Why the Tesla Roadster is important
Posted Saturday, September 23rd 2006
Electric cars and petrol/electric hybrids seem to pop up out of nowhere recently and then disappear into oblivion just as fast as they showed up. Although this can be attributed to the fact that most people see electric cars as an inconvenience rather than what most likely will be (part of) the automotive future, there are some rare individuals out there that believe in the idea and try to put together something that will break the stereotype of boring electrical cars, but infact, be desirable.
250 horsepower, 130 mph (roughly 220 km/h), 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) in 4 seconds. All that from an electric car, that will cost about 10 times less to run than a normal internal-combustion engine car. Interested? I certainly am. And although the Tesla Roadster is out of my car price range - it’s expected to be sold for around $100.000 when it starts selling later this year or in 2007 - I’m certainly excited about it.
The thing is, there are very good reasons why this car gets me, and should get every technology junkie excited. Because it’s a combination of state of the art technology, it’s built by the right people, and although it might seem unimportant (and it’s not, more on this a bit later), it’s supported by the right people.
Technology first. Most hybrids use lead-based batteries that have limited capacity, and thus, limited range. The Tesla Roadster can go 250 miles (400 kilometres) between recharging, which is an amazing feat, thanks mainly to it’s top of the range lithium ion Energy Storage System. This means zero emissions, which means clean, feel good driving. All that with high performance. This goes on to link with the fact that the Roadster will be built by the people at Lotus, and is loosely based on the Lotus Elise (for those not in the know, the Lotus Elise is the surgical scalpel to the Dodge Viper’s sledgehammer). So basically, that means that the Roadster will be a perfect driver’s car, and it will be that without the pollution and excessive fuel bills.
However, what makes the Tesla Roadster really interesting, is the list of people that have invested in the project, and thus shown their support. The list includes Google’s Sergey Brin and and Larry Page, as well as former eBay honcho Jeff Skoll and the guy that created PayPal and then sold it to eBay for $1.5 billion - Elon Musk. These are people that seemingly turn everything they touch into a success story, so their support probably says a lot for the project.
So why exactly is the Tesla Roadster so important? At first glance, it doesn’t seem as such, but it is. It’s the right technology and the right people at the right time. With the backing from influential people that this car has, it can truly be a revolution. It’s very important.
More Information:
Endgadget - Tesla Electric Roadster: 0-60 in 4 seconds.
Wikipedia - Tesla Roadster
Serious Wheels - 2007 Tesla Roadster
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