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0 to 60 in 4 seconds, in an electric car
Tesla roadster and other new sports cars pump speed and fun into going green.
Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times
When Tesla, the upstart auto company based in Silicon Valley, unveiled its all-electric Roadster in Santa Monica, Calif., recently, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped in for a surprise visit.
The event -- where Tesla was offering its first 100 "signature edition'' cars for $100,000 apiece -- felt like automotive history, and I have the feeling that one day I'm going to be very glad I bothered to attend.
The sleek carbon-bodied sports car is, by my reckoning, the first plausible electric automobile of the 21st century. And, without electrics, the 22nd century is going to be very rocky indeed.
To appreciate the Tesla, it helps to compare it to the much-lamented EV1, GM's electric car that was, in the mid-1990s, the most advanced vehicle of its kind.
The Tesla Roadster has a range of 250 miles, says the company. The EV1, with the best nickel metal hydride batteries, could go about 150 miles under ideal conditions. A full charge of the EV1 could take eight hours. The Tesla's lithium-ion batteries can be raised from the dead to a full charge in 3 1/2 hours and, unlike the EV1, the Tesla will come with its own portable charging pack so it won't be range-tethered to its home charging station.
The Tesla is a toothsome sports car. The EV1, um, wasn't.
Perhaps most important and most unlike the EV1, the Tesla offers something beyond virtue as a reward to its buyers: fun, in large, hair-raising voltages. The company claims 0 to 60 mph acceleration in 4 seconds and a top speed of 130 mph.
Big brakes, racy suspension, optional leather and navigation system, air conditioning, heated seats. There's even room for golf clubs. With the Tesla, the electric car seems poised to move past its groovy-granola beginnings.
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"I don't know too much about the Tesla,'' says Roland Hwang, senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, ``but two-thirds less greenhouse gases and 0 to 60 in 4 seconds? Who could be against that?"
Tesla roadster and other new sports cars pump speed and fun into going green.
Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times
When Tesla, the upstart auto company based in Silicon Valley, unveiled its all-electric Roadster in Santa Monica, Calif., recently, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped in for a surprise visit.
The event -- where Tesla was offering its first 100 "signature edition'' cars for $100,000 apiece -- felt like automotive history, and I have the feeling that one day I'm going to be very glad I bothered to attend.
The sleek carbon-bodied sports car is, by my reckoning, the first plausible electric automobile of the 21st century. And, without electrics, the 22nd century is going to be very rocky indeed.
To appreciate the Tesla, it helps to compare it to the much-lamented EV1, GM's electric car that was, in the mid-1990s, the most advanced vehicle of its kind.
The Tesla Roadster has a range of 250 miles, says the company. The EV1, with the best nickel metal hydride batteries, could go about 150 miles under ideal conditions. A full charge of the EV1 could take eight hours. The Tesla's lithium-ion batteries can be raised from the dead to a full charge in 3 1/2 hours and, unlike the EV1, the Tesla will come with its own portable charging pack so it won't be range-tethered to its home charging station.
The Tesla is a toothsome sports car. The EV1, um, wasn't.
Perhaps most important and most unlike the EV1, the Tesla offers something beyond virtue as a reward to its buyers: fun, in large, hair-raising voltages. The company claims 0 to 60 mph acceleration in 4 seconds and a top speed of 130 mph.
Big brakes, racy suspension, optional leather and navigation system, air conditioning, heated seats. There's even room for golf clubs. With the Tesla, the electric car seems poised to move past its groovy-granola beginnings.
>
>
"I don't know too much about the Tesla,'' says Roland Hwang, senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, ``but two-thirds less greenhouse gases and 0 to 60 in 4 seconds? Who could be against that?"
ZZZZZZZZZOOOOoooommmmmmm.....