Filed under: Convertibles, Coupes, Hybrids/Alternative, Etc., Green
Tesla Roadster unveiling in Santa Monica
Last night Tesla Motors unveiled their uber-chic Roadster, a powerful electric vehicle that looks, feels and drives like many other high-end sports cars. The main difference is the noise. Powered by a 3-phase, 4-pole AC induction motor, the Roadster can go 130 mph and does 0-60 in about 4 seconds, all completely silent.
Tonight was the grand unveiling of the Roadster in a decorated airport hangar in Santa Monica, CA. I don't ride in many sports cars, and I certainly have never been in one that zips across an airport's tarmac without so much as a whisper. But tonight I got a quick ride in the Roadster and all I could hear from the passenger's seat (not even Gov. Schwarzenegger, who flew in for a brief look at the car, was allowed to drive it) was wind noise. And myself saying "Wow" under my breath.
Click on any image to enlarge.
Check out the rest of Sebastian's report, a gallery of LIVE and OFFICIAL pics, and Tesla's press release with full specs after the jump.
[Source: Tesla Motors - check out the site now!]
The car is low to the ground, and smooth in all possible ways. But this vehicle isn't just a sports car. It's also a green car. There are zero tailpipe emissions. There isn't even a tailpipe. Tesla Motors is working to provide purchasers with a photovoltaic panel that will turn the driving experience into an actual net producer of energy, according to Tesla Motors chairman Elon Musk.
Tonight's unveiling was also an invitation to purchase the Roadster when it is released in mid-2007 (for about $80,000-$120,000). The company is offering the first 100 Tesla Roadsters as Signature models. Musk said that the people who buy the Signature cars will not only be getting an incredible sports car, but will be helping to pay the R&D costs for future Tesla Motor vehicles. And that's what tonight was really about: the future. Gadget, an L.A.-based mechanic who converts ICE cars to EV and was seen in the movie "Who Killed The Electric Car?", and that film's director Chris Paine, were right behind me in line for the test ride. Earlier in the evening, Tesla Motors CEO Martin Eberhard said that, "An electric sports car was the way to fundamentally change the way we drive in the USA." Gadget and Paine agreed – although Gadget is convinced his conversion process is going to be more effective than $100,000 sports cars in getting EVs onto the streets – and after seeing what is possible with an EV, I have to admit there is pretty much endless possibility out there in electric motor land.
Lastly, there have been a lot of rumors floating around about the Roadster's specs, and tonight Tesla Motors finally let us know exactly what the deal is. Some of the rumors are true: the car can go 250 miles or so on a single charge (thanks in part to regenerative breaking that charges the AC motor) and will have all of the crash test ratings and safety features (airbags, GPS) when it is released. You can read the entire spec sheet and press release after the jump and at the Tesla Motor's website.
TESLA MOTORS HOSTS WORLD DEBUT OF TESLA ROADSTER
OFFERING PERFORMANCE, STYLE & EFFICIENCY- WITH A CONSCIENCE
Silicon Valley Manufacturer Unveils Sleek, Clean and Fast
Performance Electric Vehicle Before Crowd of Well-Wishers
SAN CARLOS, Calif. – (July 19, 2006) – The first performance electric car manufactured by Tesla Motors, the high-performance, zero-emissions Tesla Roadster, was unveiled before a throng of well-wishers, car buffs, and potential customers Wednesday evening during Tesla's "Signature One Hundred" event at Barker Hangar.
More than 350 invited guests spent the evening learning about the new sports car, speaking with Tesla Motors executives, and going for rides along the tarmac at the Santa Monica Airport, adjacent to the event. Many signed up to be among the first to take delivery of the Tesla Roadster, becoming Signature One Hundred Members.
Celebrities in attendance included actor Ed Begley Jr., producer Richard Donner, businessman Michael Eisner, PayPal founder (and Tesla Motors Chairman) Elon Musk, Participant Productions' Founder and CEO Jeff Skoll, also of eBay fame, and actor Bradley Whitford, who starred in "The West Wing."
"We're thrilled to have the support of top people from so many different industries," said Martin Eberhard, CEO of Tesla Motors. "High-tech, CleanTech, entertainment, automotive, you name it. It's gratifying to have others realize the significance or what Tesla Motors is doing."
The electric-powered Tesla Roadster boasts a top speed of more than 130 mph and a range of 250 miles on a single charge, a combination heretofore unseen in a mass-produced electric vehicle. Its extended range is due to its state-of-the-art lithium-ion Energy Storage System. The Tesla Roadster is capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph in about four seconds.
"The Tesla Roadster delivers sports car performance without using any gasoline," said Eberhard. "This is what we hoped to achieve when we started the company three years ago, to build a car with zero emissions that people would love to drive."
Using a unique two-speed manual transmission, the Tesla Roadster's power comes from a 3-phase, 4-pole AC induction motor coupled with the Power Electronics Module (PEM) which provides multiple functionality of inverting direct current to 3-phase alternating current, the charging system, and the regenerative braking system.
The Roadster's Energy Storage System (ESS) provides power to the entire vehicle, including the motor. Its durable, tamper-resistant enclosure includes: 6,831 lithium-ion cells; a network of microprocessors for maintaining charge balance and temperature among the batteries; a cooling system; and an independent safety system designed to disconnect power outside the enclosure under a variety of detectable safety situations.
The Tesla Roadster comes complete with its Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE), a home-based charging system. An optional mobile charging kit, for re-charging while away from the EVSE, also features this automatic disconnect system. Charging the Tesla Roadster takes approximately 3.5 hours.
The Tesla Roadster is capable of driving up to 250 miles (EPA Highway) on a single charge, a range roughly triple that of previous mass-produced electric vehicles, like General Motors' EV1.
"It didn't make sense to sell a car that couldn't go 90 miles on a charge. You'd spend more time charging the old EVs than driving them," said Eberhard. "Lithium-ion technology, which has been proven in many different applications, has allowed us to achieve exactly what we thought it would in terms of power, range and efficiency."
The body design of the Tesla Roadster, which included a collaborative effort by the company's employees, has been headed by Barney Hatt, Principal Designer at the Lotus Design Studio in England. The result is a sleek, stylish sports car that will appeal to enthusiasts and environmentalists the world over.
Tesla designers and engineers have gone to great lengths to ensure that not only is the Tesla Roadster safe to drive, but also when charging the performance electric car, at home or on the road. Their goal is to not only meet, but to surpass the rigorous standards of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, or FMVSS, as implemented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Tesla co-founders Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who serves as Vice President, Engineering, have brought together a team of automotive industry veterans plus Silicon Valley electronics and Internet engineers to bring the Tesla Roadster to life.
Research and Development for Tesla Motors is based at the Corporate Headquarters in San Carlos, Calif. Engines are manufactured at Tesla's facility in Taiwan, and assembly takes place at Tesla's plant in England.
Eberhard and Tarpenning provided the early funding for the company, and were joined in 2003 by Musk, CEO of SpaceX, who is the major investor in the company and serves as Chairman of Tesla Motors.
Musk worked with Eberhard and Tarpenning to attract more investors and approach Venture Capital firms, and in June 2006, Tesla Motors announced that the company had secured and additional $40 million in financing led by Musk and VantagePoint Venture Partners, one of the largest CleanTech investors in the Silicon Valley.
Deliveries of the Tesla Roadster are expected to begin next summer.
About Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors was founded in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning to create efficient electric cars for people who love to drive. The Chairman of Tesla Motors, a privately held company, is Elon Musk, who has lead or co-led all three rounds of investment resulting in $60 million in funding. Mr. Musk has been instrumental in both corporate and product development at Tesla Motors.
The company currently employs 70 people, including teams in California, the U.K. and Taiwan. The background and experience of Tesla's employees mirrors the vehicle itself, drawing from diverse expertise in the electronics, automotive and Internet industries.
Tesla Motors creates vehicles that conform to all U.S. safety, environmental and durability standards. Tesla's cars include modern safety equipment such as airbags, front crumple zones, side impact protection, and 2½ mph bumpers. Tesla will sell cars in the U.S. only when they pass the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS).
For more information, visit www.teslamotors.com
Motor:
* 3-phase, 4-pole AC induction motor
* 13,500 rpm maximum
* Max Net Power: 185 kW
* Max Torque: 180 lb-ft
* Top speed: over 130 mph
Performance
* 0-60 mph: around four seconds
* 0-100 mph: under 11 seconds
* Range: 200-250 miles per charge (estimated)
* Home-based charging system (EVSE) with integral safety features
Transmission:
* 2 forward speeds + reverse (by reversing the motor)
* 1st gear: 4.20:1
* 2nd gear: 2.17:1
* Reverse by reversing the motor (speed electronically limited)
* Final drive: 3.41:1
Exterior:
* Body: Carbon fiber
* Unique headlamp assemblies using proprietary HID low-beam and halogen high-beam lamp units
* LED taillights, marker lights and direction indicator lights
* Length: 155.4 / 3946 (in/mm)
[UPDATED TO FIX TYPOS]
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)
smartone 8:08PM (7/22/2006)
my question is why doens't anyone develop a small gas engine that would be use by a car like this to charge the batteries instead of propelling the car.
according to the wired article - one gallon of gas can create 110 miles of battery life..
I envision a car like this have 3 banks of batteries each with 80 mile range -- one bank of batteries would be in use - one would be fully charged and a gas power turbine that would charge the third bank of batteries
when the first bank runs out of juice it moves to get charge -- the second bank takes over and the third bank now fully charged would move to second place.
so this car would get 110 miles a gallon and with a 10 gallon tank this car's range would be 1100 miles per tan which would blow away any car on the road
Reply
Dale R 7:40PM (7/23/2006)
This is in response to "The other Bob." Yeah, right Bob, like gasoline has not been "subsidized" by air pollution, global warming(which I suspect you still are unwilling to acknowledge - after Karl Rove tells you its OK to do so, I suspect), and war. Get a grip. The 50's are over.
Reply
Tom Shinault 1:04PM (7/24/2006)
Fantastic. What a great job going green and I haven't seen a Lotus yet I didn't drool over. Great networking. Battery life is the only caveat that I can see now. I hope there's a quick solution. Electricity and photovoltaics from solar is the future as I see it.
Congratulations guys!!!
Reply
Mark F. 11:39PM (7/24/2006)
Thank god, finally someone with vision, and not a sell out has made it a reality! One question, on average how much does it cost to recharge,ie. cost/mile
Reply
Bob in DC 1:33AM (7/25/2006)
If, big IF, the price for this baby declines to ~~$60.000, it will sell like hotcakes --- for city driving!!!
Imagine Lotus looks at less than Hummer prices. (Forget the powerplant -- that is at most a secondery consideration).
Bob
Reply
rgvandewalker 2:21AM (7/26/2006)
On the 23rd, my family and I visited the Pedersen Automotive Museum in L.A., where Tesla had a car on display. The nice PR lady babysitting the car said the batteries should last "well beyond the warranty period." The Tesla web site says "500 charging cycles", and that apparently is a full, deep discharge. The batteries are supposed to last longer if they are only partly discharged before recharging. Also, Li-Ion batteries are falling exponentially in price. At current prices the tesla battery pack costs out to $40,000, but in 5 years it might be as little as $8,000- for the batteries, at least.
Reply
herman 2:41PM (7/26/2006)
In response to this: "It would be interesting to see what would happen if car companies charged the true cost of the cars"
What would be REALLY interesting to see would be if we had to pay the true cost of using gasoline to power our vehicles: paying at the pump for all the health problems from pollution, paying at the pump for the costs of wars, paying at the pump for the incredible noise of gas-powered engines. Of course there is no way to get an exact cost in dollars of how the gasoline engine negatively affects our lives, but ne thing is certain: we are not paying the true cost at the pump.
And if we had to, electric cars would seem like a *steal* in comparison.
Reply
Steven 2:54PM (7/26/2006)
Well, as a guy that came within inches of buying a Lotus and Elise (got a Porsche Boxster S instead) and DOES own a Toyota Prius, I have to tell you that this car really sparks my interest. Big time!
Now, there are several issues tumbling around in my head...
1) 200-250 miles per charge is "estimated." If there's one thing I've learned about mileage estimates is that they are ALWAYS nicely inflated to fairytale land. Tesla does attribute this longer range to the charging system tied to the car's braking (Similar to a Prius). Therefore, if you are doing a long freeway shot, you can bet that the range will be dramatically shortened. Probably something like 100-150 REAL-WORLD miles per charge, I would guess. And that truly is just a guess. But I bet it's accurate.
2) The Prius battery is less advanced nickel metal hydride. It's estimated service life is about 10 years and is warranted for either 7 or 8 years (I forgot which) or 100,000 miles. It IS expensive to replace. Approx. $3500 if not a warranty issue. I'm sure lithium ion is at least 2, if not 3 or 4, times as expensive.
3) Nice acceleration times. VERY poor top speed. Why not make this thing a 3 speed or even 4, 5 or 6 speed??? And there was no mention of how this thing will take the twisty turns of a tight mountain road. I know an Elise will do nicely in that situation. Does this car have the same suspension, front-rear weight distribution and wheels/tires?
4) It's expensive! Come on, how much does an electric motor REALLY cost??? A Lamborghini Murcielago engine and drivetrain is $85,000. And that's a 12 cylinder 600 horsepower symphony! Don't blame the electric motor/battery cost on research and development and/or limited production costs because Lamborghini does a little R&D too and they're not exactly a mass-producer of vehicles. How dare these guys charge roughly the same for a battery and electric motor! Don't tell me there's no profit built in!!! Let's not forget that Lamborghini makes a little profit as well...
Bring that price down to $50,000 and they will REVOLUTIONIZE the automotive market! They're on to something here. I just hope they don't let greed get the best of them and in the end, we'd all lose.
Reply
TRex 12:39AM (7/28/2006)
I kind of like the electric cobra project http://ssinc.us/kitcar/index.htm , but then I think the Shelby 65 Daytona Coupe is one of the best looking cars ever made. We'll see if it comes together or not.
Reply
hall239714 11:08PM (7/29/2006)
To YeahRight,
Preston Tucker was an inovator that came up with improvements to cars that would've taken years and hundreds of millions of dollars at that time for the other car companies to catch up. car companies are still ripping off his ideas and passing them off as new ones. Such as the headlights that move with the steering that Lexus recently came out with in one of their SUV's. so before you can talk about how he wasnt succesful remember it was the big three with their greased polotitians that squashed him. he produced what he was supposed to before the deadline and was still squashed so the big three didnt have to catch up with him until they wanted to. an electric car that does what this one does is something on the verge of perpetual energy. All it needs is a few upgrades that I have been developing and youd be able to drive it indefinetly on a single charge. but dont insult great men like Preston Tucker for your negetivity
Reply
doug korthof 10:14AM (7/31/2006)
Best article on Tesla unveiling so far.
Driving an EV makes converts out of Internal Combustion ("IC") cars. Until you feel the smooth power of a big electric motor shut down IC speedsters, you don't know what fun driving is all about.
And the best part, charged up for free from excess credits we generate with our solar electric system. So anyone with a roof can drive pollution-free as well as cost-free.
With the dollar being where it is, $100K is not that much to spend for wheels; many people spend $80K for an IC dino-car that still requires periodic gasoline purchases, tune-ups, oil changes, smog checks...and the IC will always be in the rear-view mirror of an EV.
The EV1, two generations less powerful than the Tesla, had a range up to 160 miles, more than we needed; and it was able to beat anything on the road from zero to 30.
The Tesla, free of GM's flaws and a flashy car-guy thing, will beat anything except a few mofified Ferraris on the road from 0 to 100. But you don't have to stand it on its rear wheels to enjoy driving electric: many folks will charge it only once every week or two, since they only drive 1000 miles per month.
Reply
doug korthof 11:30AM (7/31/2006)
Regenerative braking is standard on modern Electric cars; it just involves an electonic switch to turn the motor into a generator, and suck most of the energy of motion back into the batteries.
Hybrids that can't plug in have batteries too small to recapture much regen braking; only a real plug-in EV can do full regen braking.
The http://ACPropulsion.com system allows for full, 100% regenerative braking, which is capable of bringing the EV to a full stop. That's right, you normally don't even have to use the brake pedal, you can recapture all (well, 80%) of the energy of motion while coming to an electonic full stop. Electric brakes are the best!
When we drive up to Big Bear Mountain, we use a lot of electric to go up; but when we come down the mountain, everyone around us is burning brakes, we are recharging our batteries and getting most of that energy back.
EVs are the future, despite oil company and auto company enmity.
Reply
Tony Baloni 7:35AM (8/02/2006)
R they gonna make this wicked little beast in RH drive too? They better.
Reply
Brian 1:06PM (8/02/2006)
Lithium Ion batteries (also used in laptop computers) will last about 3-5 years.
some also mention 500 charge cycles.
For a car most people would be using for in city driving, they should get several days before a rcharge is needed.
if you want more details on Lithium Ion technology, do some Google searches, check wikipedia, etc... the car uses over 6,000 smaller Lithium Ion batteries
(which I've read in other articles weighs about 900 lbs, lighter then the previous massproduced Electric Car the EV1, which had 1,100 lbs of batteries (and only 25 batteries, much bigger problem if a battery dies with only 25)
Reply
Brian 1:13PM (8/02/2006)
as for emmissions, yes the car doesn't produce any, but for the actual impact...
those in a hydro powered area will greatly reduce pollution levels
those in a coal powered area are still reducing pollution... I am semi-confident of these numbers although have not fully researched them.
electric motors increase efficiency by about 10% (for example, a hybrid-electric series car always runs off of the electric motor, has about a 10% reduction in the amount of fuel used) and the big coal powerplants reduce pollution another 10% or so vs burning gasoline in a vehicle.
electric cars also do have some additional pollution due to the batteries, if a recycling and "safe" disposal system is setup, this impact could be reduced (something like this may exist, just not sure how easy it would be for a buyer of the car to use them)
Reply
Jim Calvert 5:47PM (8/02/2006)
I find it ironic that the introduction of the Tesla EV occurs just 3 years after our glorious industry and government leaders destroyed the EV industry in the USA. Three years ago, EVs such as the Toyota Nav4-EV and the GM EV-1, were available (admittedly only via lease). Now the Tesla EV is introduced at a speculative price of $80,000 and beyond, which almost no one can afford. If that doesn't put one more nail into the coffin of every EV endeavor, I don't know what will.
Reply
Brian 6:55PM (8/02/2006)
Jim, if you read the full article, you'd know that the Telsa Roadster is actually a fund raiser to help develop a cheaper consumer level electric car (which is going to cost more then this faster more expensive car, due to costs of core components like batteries)
it does delay their development of the consumer car, but it was more practicle to do it this way.
Reply
C D Harris 3:33PM (8/04/2006)
One thing that will not help the adoption of electric vehicles is that the US federal income tax credit for driving an electric vehicle ends on December 31, 2006.
Hopefully the Congress will extend the credit, but I don't know if there's any effort to do so. (Contact your Congress-man or Congress-woman)
Reply
Tesla Roadster 5:29PM (8/04/2006)
Beautiful, heres a one page summary
http://www.alexisthemovie.com/tesla-roadster/
Reply
ichanged 8:05PM (8/04/2006)
I thing its a great looking car. Its a good step.
Reply