Sorry all, your TCH is now a guzzler. Behold the Tesla
#1
05-04-2008, 02:41 AM
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 2,051
Sorry all, your TCH is now a guzzler. Behold the Tesla
Long-awaited electric sports car rolls out
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- It's safe to say Jeremy Snyder gets a charge out of the two-seat Tesla Roadster whenever he pulls one off the lot, and not because it's equipped with an all-electric engine. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and many celebrities have already ordered Tesla Roadsters.
As he pulled one of the sleek new automobiles down a side street Thursday and put the pedal to the metal, its lithium-ion battery-powered engine didn't give off sparks. It just emitted a powerful hum, like a much quieter version of a jet taking off.
"Accelerate pretty good?" asked Snyder, head of client services for Tesla, who knew the answer.
"I call it a turbine sound," he said of the sound. "Because it's an electric motor, it's got 100 percent torque all the time. So it just pulls you like when you're taking off in an airplane."
After several years of development, the Roadster -- with sleek lines like a Ferrari or Porsche and a sticker price of $109,000 -- moves from the drawing boards to the market next week when Tesla's first store opens. It's near the University of California, Los Angeles, in the city's tony Westwood neighborhood, where Beverly Hills, Brentwood and Hollywood practically intersect...
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- It's safe to say Jeremy Snyder gets a charge out of the two-seat Tesla Roadster whenever he pulls one off the lot, and not because it's equipped with an all-electric engine. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and many celebrities have already ordered Tesla Roadsters.
As he pulled one of the sleek new automobiles down a side street Thursday and put the pedal to the metal, its lithium-ion battery-powered engine didn't give off sparks. It just emitted a powerful hum, like a much quieter version of a jet taking off.
"Accelerate pretty good?" asked Snyder, head of client services for Tesla, who knew the answer.
"I call it a turbine sound," he said of the sound. "Because it's an electric motor, it's got 100 percent torque all the time. So it just pulls you like when you're taking off in an airplane."
After several years of development, the Roadster -- with sleek lines like a Ferrari or Porsche and a sticker price of $109,000 -- moves from the drawing boards to the market next week when Tesla's first store opens. It's near the University of California, Los Angeles, in the city's tony Westwood neighborhood, where Beverly Hills, Brentwood and Hollywood practically intersect...
Tesla Motors
Last edited by haroldo; 05-04-2008 at 02:43 AM.
#2
05-04-2008, 04:26 AM
Re: Sorry all, your TCH is now a guzzler. Behold the Tesla
Oh yeah..........they'll be lining up to pay $109,000 for one!!
Gas guzzler? That's insanity....! If you can afford a Tesla......then go ahead and get one. I'll stick with my TCH thanks.....
Gas guzzler? That's insanity....! If you can afford a Tesla......then go ahead and get one. I'll stick with my TCH thanks.....
#3
05-04-2008, 04:38 AM
Re: Sorry all, your TCH is now a guzzler. Behold the Tesla
The battery technology is the problem with the current crop of pure electric cars. Batteries that are light weight and store enough energy to make a practical car are very expensive, and they only last a few hundred discharge/recharge cycles. The batteries are the majority of the cost of the car, and they have to be replaced regularly.
The Tesla is a good concept for what sorts of cars can be built after the next generation of batteries gets into production. For now, it is a rich mans toy. In the mean time, over the next few years, $80,000 (roughly the price of a Tesla minus the price of a TCH) will buy quite a lot of gas.
The Tesla is a good concept for what sorts of cars can be built after the next generation of batteries gets into production. For now, it is a rich mans toy. In the mean time, over the next few years, $80,000 (roughly the price of a Tesla minus the price of a TCH) will buy quite a lot of gas.
#4
05-04-2008, 04:50 AM
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 2,051
Re: Sorry all, your TCH is now a guzzler. Behold the Tesla
It's definitely a cool concept and if I had the money sitting around (which I don't) I'd love to have one. While it seems like a lot of money, the net cost (less fuel savings) of the car isn't that much more than an Escalade or high end Lexus, BMW or Mercedes. Last time I was on the highway I noticed that there were quite a few of those cars on the road.
A set of four season's tickets at Yankees Stadium is $81,000 ($250/seat). Throw in a few hot dogs, beers, pretzels and ice cream and you can easily spend as much as you would on a Tesla. If they make the playoffs and World Series, you'll easily spend more at the ball park than you would on the car.
Not saying it's for everyone, but a $100,000 car isn't an unheard of price tag any more.
A set of four season's tickets at Yankees Stadium is $81,000 ($250/seat). Throw in a few hot dogs, beers, pretzels and ice cream and you can easily spend as much as you would on a Tesla. If they make the playoffs and World Series, you'll easily spend more at the ball park than you would on the car.
Not saying it's for everyone, but a $100,000 car isn't an unheard of price tag any more.
Last edited by haroldo; 05-04-2008 at 05:17 AM.
#5
05-04-2008, 07:40 AM
Ridiculously Active Enthusiast
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Mid Hudson Valley, New York
Posts: 1,389
Re: Sorry all, your TCH is now a guzzler. Behold the Tesla
Well, if you were trying to save on fuel cost but you drove up the price of the car, you would have just been better off buying a gas guzzler. I second the, "if I had the money I would buy one", notion. It would be cool to in E all the time.
"E.....it's like a drug."
"E.....it's like a drug."
#7
05-04-2008, 09:21 AM
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 2,051
Re: Sorry all, your TCH is now a guzzler. Behold the Tesla
...and 60-125 in another four...with nothing but the cool flashers of a state trooper in the rear view mirror 
A favorite trick here at Tesla Motors is to invite a passenger along and ask him to turn on the radio. At the precise moment we ask, we accelerate. Our passenger simply can't sit forward enough to reach the dials.
Last edited by haroldo; 05-04-2008 at 09:27 AM.
#8
05-04-2008, 10:39 AM
Re: Sorry all, your TCH is now a guzzler. Behold the Tesla
I passed on the Honda Insight for the same reason I'm passing on the Tesla (for now). They are both 2 seaters.
Not sure I'm comfortable trading my gas guzzling TCH in on a coal (most places) guzzler either.
I'm curious ...
How many "destinations" have facilities to recharge plug in electric automobiles? Motels, hotels, BnB's. I'm speculating few to none. So you'll be limited to round trips of your battery capacity. For now.
Not sure I'm comfortable trading my gas guzzling TCH in on a coal (most places) guzzler either.
I'm curious ...
How many "destinations" have facilities to recharge plug in electric automobiles? Motels, hotels, BnB's. I'm speculating few to none. So you'll be limited to round trips of your battery capacity. For now.
#9
05-06-2008, 06:59 AM
Re: Sorry all, your TCH is now a guzzler. Behold the Tesla
I could never own this car as the only vehicle, even if it was for free and have enough space for my wife and daughter, the range is not there. I can do 200-400 miles on the weekend trip without even trying. As a matter of fact weekend after this I'm going to the airshow at Andrews Airforce base for one day round trip of 520-580 miles
#10
05-08-2008, 08:08 AM
Re: Sorry all, your TCH is now a guzzler. Behold the Tesla
I passed on the Honda Insight for the same reason I'm passing on the Tesla (for now). They are both 2 seaters.
Not sure I'm comfortable trading my gas guzzling TCH in on a coal (most places) guzzler either.
I'm curious ...
How many "destinations" have facilities to recharge plug in electric automobiles? Motels, hotels, BnB's. I'm speculating few to none. So you'll be limited to round trips of your battery capacity. For now.
Not sure I'm comfortable trading my gas guzzling TCH in on a coal (most places) guzzler either.
I'm curious ...
How many "destinations" have facilities to recharge plug in electric automobiles? Motels, hotels, BnB's. I'm speculating few to none. So you'll be limited to round trips of your battery capacity. For now.
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