The Tesla Roadster represents a massive break-through in electric vehicle achievements. Not only is it a great electric car... its a great car, full stop!
The acceleration in the Roadster is such that with the foot to the floor you won't be able to turn the radio on! With a maximum speed of 125mph and a price tag of £99,000 this electric car is one to take seriously!
So, what is the Tesla Roadster? Its unashamedly an expensive, high performance, open top 2 seater sports car whose principle aim in fact is to prove the concept that electric cars are a viable alternative to conventional cars - not just for the hippy tree huggers out there, but for real car enthusiasts. The Roadster is designed to make people really sit up and take notice of electric cars as a mainstream alternative to petrol cars. Tesla say that in fact the Roadster is not their main focus - the Roadster is just a figure-head and the beginning of what they hope will become a range of increasingly affordable and mainstream (though probably still high-end) cars. For instance their stated plan is to follow-up the release of the The inside of the Tesla Roadster - Tempting!Roadster with a family sized car for around half the price of the Roadster - they reckon they can produce that within the next three years and after that will come a smaller compact sized car for half the price again - say $30,000. By that time oil will no doubt be so expensive that such an electric car will start being a financially sensible choice for a whole range of consumers. An encouraging thought for the environmentalists amongst us!
The Tesla Roadster will be a unique driving experience for those lucky enough to bag a test drive - there is little noise, and little to do other than press the pedal and accelerate... and accelerate... and accelerate! The Roadster's electric engine has a complete different dynamic to conventional cars and although it is similar to an automatic in that there is no clutch pedal, it is very different in all other respects. One of the Roadster's impressive facts is that it retains almost constant torque through a massive range of speeds - that means that you get the same level of powerful acceleration whether you're sitting at a standstill or tanking along the highway at 100mph!