It finally happened. The future is here. The future is now. Tesla Motors in San Carlos, California, a company we scooped about a month ago in Silicon Valley- The New Detroit?, has released specifications on its revolutionary battery powered car.
Several years ago we published The Car of the Future, which described the ambitious plans of a start-up company to build a fuel cell powered car they would deliver to a grateful world. Then last year we published The Battery Powered Car, which, among other things, demonstrated that batteries are twice as efficient an energy storage mechanism as fuel cells, and considerably cheaper to obtain - and that grid electricity can power a car for a fraction of what gasoline cars cost to operate.
And now the next generation, 100% electric car is here, and it runs on laptop batteries! Mass produced Lithium Ion batteries with an energy density of well over 200 watts per kilogram. And this isn’t just any car - this car will perform like a bat out of hell.
Back in the 1990’s, for a while, battery-powered cars were in vogue. But it was too soon, in spite of the legendary General Motors EV-1 coming out of that era. The EV-1 was a very hot sports car, although few recognized it at the time. It had a top speed of 185 miles per hour, and the manufacturer had installed a governor to prevent drivers from going that fast.
But if the EV-1 was a brilliant piece of engineering, ahead of its time, kind of like the first combat jet ever produced, the German ME-262, then the Tesla Roadster is kind of like America’s 2006 top-of-the-line F-18 Hornet.
Compare these stats: The EV-1 had 137 horsepower and went 0-60 mph in 7.4 seconds. The Tesla Roadster puts out 185 kilowatts (248 horsepower) and goes 0-60 in 4.5 seconds. If the EV-1 had a top speed of 185 MPH with a 1,600 pound battery pack, what do you think the actual top speed of the Tesla Roadster is, with only 1,000 pounds of batteries? The Tesla Roadster’s spec sheet only discreetly says “over 130 miles per hour.” Gentlemen, get these cars on the autobahn.
Most important, the Tesla Roadster has a range on one charge of 250 miles, and can be recharged on the road in a few hours. The EV-1 only went about 100 miles on a charge, and took all night to charge on a normal wall socket.
Keep your eyes on Tesla Motors. They make me very proud to be a Californian.
September 1st, 2006 at 6:37 pm
Given the environmental impacts (or lack thereof) and the $60 mil or so that is invested in this company, I sure hope these things sell like hot cakes. I want one so badly I can taste it. Just have to come up with $100K…
Martin Eberhard’s vision is genius. And like him, I want a seriously sexy sports car that is also earth friendly. We are all lucky he had the smarts and finesse to make that dream reality.
Proud to be a fellow Californian with this guy? Hell yes!
September 2nd, 2006 at 4:26 am
Next time you roll up behind a Hummer, or an Escalade, or any other gas guzzling dinosaur lumbering towards its rendezvous with destiny….wave and smile as you pass ‘em in style in your electric Tesla Roadster….It’s time to say “Good bye, EV1. So long, GEM. Sayonara, honorable Prius.” Make room for the new king of the road, the “next big thing”, the “must have” ‘rocket car to the future! Nikola Tesla himself would weep with joy to have been honored by this sleek, sexy, powerfully hot, bitchin’ SuperCar loaded with torque and state-of-the-art technology! We’ve seen the future and IT’S ELECTRIC, BABY!
May 8th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
This car is beautiful but why do they not integrate photovoltic solar skin? It seems so obvious for any electric even the hybrids…Why. Help me understand…please.
June 19th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
[...] it had to happen. Just as we reported with delight back in 2006 on the imminent arrival of the Tesla Roadster, an all-electric car we estimate can top out somewhere north of 180 mph, last week we learned of a [...]
July 11th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
We have been shamefully blaming the big engine Muscle Cars since the 70’s era but its not the cars that are at fault, its the fuel we have been using to power them that has contaminated our world.
September 13th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
“We have been shamefully blaming the big engine Muscle Cars since the 70’s era but its not the cars that are at fault, its the fuel we have been using to power them that has contaminated our world’ Say’s
Ralph Martigani, Jr
October 25th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
If I were not to have paid attention to the 90s, I might believe that the article accurately portrays the “unrecognized” accomplishments of the EV-1. In vogue? Hardly. It was barely more than a concept. I bet that no readers here have ever seen one on the streets. So to me it is not a foregone conclusion that the Tesla has much more, perhaps it has less, maturity or wider availability than the EV-1. However I am looking forward to a hope that this hype turns into something real.