Earth-Friendly Tech
Tesla Roadster
While hybrids are all the rage, the electric car gets a bad rap for being kind of nerdy -- thanks in large part to actor/environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. Well, forget all of that. The fully electric, sexy as hell, $92,000 Tesla, from Tesla Motors in California, can reach 130 mph and zoom 0 to 60 in about four seconds. That's while averaging 200 miles off of a single charge and sputtering out zero emissions. It's first run sold out in just four months, but orders can be placed now for the 2008 model.
While hybrids are all the rage, the electric car gets a bad rap for being kind of nerdy -- thanks in large part to actor/environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. Well, forget all of that. The fully electric, sexy as hell, $92,000 Tesla, from Tesla Motors in California, can reach 130 mph and zoom 0 to 60 in about four seconds. That's while averaging 200 miles off of a single charge and sputtering out zero emissions. It's first run sold out in just four months, but orders can be placed now for the 2008 model.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rbyowens @ Apr 19th 2007 7:42AM
Hopefully, the prices for hybrids will go down a bit, right now I can't afford one. Especially $92,000. If I am going to pay that kind of money, I want to buy American.
Harry Presley @ Apr 19th 2007 11:58AM
I guess the charge that this thing takes if free electricity from a windmill or something. If everyone in the united states suddenly drove a car like this, the pollution caused by the power plants across the USA would go up exponentially. Electricity comes from burning something most of the time. The percentage of clean energy is very small. Any additional energy requirements now would come from burning coal or natural gas. This is not a "clean machine".
hansensmythe @ Apr 19th 2007 12:14PM
I agree - electric vehicles are only as good as the source of the electricity. The same goes for hydrogen-fuelled cars: you have to ask about the source of the fuel, which is just a means of transporting energy, not a source of energy itself.
You can make a much bigger difference by not having a car at all: using transit or a bicycle when you can, and joining a car sharing cooperative for when you really need a car and have no other reasonable alternative. Selling our only car sure made me and my family reevaluate the true cost of each trip we make, and helped us overcome our addiction to gasoline.
Jack Buxton @ Apr 19th 2007 12:51PM
It would be nice ,but the state of Washington fines you for buying a hybrid when you licenses it.
Jeff Scarbrough @ Apr 19th 2007 8:33PM
I do owm and drive an electric only car that I converted from gas. Its a real blast to drive, though it won't go as fast as the TELSA does. But then again, it cost a lot closer to 15K than to 90K!! As to the BIG OIL idea that we would have much more air polution from power plants than we do now have from cars, NUTS! The power plants are much more tightly regulated than are cars. And no body takes a power plant home with them to monkey around with the engine to make it run BETTER by killing the polution controls, do they?
I just wish I had the money to start building conversions full time. I get lots of inquiries out here in OIL COUNTRY!!
QUESTIONS? email me ALLELECTRICCARS@AOL.COM
Mickey @ Apr 19th 2007 8:57PM
Actually you guys, there are all-electric cars available and they are only around $10,000 for a brand new one. There are a couple companies in florida and california and one in Salem, OR I know of for sure, I went and test drove one. They are really nice, most have leather and cd player, are three wheels car, classified as motorcycle so it's cheap on insurance and licensing. Have only found a couple insurance companies that will insure them cause so knew, but State Farm will for sure here in Oregon and Washington State. Am getting one in a couple weeks. It's a company called ZAP, stands for Zero Air Pollution. They are really awesome little cars. Only go about 40 miles but most of us just drive around town anyway most of the time. You can always rent or borrow car if you need to go out of town. Check them out at; ZapWorld.com Thanks for keeping it "green"!
myron @ Apr 19th 2007 9:17PM
Eventhough most of the energy is made from carbon based fuels, that amount- like the vehicels we're driving is changing. Wind and solar electric production is growing faster than the numbers of cars to use them. Hopefully the cost of the cars will drop like the cost of solar and wind electric generation has--only faster.
Ken @ Apr 19th 2007 9:44PM
Actually the Tesla is not a hybrid. It is total electric. Its specs can be seen at www.teslamotors.com.
Pollution from power plants to power the Tesla is far less than from gas powered cars because of its efficiency. Additionally, if all transportation were electric there would be less electric power consumed than is currently. This is because oil refineries use more electric power to produce a gallon of gasoline than an electric vehicle uses to go the same distance as a typical gas car goes on a gallon of gasoline.
My wife and I purchased a total electric vehicle (Myers Motors NmG) that we have been driving since Thanksgiving 2006. At our electric rate, Its energy usage is cent per mile driving with a heavy foot. That equates to about 400 miles per gallon. That also includes interstate driving at 75 MPH.
Alex @ Apr 20th 2007 12:37AM
...electirc cars ran on batteries. they were genius, but they were going to put many people out of business. Throughout the Electric car's life never did it need to be fixed or oil changed, only tears spin and cleaner fluid. The car was pure genius. But GMC stopped making them because apparently no one wanted it. Once it became mainstream the prices would have been decreased and it would have been available to anyone. But the risk was that too many people had too much to loose. So they destroyed every single one they ever made and acted like it never exsisted. If you want to learn more, there is an extraordinary documentary called: "Who Killed the Electric Car"
Just watch it. You may realize a few things you didn't know before. Good luck
d @ Apr 20th 2007 2:19AM
The most efficient cars should have little or no taxes. The most wasteful vehicles should have a much higher tax.
jcpsme @ Apr 20th 2007 6:09AM
Electric cars are cheaper to fuel than gas but the idea that it's a better source of energy because powerplants are better regulated is not true. Here the powerplants burn coal and the eleictric companies whine because of the cost of building new cleaner plants or updateing existing ones so the government lets them buy credits to offset the extra pollution because they can't(won't)meet regulations. On top of that these plants do tremendous amounts damage to the local ecology and the health of those that live near them and this is ignored by the government.
d b @ Apr 20th 2007 6:36AM
To those who comment that power plants put out more pollution than cars you're correct. One problem with your analogy, the numbers don't add up. Plenty of sites have done the math and the pollution per mile of an electric car compared to a gas operated car is way way less. Number one we should be much closer to alternative energy but since we aren't here are some of the numbers: Many EVs critics point out that charging thousands of EVs from aging coal plants will increase greenhouse gases such as CO2 significantly. Although half the country uses coal-fired plants, EVs recharging from these facilities are predicted to produce less CO2 than ICE vehicles. According to the World Resources Institute, EVs recharging from coal-fired plants will reduce CO2 emissions in the country from 17 to 22 percent.
Harry @ Apr 20th 2007 9:03AM
Tesla Roadster is 110% PROOF that we have the technology elimate a great deal of man made pollution and PROOF that the US DOES NOTT want it to enter the market, because it has too much interest ($) in FUEL. Telsa should start by introducing an affordable electric compact car for the majority of us.
Harry @ Apr 20th 2007 9:15AM
And meanwhile we have "Bush", (ignoring this technology & companies like Telsa) & making national ANNOUNCEMENTS, distorting everything & trying to tell us to convert corn into fuel... is this a joke or what?
sherrod freedom moore @ Apr 20th 2007 10:55AM
sherrod says,
Our human consumer valves system(s) must be totally changed that fuel this world economical-nightmare that's beyond repair.
Fusion, SUN POWER, a MAGNETIC BOTTLE to contain it and to challenized a global source of FREE ENERGY for all mankind everywhere on borderless-planet earth.
Cars and mass transportation aren't necessary when you are at home anywhere you roam; take a walk and why look back?, eat a plant and enjoy drinking pure fresh water without a passport.
Daily AM and PM is quite accurate without a clock when there isn't any need to hurry. Stress dosen't exsist and obessity is nill and the dirt under your feet belongs to nobody. No one is lost and the direction you're headed brings you back to where you started in a better environment without being late for a mortgage payment. The energy is free and available and there aren't any fields to plow that's depended on fission power; just a short-life time holiday fueled from the sun via a MEGNETIC BOTTLE for FUSION that mankind created and shares with all concerns!
17:46 Oahu/mid Pacific Ocean, 2007
David Rosenberg @ Apr 24th 2007 6:01PM
It is too bad the Electric Car was dumped years ago. The Auto Ind. along with the Oil Ind. made sure it was put to rest. If it was allowed to continue to be researched, they probably would be as expensive as gas burners today. The Electric Car will keep improving, more companies will start up, bringing the price down.
David Haynes @ Apr 27th 2007 11:55AM
I have a really neat idea that would enable the Tesla Electric powered vehicle to travel from the East Coast to the West Coast and back again, all on the same charge.
I haave figured out a way that super charged baroid magnets could produce unlimited amounts of electricity, 24/7, rain or shine.
Is anyone out there that is reading this associated with Tesla Motors or another electric vehicle manufacturer? If yes, please contact me at: Liquidassets2008@aol.com David