Autoblog

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!]

That didn't take long. Despite the embargo on publishing Tesla material until 12:00 AM EST, the dam has broken and information and images of the Tesla Roadster have flooded the internet tonight. We'll credit Wired for starting the deluge, as this gallery of live images has been online for a while now.

You may notice how much the Tesla Roaster look like a Lotus Elise. If you read Wired's article on the Tesla, you'll learn that a Lotus designer penned the Tesla Roadster's shape and that the English sportscar maker will be the one assembling Martin Eberhard's baby. As a matter of fact, Tesla Motors hired away so many Lotus engineers and executives that it was forced to sign a "no-poaching agreement" if it wanted the British-based automaker to build its cars.

As mentioned earlier, we'll have information, images and video from the Tesla unveiling later tonight.

Click image to enlarge:


[Source: Wired]

The Tesla EV Roadster is debuting as we speak in California, and AutoblogGreen editor Sebastian Blanco is there covering it, so we'll have all the info, pics and even video up later tonight. In the meantime, Wired has published an article on the Tesla EV Roadster penned by Joshua Davis, the first journalist to ride in Martin Eberhard's all-electric labor of love.

The article reveals a few new details about the Tesla Roadster, like the fact that it's powered by 6,831 lithium-ion batteries just like the one powering your laptop. Eberhard states quite clearly that computer engineers making advances in battery efficiency will drive the technology of tomorrow's electric vehicles, and he'll be right there ready to reap the benefits of Silicon Valley's R&D in the coming years.

Davis also dug up that Tesla Motors is working on a sedan to accompany the Tesla Roaster as early as 2008. Codenamed White Star (the Roadster's codename was Dark Star). The size and shape of a sedan means that the White Star's range would be far below the Roadster's 250-mile range using current battery technology, but Eberhard believes that by the time it's ready batteries "will be ready to deliver."

The article's a great read and depicts Eberhard as a modern day Preston Tucker. With only six hours left before we see what's under that sheet, we'll soon find out if the Tesla EV Roadster delivers the goods.

Thanks Devon and Craig for the tip!

[Source: Wired]