The Second Car in Your Garage? : Electric Sports Car

[Adam in NYC USA]

http://www.teslamotors.com/index.php?js_enabled=0&sbl=0

http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/1,71414-0.html

Check it out and what do you think?

Adam in NYC USA

[Adam in NYC USA]

You might want to read the stuff on slashdot.org regarding this car :

http://backslash.slashdot.org/backsl...1/174214.shtml

Adam in NYC (and yes I am running SuSE 10 with Firefox)

[Den]

Just thinking out aloud here:

Usage cycle is 250 miles (400km) and then 3.5 hours charge time. So I guess that maximum average speed is around 250mi (400km) every 8 hours, or about 30mph (50km/h). OK to dash out to Costco or Ralph's, but pretty poor if you're planning a coast-to-coast tour.

During one cycle, the car would put about 150kW-hours onto the asphalt. Now, to charge it would require that the same 150kW.h be replenished in 3.5 hours, requiring power consumption of 150/3.5, or about 43 KW. At 110 Volts, that's 43000/110, or about 390 Amps! Most houses can't use more than 150 Amps, before the system overloads, and given that you'll be using 30-50% to run other houshold appliances, ovens, etc., means that you've probably got 100 Amps to spare for the car. Or about a one-fourth of what's needed for a 3.5 hour charge. So the charge cycle will be more like 14 hours.

And just imagine how much of the earth's resources you burnt while earning the $100,000 to pay for the machine!

Oh, and you pay up-front for the end-of-life recycling. I somehow doubt whether, when you return the car to them 5 years from now, and they're barely solvent, that they will borrow the not insubstantial quantity of cash required to safely recycle it.

And the "1 cent per mile" claim. C'mon! Just to ammortize the purchase cost will be more than a few dollars per mile!

Don't get me wrong. I think that the Tesla Roadster raises the ante, and would love to own one. But they shouldn't try to sell it as a "green" conscious thing. It's simply an expensive toy, and WOW, 0-100km/h in 4 secs! It outperforms it's look-alike Lotus Elise cousin... That's the unique selling point! Not that it's an environmentally friendly alternative.

Forever the cynic...

[Adam in NYC USA]

Originally Posted by Den

Just thinking out aloud here:.

Sure why not.

Originally Posted by Thinking out Loud Den

Usage cycle is 250 miles (400km) and then 3.5 hours charge time. So I guess that maximum average speed is around 250mi (400km) every 8 hours, or about 30mph (50km/h). OK to dash out to Costco or Ralph's, but pretty poor if you're planning a coast-to-coast tour.

It has been done. But you have very limited places to go if you are going to use alternative energy sites. There was a TV series done about it. Just not with the Tesla.

Originally Posted by Thinking out loud Den

During one cycle, the car would put about 150kW-hours onto the asphalt. Now, to charge it would require that the same 150kW.h be replenished in 3.5 hours, requiring power consumption of 150/3.5, or about 43 KW. At 110 Volts, that's 43000/110, or about 390 Amps! Most houses can't use more than 150 Amps, before the system overloads, and given that you'll be using 30-50% to run other houshold appliances, ovens, etc., means that you've probably got 100 Amps to spare for the car. Or about a one-fourth of what's needed for a 3.5 hour charge. So the charge cycle will be more like 14 hours.

And just imagine how much of the earth's resources you burnt while earning the $100,000 to pay for the machine!.

Actually, the price is more like $80,000 but you will get some money back if you are in California.

As for the needed electrical infrastructure for the car garage or carport, you don't really think you are just going to plug in the car into your house wiring, are you? You have to get 204/240 wiring into the garage and if you are always running about town, there will be periods when you will be active where it will get a partial charge and then you are back out on the road again. It will be the same if you are installing something big like central air or a 1.5k linear amplifier.

Since you brought it out, how about the Land Rover? The extracted Aluminium used in the body is very energy intensive. So is the magnesium and the processes to make the Durabright. Not to mention the various fluids and the energy used to make the premium fuel to get it going. How about the peripheral costs past along to the customer like the energy used to operate the gas station and its subsystems (those lights cost money too you know).

Originally Posted by Thinking out Loud Den

Oh, and you pay up-front for the end-of-life recycling. I somehow doubt whether, when you return the car to them 5 years from now, and they're barely solvent, that they will borrow the not insubstantial quantity of cash required to safely recycle it.

There are no current laws regarding end-of-life recycling of the whole car, but Toyota have protocols regarding battery replacement and recycling for their product(s). I believe it is the same with the Tesla until somebody notices the large stack at the back of the dealer.

If you have your own "Indy" mechanic for the Tesla, you will do as most others do and keep up with like-minded owners. (like this group). As for the Lithium-Ion batteries, you could always change them to another technology or the next New Tech. It would be interesting to make it a hybrid or even a methenol fuel cell type. Then you are off the grid.

Originally Posted by Thinking out Loud Den

And the "1 cent per mile" claim. C'mon! Just to ammortize the purchase cost will be more than a few dollars per mile!

Don't get me wrong. I think that the Tesla Roadster raises the ante, and would love to own one. But they shouldn't try to sell it as a "green" conscious thing. It's simply an expensive toy, and WOW, 0-100km/h in 4 secs! It outperforms it's look-alike Lotus Elise cousin... That's the unique selling point! Not that it's an environmentally friendly alternative.

Forever the cynic...

I think you should have read the article in Wired News. The owner of the company used Lotus engineers so much he had to sign an anti-poaching agreement. Seems he took all the talent away from Lotus.

Will it sell? In California and Monaco and New York, it will be popular. Also in Iceland and anywhere someone wants to make a statement. They are already working on a sedan.

Adam in NYC

[Adam in NYC USA]

Thank you for your interest in Tesla Motors. It’s been a little more than a month since we unveiled our Tesla Roadster and the response we’ve received from the media, the marketplace and interested buyers like you have exceeded our expectations. We appreciate your patience as we respond to your inquiries.

As you may have heard, we quickly filled all of the reservations for the Signature 100 edition of the Tesla Roadster. As a result, we reached a decision to open up reservations for an additional series of the next 100 produced Tesla Roadsters. These vehicles, like the Signature 100, will be fully loaded versions of the Tesla Roadster. This helps us to minimize the time it will take to get your car delivered to you. Your Tesla Roadster will include:

* Removable hard top and soft top
* Navigation system
* Mobile charging cable
* Upgraded leather interior
* A/C, power locks and windows, cruise control
* Heated seats, stereo w/ CD player, iPod connector
* Valet mode to limit car’s range, acceleration and speed
* Security system
* Dual airbags, ABS brakes, traction control
* Tesla-branded floor mats

These next 100 Tesla Roadsters have an anticipated delivery date in the fall of 2007. As with the Signature 100, these Tesla Roadsters will be priced at $100,000 (excluding taxes and other governmental fees). To secure a spot, we require a reservation payment of $75,000 which can be applied to the sales price at the time of delivery. This reservation payment is fully refundable at any time up to and including the day of delivery.

If you happen to live outside of a 100 mile radius of one of our initial Customer Care Centers (locations to be in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Miami), we will be charging a one time out-of-service area fee of $8000. This fee will allow you to receive the same high level of service that customers within 100 mile radius will receive and will cover the cost of sending a Tesla Motors-trained technician to your home or transporting your car to our nearest facility for servicing if necessary.

To confirm your interest in reserving a Tesla Roadster, please send an email to reservations@teslamotors.com. For general comments and inquiries, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions located at www.teslamotors.com/learn_more/faqs.php.

Again we thank you for your interest.

Sincerely,


Gretchen Joyce
Vice President Sales
Tesla Motors, Inc.