Screw hybrids, I wanna go electric
The Tesla Roadster:
- 100% electric
- 0-60 in 4 seconds
- 135 mpg equivalent
- 250 miles per charge
- about 1 cent per mile
Check out the Tesla Roadster website and get your order in for a 2008 model.
Martin Eberhard, the Tesla’s inventor, explains to Slate why the Tesla Roadster is different from previous electric cars:
Eberhard says traditional carmakers have failed with electrics for two reasons. First, they market them as “penalty boxes” for environmental do-gooders and gas-mileage-obsessed penny-pinchers. Second, they just don’t understand batteries. The Tesla’s giant lithium-ion battery pack gives it the power to hit 60 in four seconds, to run 250 miles without a recharge, and to charge rapidly at its home charging base (a one-hour charge will take you 80 miles; it takes a 3.5-hour charge to go 250 miles). You can even plug into a wall socket at a roadside stop in a pinch. That makes the Roadster a viable commuter car and weekend day-tripper. The company claims energy costs as low as a penny per mile.
Plans are already underway for a sedan to compete with BMW 5-series cars. I can hardly wait to see what the big car companies decide to bring to the game.