Filed under: Coupes, Hybrids/Alternative, Green
Tesla Roadster rated at 300 HP
by Chris Shunk on May 5th 2008 at 8:33AM 
Click above for more high-res images of the Tesla Roadster
The Tesla Roadster is like the gorgeous girlfriend that loves football, tunes a hotrod in her spare time, and doesn't believe in celebrating anniversaries and birthdays. The Roadster is a beautiful car, it runs on exhaust-free plug power, and it's already primed for more power. A Norwegian specialty car importer is quoting the Euro Tesla's power at or over 300 hp, with a 13,000 rpm redline and a single speed transmission.
Our man Sam tells us that the above is likely to come courtesy of drivetrain 1.5, which will be available later in the Tesla's production run. The revised gearbox drops a gear, adds an upgraded power electronics module, and provides better cooling. It seems the hype machine that is the Tesla Roadster is beginning to heat up, and more power will only make us want the green little drop-top more.
Gallery: First Drive: Tesla Roadster
[Source: Autoblog Green]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Adam 9:02AM (5/05/2008)
Nice. Glad to see more positive news on this one. As far as I'm concerned, Tesla can't do well enough off this car. About time someone independently created a solution like this.
Glad to see Iron Man has one too.
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yacoub 9:10AM (5/05/2008)
So let's hear the important bits:
How many miles per charge?
How long is the powertrain (including the battery, etc) slated to last without overhaul/replacement?
What's the MSRP?
Because if these can be had for around $40k, it would actually be interesting.
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Adam 10:12AM (5/05/2008)
220 mile range, 100,000 miles for the battery (expected service every 12,000 miles, no oil to changes though), MSRP $109,000. But again, this is just a start. A cheaper sedan is on the way, and hopefully it'll go on from there.
yacoub 10:18AM (5/05/2008)
hmm, well the cost is at least twice what it needs to cost to get many buyers and i don't want a boring, slower sedan. give me that sporty roadster for $40k and we're talking. Oh well, maybe in a few years when they get the production into swing and have lower costs.
jake 1:20PM (5/05/2008)
I think you have to realize you can't get an equivalent gasoline roadster, even the slower 250hp one, for $40k: around $65k for the exige s240 with the same kind of power and interior options. Tesla is also longer wheelbase/lower sills like the Europa and has carbon fiber body so that should add to the price, even not considering the EV drivetrain. With this power increase you can't get the equivalent from lotus anymore because they don't make a 300hp version for sale of their elise or exige. We have yet to hear anything about performance, but I expect it to be 0-60 3.9 seconds (or hopefully better), same as exige s240.
If they make one cheaper for $40k, it will be a couple of years, mostly banking on decreasing battery costs both on the cell level and the pack level, as Tesla gets used to making their packs and also after they have recovered money on development costs and costs for opening their company. Probably won't be 0-60 in 4 secs though, more like the mid or high 4s unless they go with a two speed again. Not many fully crash tested sports cars for $40k with 0-60 under 4 seconds even today though.
FThorn 9:10AM (5/05/2008)
One speed?
I'm not in this camp, but there are those that stick their noses up at anything less than six speeds! :)
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Richard 10:59AM (5/05/2008)
Given that electric motors have full torque from 1 rpm (yes, 1), it is always in its powerband - which is what the gearset does with more peaky internal combustion powerplants. So what does it matter. The thing spins to 13k rpm. I am sure it is a blast!
But how does it handle?
BlackbirdHighway 11:04AM (5/05/2008)
Electric motors don't work the same as piston engines. You don't need a lot of gears when you have full torque available from 0 to 6000 RPM, then only a slight fall off up to 13,000 RPM.
When they only had 250 HP, they needed two gears, but now that they are increasing it to 300, they are down to only one.
why not the LS2LS7? 11:54AM (5/05/2008)
Slight falloff?
There's more than a slight falloff. Even with a smart motor controller, the torque falls off a lot as the engine speeds up, if only because as the engine speeds up, more torque is consumed inside the motor itself as centripetal force.
why not the LS2LS7? 12:19PM (5/05/2008)
They never really needed two gears. I've seen Tesla prototypes a couple times (a friend works for them), and I've never seen a two-speed one, and neither has my friend. I'm sure there were a few two-speed prototypes, but any one you've ever seen in a magazine piece or whatever has been a one-speed.
nardvark 9:23AM (5/05/2008)
Not exhaust free, just exhaust where you can't see it.
That said, I have a short commute (4 miles each way), so this would be one heck of a fast way to get there on wall power. On the other hand, my parking lot is a good 100 yards from my apartment, so I'd have to buy a pretty long extension cord to recharge it at night...
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Tom Miller 9:35AM (5/05/2008)
Get a gas generator and use that to charge it. ;-)
But seriously, how clean are the power plants that will generate the juice to charge the typical customer's Tesla?
mdm-adph 10:30AM (5/05/2008)
They could be a lot cleaner if the same green freaks that promote electric cars would also promote nuclear power. :(
why not the LS2LS7? 12:17PM (5/05/2008)
Some of them (such as myself) do. It's a fallacy to think that everyone who supports one thing think alike on all things.
Silver 9:46AM (5/05/2008)
I only wish this thing were priced within the reach of a mere mortal.
Nonetheless, it's a good start. I assume every Hollywood celeb will be pimping around in one of these shortly.
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nardvark 10:00AM (5/05/2008)
Actually, it'll be interesting to see if that happens. It turns out that all those Priuses didn't end up in Hollywood by accident. Toyota paid PR firms to get them placed at high profile events. They had a very expensive, but successful, campaign to get the Prius associated with celebrities. I'm not sure if Tesla has that kind of cash sitting around.
Adam 10:05AM (5/05/2008)
I think we'll still see them show up in the celeb crowd, even if a bit less than the Prius. What the Tesla lacks in marketing muscle, it makes up for in coolness and, well, actual muscle.
Silver 10:47AM (5/05/2008)
At $100k+ a pop, the glam set will be all over this thing, no PR stunts required. Hey, what better way to show you care for the environment than by dropping an obscene amount of cash on an Earth-friendly sports car?
Thrift through gluttony.
That said, I applaud Tesla for its efforts and hope the wealthy will help fund future, more affordable models by buying current unaffordable models.
Richard 11:02AM (5/05/2008)
@ nardvark,
Dude! Nothing ends up in Hollywood by accident. Nor do things end up on the evening news or Today show by accident. PR Firms control it all. And Hollywood celebs take coaching on what the hot things are so that they can stay in the limelight.
why not the LS2LS7? 1:18PM (5/05/2008)
George Clooney is #8 on the list to get one. Yes, this will be huge with celebs.