No Gas, But Zero to 60 in Four seconds

The Tesla company’s new all-electric car can go 250 miles off a 3.5-hour charge and hit speeds of 130 mph. And although at $100,000 apiece, they’re not ready for the masses, the Teslas represent a huge leap over GM’s 1996 all-electric model, and offer a glimpse of things to come.

L.A. Times:

When Tesla, the upstart auto company based in Silicon Valley, unveiled its all-electric Roadster at a swank affair in Santa Monica last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped in for surprise visit. Recognition hung in the air. The man who became famous for playing one seriously aggressive electric appliance had come to pay his respects to another.

The event — where Tesla was offering its first 100 “signature edition” cars for $100,000 apiece — felt like automotive history, and I have the feeling that one day I’m going to be very glad I bothered to attend. The yare and sleek carbon-bodied sports car is, by my reckoning, the first plausible electric automobile of the 21st century. And, without electrics, the 22nd century is going to be very rocky indeed.

To appreciate the Tesla, it helps to compare it to the much-lamented EV1, GM’s purpose-built electric car that was, in the mid-1990s, the most advanced vehicle of its kind. The Tesla Roadster has a range of 250 miles, says the company. The EV1, with the best nickel metal hydride batteries, could go about 150 miles under ideal conditions. A full charge of the EV1 could take eight hours. The Tesla’s lithium-ion batteries can be raised from the dead to a full charge in 3 1/2 hours and, unlike the EV1, the Tesla will come with its own portable charging pack so it won’t be range-tethered to its home charging station.

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From the L.A. Times