Rumormill: 2010 Tesla Roadster gets upgrades including wifi connectivity
Tesla Roadster Sport - Click above for high-res image gallery
While owners of the current Tesla Roadster get the benefit of driving their bad ass electric vehicle today, people who are on the list for a 2010 model will get a few benefits that make 2009 owners jealous. Tesla Motors Club member DrComputer wrote about "a conversation with Ted at corporate" that revealed some improvements to the new cars. A tipster sent in a similar list of upgrades. The upgrades include:
- New power electronics module
- Better cooling for the power electronics
- Improved AC with variable speed fans
- Built in WiFi cards that connect the Roadster to the Internet (unless you turn the feature off) and gives Tesla the ability to interact with the car remotely. Also, this could open the door to mobile phone apps that talk to the car.
- Glove box locks when you lock the car (to leave it out with the top down)
Both sources mention the ability to switch vehicle performance modes – from Range to Standard or Performance (but not back to Range) – with the key instead of needing to change modes via the screen. There has been no official confirmation about these upgrades, but none of them would surprise us if they were true. Thanks to Dan for the tip!
Gallery: Tesla Roadster Sport
[Source: Tesla Motors Club | Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mehdi Cheddadi 6:05PM (7/10/2009)
That's it, it's a computer now
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Bungle 6:15PM (7/10/2009)
Not necessarily. My ballsack has WiFi connectivity and it's not a computer.
Motor_Yakuza 6:22PM (7/10/2009)
It was a nerd car anyway.
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woootles 6:27PM (7/10/2009)
You mean an iCar right? Dohohohohoho I'm so terrible
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Farris 6:43PM (7/10/2009)
The AC in the current Tesla doesn't have variable speed fans?
That's ridiculous! They've had variable speed fans since what, like 1950?
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Art 6:55PM (7/10/2009)
wifi...in the tesla
PLEASE PLEASE tell me that is a typo. even if youre the ONE passenger [automatically making this not even worth it], you're doing it all wrong if you're whipping your laptop out on a tesla
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Kevin 7:04PM (7/10/2009)
The wifi isn't for when your driving the Tesla. It's for the 3+ hours you have to sit around waiting for it to charge up.
Richard 7:46PM (7/10/2009)
But, Kevin, if you are using the WiFi whilst charging, it'll take 3.5 hours! ;-}
cFoo 7:37PM (7/10/2009)
Why not go with the future and adopt WiMax? WiMax has support for mobility. Internet access on the go, any time almost any where. Clearwire access will be available in most city *soon*.
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Richard 7:48PM (7/10/2009)
Perhaps, in an inspiration from Nikola (Tesla) himself, they have figured out how to charge the car over WiFi whilst driving in the city.
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Bacchus1976 8:14PM (7/10/2009)
Why doesn't every car do this?
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WillDaThrill 11:06PM (7/10/2009)
Just to bad it's way too pricy. Could have been the answer peaople are looking for to help clean up the air quaility. If it weren't for those batteries though....eh, gotta start somewhere.
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WillDaThrill 11:07PM (7/10/2009)
*people* where did that "a" come from?
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tankd0g 9:43AM (7/11/2009)
Oh I'm sure it'll be a free upgrade too, like all the other ones. What's the out the door price on this thing now? Is it at a quarter million yet?
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IOMTT 10:31AM (7/11/2009)
Not feeling an electric motor powered car or motorcycle. Nothing like the ICE soundtrack and powerband. Just my personal pref. As far as electrics do go, I like the looks of this and the Ruf electric.
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bonevbs 10:39AM (7/12/2009)
when does it get charge via USB ? :)
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