{"id":705,"date":"2009-10-06T21:16:26","date_gmt":"2009-10-06T15:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mohamediqbalp.wordpress.com\/2009\/10\/06\/the-tesla-roadster-is-a-rocket-and-all-electric-too\/"},"modified":"2009-10-06T21:16:26","modified_gmt":"2009-10-06T15:46:26","slug":"the-tesla-roadster-is-a-rocket-and-all-electric-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2009\/10\/06\/the-tesla-roadster-is-a-rocket-and-all-electric-too\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tesla Roadster is a rocket. And all-electric, too"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sep 22, 2009 04:00 PM in Energy & Sustainability<\/a> |
\n21 comments<\/a><\/p>\n

By Mark Fischetti<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"comment\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"tesla-roadster\"\u201cAre you ready?\u201d the young driver beside me asked, as we sat in the two-seat Tesla Roadster<\/a>
\nconvertible, facing a straight, steep, quarter-mile road that rises
\nfrom the water of San Francisco Bay up the headland to the Golden Gate
\nBridge. Then he floored the accelerator. I was driven into the
\nseat-back behind me\u2014and I mean driven, like I was strapped into some
\ninsane amusement park ride\u2014for several full seconds as the car
\naccelerated and accelerated like a rocket up the climb. Only there was
\nno screaming flame blasting behind us. There was no engine roaring
\neither. I was being shot up this road so fast my emergency senses were
\non full alert, yet all was eerily quiet.<\/p>\n

The Tesla Motors roadster is an all-electric vehicle. Which means zero
\nemissions. There\u2019s no engine, no fuel tank, just a deep bank of lithium-ion batteries<\/a>
\nand a single-gear, direct-drive motor that hits maximum torque
\ninstantly (that\u2019s the beauty of electric propulsion). The car is
\nblistering fast; the sport edition goes from zero to 60 miles per hour
\nin 3.7 seconds. Not up on car specs? The Chevy Corvette, with a monster
\n6.2 liter, eight cylinder, 430 horsepower engine takes 4.6 seconds. The
\nTesla accelerates faster than the Porsche 911. Faster than the Ferrari
\nSpider. The typical sedan takes a good 6.0 seconds or more to reach the
\nsame speed.<\/p>\n

The Tesla is not a one-trick pony, however. It has a range of 244 miles on a full charge<\/a>,
\nwhich it has proven in real-world driving tests. It meets all the
\nstandard safety requirements and looks and handles like any other
\nexotic roadster, particularly the Lotus: it is a low-slung, two-door,
\nhard-top convertible with tight cockpit seats and little room for much
\nelse. The price tag is $128,500, which sounds like a lot until you
\nstart looking up exotic roadsters, which can cost even more. If you
\nwant to save some money for sushi lunches on the pier, you can buy the
\nregular Tesla Roadster for $101,500, but you\u2019ll have to wait a full 3.9
\nseconds to hit 60 miles per hour.<\/p>\n

Few people can afford this car, of course, but the pin-drop quiet<\/a>
\nTesla makes a loud statement: an all-electric car can compete with
\ngasoline roadhogs. And if they can do that, they can certainly make it
\nas mainstream vehicles. The Roadster is much more than a proof of
\ntechnology; it proves to the world that all-electric automobiles are
\nfor real. The company has begun offering a four-door sedan for $49,900
\nthat will be delivered in 2011.<\/p>\n

Sales manager Dan Myggen gave me my ride outside the GoingGreen conference<\/a>
\nin Sausalito, Calif. All day he took passengers for a spin around the
\nhalf-mile circle in front of the Cavallo Point hotel, then up the steep
\nroad to the bridge. Every person who returned climbed out of the car
\nwith a big smile on his or her face. It was impossible not to grin. The
\ncar looks hot and rides hot. It\u2019s a smile machine. Whether Tesla will
\nsucceed commercially remains to be seen, but other startups are making
\ntheir own all-electric models, and the major car companies are diving
\nin too. Whether the standard claim that volume production will bring
\ndown cost proves true also remains to be seen, but I can say with
\ncertainty, now, that if anyone doubts whether all-electric cars can
\ncompete: they can.<\/p>\n

Credit: Courtesey of Tesla Motors<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Read More About: <\/strong><\/p>\n

alternative fuels<\/a>,
\nelectric cars<\/a>,
\nTesla Motors<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sep 22, 2009 04:00 PM in Energy & Sustainability | 21 comments By Mark Fischetti \u201cAre you ready?\u201d the young driver beside me asked, as we sat in the two-seat Tesla Roadster convertible, facing a straight, steep, quarter-mile road that rises from the water of San Francisco Bay up the headland to the Golden Gate…
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