The Car Exam Examines Electric Cars, Part 1: The Tesla Roadster

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The Tesla Roadster is an electric sports car Tesla hopes will bring electric cars into mainstream America. It is an attractively-styled two-seater powered by a 375 volt AC induction air-cooled electric motor with variable frequency drive. These are the performance numbers for the base model: 288 horsepower (215 kW) at 5,000-6,000 rpm, 273 lb-ft of torque at 0-5,400 rpm, and 0-60 miles-per-hour comes in at 3.9 seconds (the sport model adds 22 more lb-ft of torque at 0-5,100 rpm).

The Tesla Roadster’s battery is a lithium-ion battery with a whopping 6,831 individual cells. It has a range on a full charge of 245 miles, which should just be fine for around-town driving or a quick getaway to suburbs or destinations a bit further away. Charge time is 3.5 hours (an empty to fully-charged battery using the Tesla Home Connector--240 Volts and 70 Amps). Tesla states the battery should last for seven-years or 100,000 miles.

The price of admission to own Tesla Roadster is steep, however: the base model is $109,000 before the federal $7,500 tax credit; $101,000 after that. The Sport model bursts the piggy bank at $128,500 ($121,000 after the same tax credit).

The Tesla Roadster clearly isn’t meant to be an affordable sports car for Americans with moderate incomes. Tesla has a long road to climb. It will be building cars in the old NUMMI facility formerly jointly-owned by GM and Toyota. If Tesla can build and successfully sell enough cars (it also has a Sedan—the Model S—due to go on sale in 2012) and improve its battery technology, then it may find enough affluent buyers to make it a viable player in the U.S. auto market. Challenges remain, however and time will tell.

P. Scott

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