 11:56:40 PM