The Tesla Roadster is the upcoming Electric Sports Car: 0-60 mph in under 4 seconds, 200 mile range, and NO gasoline involved.
From the Tesla site: When you build a car that's electric, you start with one built-in advantage: Electric cars just don't have to be as complex mechanically as the car you're probably driving now. Sophisticated electronics and software take the place of the pounds and pounds of machinery required to introduce a spark and ignite the fuel that powers an internal combustion engine.
For example, the typical four-cylinder engine of a conventional car comprises over a hundred moving parts. By comparison, the motor of the Tesla Roadster has just one: the rotor. So there's less weight to drive around and fewer parts that could break or wear down over time.
But the comparison doesn't end with the counting of moving parts. The engine and transmission of a conventional car also need lubricating oils, filters, coolant, clutches, spark plugs and wires, a PCV valve, oxygen sensors, a timing belt, a fan belt, a water pump and hoses, a catalytic converter, and a muffler — all items requiring service, and all items that aren't needed in an electric car.
The Tesla Roadster's elegantly designed powertrain consists of just the four main components. Mind you, these aren't "off-the-shelf" components, and each includes innovations, both small and large. But when you build a car from the ground up, you have the luxury of questioning every assumption — and to distill as you reinvent.
The base price for the 2008 Tesla Roadster is $98,000 US. This figure will increase for future models as the vehicle is currently manufactured in Europe - Tesla Motors cites the exchange rate between the dollar and the euro for the bulk of the price increase.
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125 mph top speed, 2 speed electrically actuated manual transmission
Fuel Economy Hwy (MPG)
135 mpg equivalent
Fuel Type
All-electric (plug-in)
Fuel Economy City (MPG)
135 mpg equivalent
Miles per Charge
220
Body Type
Convertible
EV Type
Highway speed vehicle
Top Speed
Release Date
2008
Release Status
Limited Release
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Pros: Zippy, beautiful, quiet, well to wheel efficiency is a-mazing! Cons: Out of my price range...tear...super low to the ground means it's a little awkward getting out
I haven't sat behind the wheel of a Roadster (with it turned on, anyway) but as a passenger, it's pretty hard to beat. The acceleration power is down right startling. When you set up on that petal, hold on to your hat, because it could go flying. Braking down from high speeds (of course depending on the road) is really quite smooth as well. The turning radius is tight and driving at normal speeds, well...it's a car. It definitely gets you from point A to point B. It just does it in some serious style.
When it comes to sitting in the car, there's an adequate amount of leg room, but I'm also not a 6'7" man. The car does ride very low and there's a pretty significant drop getting in. So be warned...exiting the car in a dress is a little precarious.
I couldn't help but exclaim with glee (yes, glee) when the car turned on (you get the little ding chime thing) but lo and behold....it sounds the same as before. And that is down right quiet. I personally get a kick out of that, but there's clearly some debate over whether or not that's a good thing.
The information display is really quite cool. It's not super convenient to stare at while driving (unlike the one on the Prius) but I think that's a good thing...being slightly lower than and to the left of the steering wheel will minimized folks looking at the screen, instead of at the road. Oh and of course, heated seats are also a bonus, in case you get too cold with the open top.
And as for style...ooff, it is a gorgeous car. I get a little heart flutter every time I see one. And of course, that glacier blue color Tesla will always have a special place in my heart.
Efficiency wise, Tesla's well-to-wheel is hard to beat. And a 200 mile range...well, it's not too shabby.
Yes, yes, the sticker price for the Tesla is VERY high. We know that. But let's look beyond that. It is absolutely a beautiful piece of machinery and a very cool step in electric vehicle technology. Sure, as a car for mass adoption, well, we can't all be rolling around in $110k vehicles. However...Tesla's sure got some things right. In my mind, that is not up for debate.
I would be beyond thrilled to have one of these in my driveway.
Pros: Handles well, high torque, great eye candy Cons: A little pricey, only fits two people
As a green car online journalist, I was fortunate enough to take the Tesla out for a short test drive at their new dealership on May 9. The car I drove was a prototype, but it performed very well. For more details, see the following video and review article:
Huddler.com first look - SF Green, San Francisco, May 2007
Intro to the Tesla Roadster (Part 1 through Part 4)
Tesla Roadster Burnout
Recent News
July 12th, 2008 - Tesla Motors CEO/President Ze'ev Orori announced that Tesla Roadster has unclogged the logjam that had been halting delivery of their orders and they would now ramp up to delivering 4 per month for the next several months, and get up to production of 100 roadsters per month by the end of the year.
In other news, the Drivetrain 1.5 is completed and will be installed in all new Tesla's starting in September. Also, the second Tesla store is opening in Menlo Park, CA.
Technology Comparision
Tesla Motors released a white paper in October 2006 comparing well-to-wheel efficiency (well-to-wheel refers to the entire life of the fuel - from the point when the raw fuel is abstracted from its source [i.e. the well] to the point it turns into your vehicle's motion [i.e. the wheel]; well-to-wheel allows for a standard metric to compare different fuel types), well-to-wheel carbon dioxide emissions, and 0 to 60 miles per hour acceleration for a variety of technologies and example cars. In each case, the Tesla came in first (the Prius came in second for well-to-wheel efficiency and emissions but came in 6th in terms of acceleration).
Table from: Eberhard, M. & M. Tarpenning. (Oct. 6, 2006). The 21st century Electric Car (PDF). Tesla Motors. Retrieved on Dec. 3, 2007.
Delays on Delivery
Originally, the Tesla Roadster was to be delivered during the 2007 summer. Then the release date was pushed to October 2007. But in September, the interim CEO Michael Marks sent a letter to customers announcing another delay. At this point, 50 Roadsters will ship during the first quarter of 2008 and another 600 will ship during the rest of the 2008 model year. According to Darryl Siry, Tesla's VP of Sales, Marketing and Service, the primary cause of the delay has been issues with durability and reliability of the transmission (he has also said that the initial rumors of issues with the lithium-iron batteries are entirely untrue).
How To Buy A Tesla Roadster
If you live in the United States, visit the Tesla website to configure your vehicle.
You will have the option to select options and accessories including satelitte radio, a touch-screen navigation system with voice guidance, a carbon fiber hardtop, Bluetooth integration, a 7-speaker sound system, custom floor mats, and a mobile charging system. You will also be able to select one of twelve exterior colors and one of four interior colors.
Fill out your contact information.
Submit your form and send in your $5,000 deposit. This will put you on the wait list (depending on manufacturing, you may be able to receive a 2008 model; if you are not offered a 2008 model, you will be in line for a 2009 model).
When you come to the top of the wait list, if a car is available, a Tesla Motors consultant will contact you. You may then choose to put down a $30,000 deposit for the car (your wait list fee of $5,000 will be credited to your $30,000 deposit). You will be sent an approximate delivery date.
Upon receipt of your deposit, you will be given access to an exclusive online portal in which you can modify your vehicle's configuration, among other things.
Wait for your car to be delivered.
If you live outside of the initial key markets (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Miami) where service centers will be located, you will be charged an additional $8,000 service fee.
If you live in Hawaii or Alaska, Tesla Roadsters are not yet available in your states.
If you live outside of the United States, Tesla Roadsters are not yet available.
If you have already given your deposit for your Roadster and decide you are no longer interested, you $5,000 deposit is refundable (minus $100 for processing). The $30,000 deposit is refundable until three months before the production of your car.
Current Tesla Roadster Pre-Orders (unconfirmed):
Sergey Brin - Google
Larry Page - Google
George Clooney
Dennis Haysbert
Martin Eberhard - former Tesla CEO
Elon Musk - Tesla Chairman of the Board
Michael Marks - former CEO of Flextronics, interim Tesla CEO
Chris Paine - writer and director, "Who Killed the Electric Car"
Dean Devlin - producer "Who Killed the Electric Car"
Scott Burns - producer, "An Inconvenient Truth"
Arnold Schwarzenegger / Maria Shriver - Actor/politician & his wife
Gavin Newsom - San Francisco Mayor
Nicholas Pritzker - Hyatt hotel CEO
Eric Stang - Reliant CEO
Brian Halla - CEO of National Semiconductor
Matt Damon - Actor
Will.I.Am - Singer
Michael "Flea" Balzary - Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist
Jim Marver - VantagePoint Venture Partners
Steve Jurvetson - Venture Capitalist
Jon Faiz Kayyem - Managing Partner of Efficacy Capital Ltd
Rob Wilder - CEO of WilderShares LLC
Dean Kamen - New Hampshire inventor
Jeff Skoll - formerly of eBay
Jon Mittelhauser - co-founded Netscape Communications
Stephen Casner - Fellow, Packet Design
Bob Bressler - Owner of Bressler Vineyards
Don Cox - Professor of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
Earl Cox - Don Cox's son
Rich Chen - formerly of Google
Josh Hannah - Flutter.com president
Tom & Cathy Saxton
Bill Bennett
Doug Cheeseman - adventure tour operator
Farzad Nazem - Ex Yahoo! CTO
Loren Carpenter - Pixar co-founder
Julie Chaiken - sportswear designer
Allen Skolnick
Barry Skolnick - CAMBR CEO
Don Ruggiero - CAMBR CFO
Corinne - El Dorado Hills, CA
Greg Woulf
Simon Hackett - ISP Representative, Australia
Matt - Domain broker from NY
Michael Valentine
Scott Byer - Photoshop Architect from Cupertino, CA
