Tesla Motors
If you haven’t heard about this America car company start-up yet than I know our press is failing us! The quality of cars that Tesla is shelling out is just amazing. For example, take their roadster, which was first introduced in 2006 and delivers some serious specs. It goes from 0-60 in about 3.9 seconds (compare this with Ferrari Enzo’s 0-60 speed of about 3.3 seconds), has a charge of 244 miles, and is 100% electric! All of which does come at a price. Checking in at $101,500, which includes a $7,500 tax credit given by the government, most of us won’t be driving around these beauties anytime in our lifetime.
Why would an electric car company want to make a electronic sports car that hardly anyone can afford? The answer is simple really — to make an impression. Although, electric car technology isn’t new, it certainly is non-mainstream when it comes to what you can find on the road today. The car makers needed to prove that their car could not only perform with zero emissions but also amaze the car buffs that owning electric car doesn’t mean that you have to putz around in a boring vehicle. Frankly, I think that this was the correct approach since they have now proved that the car can compete on any end of the spectrum.
So what comes next? Well, they recently just announced their Model S which will be a much more affordable at $50,000. They have already begun taking reservations and they have not surprisingly done very well even though the cars won’t be delivered until 2012. You can see a rundown of some of the basics of this sedan below.
Infrastructure and range is another important issue when talking about a 100% electric car. The range on the Tesla cars are fairly substantial and for inner city driving it is adequate for the average commute or trip to the grocery store. It is also important to note that the majority of people around the world now live in cities and thus the market for those that only need to drive within the city limits is massive. But what about the long cross country trips? Could this be where our future hybrids will be our best candidate or will high speed rail fill in the gaps for those that wish to travel out of the range of the electric cars. Another idea that I have thought of is that a network of stations much like gas stations could be set up where you would detach your electric battery and replace it with a fully charged one. The station would then simply recharge your battery for the next arriving customer. I don’t know if the current cars have the ability to easily detach the batteries but if this feature was available long distance driving in all-electric could be possible.
There really is so much to talk about when it comes to the electric car and I am glad to know that the company that is leading the way is American owned. Let’s embrace the future and let our car industry revive through the creativity of our new leaders. Tesla is making its stand as being one of those leaders.
For more photos, news, and specs go to www.teslamotors.com
