The first electric car The 130mph Tesla Roadsters now goes into production. Year 2008 model is sold out and Tesla is currently taking reservation for the year 2009 model Tesla Roadster. Over 900 Tesla Roadster have been reserved in total to date.
130mph. 13,500 RPM. 0-60mph in about four seconds. H-O-T! Meet the Tesla Roadster, the car that hopes to elevate plug-in electrics to lustworthy status. Judging from car-guru Jalopnik's first impressions, we feel it should have no difficulty in doing so. Not only does it have a design pedigree from famed UK sports car company Lotus, the engine, though quiet, promises to push you back into your seat. Even better, the battery technology seems to be relatively painless, something that will go a long way in pushing electric mainstream. In a measely 3.5 hour charge (into a standard outlet), the Roadster will take you 250 miles...more than long enough for most of us and farther than you could go on a tank of gas in your typical gas-guzzling sports car.Of course, when you want to compete with Porsche and Lamborgini, there is certainly going to be $$$ involved. However, the damage isn't as
bad as some might expect. Depending on who you listen to, the Roadster should be going for $80-100,000. Looks like most of us might need to wait at least a couple years - that is when Telsa plans to come out with a plug-in electric sedan for about half the price of the Roadster. However, if you have the cash, the Roadster could turn into a relative sports car bargain once you take it on the road. According to the company, it should only cost approximately $.01/mile in energy costs. Compare that to conventional gasoline engines...well, let's just say gas is a bit more expensive (not to mention the obvious environmental costs). Look for the Tesla Roadster to hit the US sometime "early" next year