Ever wanted to step inside Tesla Motors HQ and peek around? Jeremy Faludi of World Changing got to do just that when he spent some time with his friends (who are engineers at Tesla) at Tesla's San Carlos building. He asks them about the Roadster's aerodynamic drag coefficient, the way the company uses top-of-the-line (not revolutionary) technology, and how Tesla will succeed where other EV startups have failed.
The aerodynamic content is particularly interesting. The Roadster has a drag coefficient of around .3. Compared to other electric cars, this isn't as sleek as it could be, and Faludi found that other that have calculated the Roadster could get up to 400 miles per charge if it got this coefficient number down to the range of, say, the EV1 (at .19). I'm not sure this would help, as the 250-mile range the Roadster has is awful good for an EV, and it's Elise-like body is awful good for any car. Changing the car's shape could turn off some of the sports car fans. When extended range is an issue, we'll see what comes of the Tesla sedan a few years hence.
[Source: World Changing]
The aerodynamic content is particularly interesting. The Roadster has a drag coefficient of around .3. Compared to other electric cars, this isn't as sleek as it could be, and Faludi found that other that have calculated the Roadster could get up to 400 miles per charge if it got this coefficient number down to the range of, say, the EV1 (at .19). I'm not sure this would help, as the 250-mile range the Roadster has is awful good for an EV, and it's Elise-like body is awful good for any car. Changing the car's shape could turn off some of the sports car fans. When extended range is an issue, we'll see what comes of the Tesla sedan a few years hence.
[Source: World Changing]
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