Tesla Roadster Sport Electric Car
The 2009 Tesla Roadster is now for sale, and customers on the waiting list for this instant collector’s item are starting to get the keys to their sporty little roadster. By now, you’ve probably heard of Tesla — the startup electric car company brought to you by Silicon Valley rather than Detroit. And you might have heard rumblings that its Lotus Elise-based Roadster has been far from problem-free, with the most notable being a failed two-speed transmission that had to be replaced (including in those vehicles already sold) by this year’s one-speed automatic.
The company itself has had issues, from fired executives to shuttered dealerships. The future remains questionable for the Tesla Roadster, but for now, it remains an intriguing choice for wealthy, green-minded car buyers in search of a little fun.
Like the Lotus Elise on which it is based, the tiny 2009 Tesla Roadster features a rather spartan interior. The heated seats and Momo steering wheel are trimmed in leather, but otherwise don’t expect the sort of luxury normally associated with a car costing $100,000. However, the Roadster does differ from the Elise in its modified transmission tunnel that hosts the exclusive automatic shifter, along with the LCD information readout for battery charge, range and optional navigation.
Tesla is not the first major manufacturer to have an electric car. GM came out with the EV1 in the early 1990s. I had one for a week and I loved it. It was quick but it only went about 125 miles on a charge. In 80 years it went only 10 miles further that my 1909 Baker Electric, and really a 125-mile range means you only have about a 60-mile range, because you have to come back.
Recall that the Tesla, named for 19th- and early-20th-century electrical über-inventor Nikola Tesla, is a two-seat targa assembled by Lotus in England and finished by Tesla Motors in San Carlos, California. The aluminum-chassis and carbon-fiber-paneled roadster weighs 2756 pounds, 781 more than an Elise, but is made spunky by a 248-hp, air-cooled AC-induction electric motor fed by 6831 lithium-ion cells resembling slightly overweight AA penlight batteries.
Tesla has showrooms in California and London. On Thursday, Tesla will open a regional sales and service center in New York. It’s also opening stores in Chicago, Seattle, Miami, Washington DC, Toronto, Monaco and Munich.
This announcement affects U.S. Roadster customers only. Tesla plans to offer financing for the Model S sedan closer to the anticipated start of production in late 2011.
Tags: automatic, chassis, design, electric car, electric motor, lithium, Nikola Tesla, sedan, Tesla, Tesla roadster, Tesla roadster sport
December 9th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
We have had electric cars for years, we had them over one hundred years ago. We need to ensure that governments and other bodies do not allow the industry to fester. Remember the EV1?