Tesla roadster reconstructs the EV1

[FormulaWill]

I think it is funny how they make statements like "there is plenty of market for this", but over 4 years they could barely sell 2,000. The Volt will sell because it is not a range compromised car. If you want to drive to from SD to SF, you can. If you want to a Tesla from SD to SF, you can get part of the way there.

[RichardEllisxyz]

@idontcare80 The Volt will succeed IF!..the car is driven as per the tightly intended routine. Plug it in at night, drive to work on a weekday (No more than 40 miles mind you)....and weekends are limited to the prescribed 40 miles.after that your in gasoline mode. The Volt is NOT a hybrid.do the research! By the way if you don't plug in your precious EV-1 OR Tesla....your not going ANYWHERE!

[Kiriisking]

Wish in 20 years Tesla would be as big as GM or Toyota

[EpiDemic117]

that damn thing has got POWER! the only problem is the amount of time it takes to charge it. And the price. But even for 100k that's still really good, especially for how well it preforms.

[zmansporscheboxster]

Excellent car, I like how it looks a little like the Lotus sports car.

[fenderstratguy]

@zmansporscheboxster That's no coincidence. Lotus supplies the bodies. They're a modified Lotus Elise design.

[rlmotionpictures]

it sounds just like the ev1 and looks even nicer

[gerardhalloy]

Another disaster initiated by George W. Bush. When GM makes an electric car that actually works very well, King George AND HIS FRIENDS the Saoudis feel threatened and orders GM to destroy them all, making sure of the Gm demise in 2009. Well, they got what they deserve. In a country where such a moron can attain presidency and succeed destroying the hopes for a cleaner air and energy independance, only the voter can set things right, if they make it out of bed to do so. You got what you deserve.

[chubbsuperfly]

@gerardhalloy xlnt post. GM was responsible for pulling up trolly and light rail tracks in cities thru-out the US in hopes of forcing us to become car-dependent...worked like a charm. And now we "own" GM and can't force them to produce a viable ev for everyman...they have this technology/patent in their vaults, buried since the 20's and thru the 70's, til now. We should TAKE the designs and use them as they were intended...to keep us off the oil standard. Corrupt leaders and sycophants. RE-VOLT!

[RichardEllisxyz]

Sooo...Someone with more money than sense (Elon Musk) thinks he can make a viable car. He "created" the Paypal business...What does Paypal have to do with the car business? He will need to pony up $350 million to get the 'S' model into production in 2011.......how will he recoup that giant an expenditure? What if the styling turns off the buying public? If sales don't meet projections does he have another $350M in reserve?Making a buck in the auto industry requires far more $ than this.

[pluginforless]

I remember when Tesla's CEO Elon Musk was on Late Night With David Letterman. The discussion turned to GM's Volt and how it only drove 40 miles on electric. Elon Musk also mentioned in the interview the EV1 and the movie "Who Killed The Electric Car?" I heard GM was not too happy about Dave's show and interview with Elon Musk.

[RichardEllisxyz]

Sooo Just how much is that Tesla roadster? Twice as much as the Volt? Two seater? Hows the range? 200 Miles? No trunk to speak of....quite an impractical vehicle. Who will fix or service this thing? Can you get parts for it...like a replacement turnsignal lense... How much will it cost to insure? I would bet the nearest service facility is one on the East coast and one on the West coast. Time and again there have been start-up car companies, Delorean & Bricklin, where are they now?

[liveoilfree]

The Tesla represents the hope of America. Sure, we can fail, if we decide to fail; there are always problems with any idea.  But if we persist, we can make it happen, if we don't listen to negativists, defeatists and saboteurs...

[moaski]

That's funny. When I was supporting the Tesla in previous video comments you were totally against it to the point where you blocked me.

[chubbsuperfly]

@fenderstratguy Delorean was acquitted of ANY wrongdoing and the onus fell to the feds for ENTRAPMENT. Please do just 1 minute of research before you slander people. Are you trying to improve our lives by getting us and our kids out of the blood-for-oil meatgrinder? Next you'll be preaching trickle down eco-friendly mods, solar+wind power is only for the rich,we should shut up and wait 40 years until it's all affordable! Screw GM et al. Make your own volt-pwrd ride, aTesla costs how much???!!!

[idontcare80]

@RichardEllisxyz The Volt is nothing more than an over hyped hybrid, it barely offers any benefits over the Prius and it's nearly twice the cost. If you never plug the Volt into an outlet it wont even get 40 mpg, pathetic!

[gabbogabbo]

Love the car, love EVs, but this chick is dangerous

[liveoilfree]

She's genuine, nifty and hardly looks fifty! A great gal and wonderful person.

[misnomer71]

I think Telsa will be able to push through and make itself a market. The EV1 and Rav4 were loved by their owners. it is strange when i hear Lutz say people didn't want them. The Hybrid is what killed those programs. Once they got California to accept the Hybrid as 50% of a zero emission car.. they scrapped the EVs.

[djphillips1985]

The EV-1 was truly an American revolution... unlike these little crappy econoboxes GM is trying to pawn off as American cars...

[danwat1234]

WOWOWOWOWO! I love the sound of that car!

[DrBrazil1]

The future is NOW.

[playbackk]

lool the future is past!

[Zanhoff]

The Volt is a complete Farse, and just another Marketing spin to make EVs FAIL. GM should be shamed. Here in Toronto billboards and ads are everywhere promoting it. put on by ONtario Power Generation (Hydro Co.) Will WE EVER GET HONEST MANUFACTURERS? WILL WE EVER HAVE EVs designed to Succeeed? Lead the charge, the market is there.

[liveoilfree]

GM Volt is revealed as a hoax. GM has already spent 2 years pretending to make it, while they had it in 1998, the Precept; meanwhile, BMW made the mini-E in 10 months, using ACP drivetrains, superior to anything GM has but which can be purchased -- if GM were honest.

[rtsoccerplayer]

i hope gm goes under... that's what they get for screwing everyone over.

the volt is a hoax. the range is so bad, and what kind of electric car has a gas generator... anyone can convert a car to electric to have more than twice the range.

[SatwaMan]

Thanks again for your great vids liveoilfree.

I look forward to seeing them every time.

[ruzz3ii]

As a former worker in the consumer electronics products industry, I can say that it is not what the market demands -- it is what they want you to buy.

[liveoilfree]

The EV1 was loved by all its drivers; why not sell it to them, as Toyota sold the RAV4-EV???

GM has not provided an honest answer.

The truth is, the EV1 WAS NEVER OFFERED FOR SALE,

and if it were ever offered for sale, it would

SELL LIKE HOT CAKES.

The Tesla is proof of that; watch and learn.

Every one of those Prius or TESLA COULD HAVE BEEN AN EV1

[theden0minat0r]

Yes the Rav4-EV was sold, but only for a short time and only in California... Which is an incredible shame.

[liveoilfree]

Kind of futile, to claim that the "ev1 was not fully practical" and "didn't sell".

First, if it's not practical for YOU, why does that justify taking it away from people who wanted it?

As for GM ever selling an EV, if they were serious, they MIGHT stop lying about the EV1, and admit the real reason they destroyed (and are still destroying) each and every EV1 in existence. The WWU EV1 was restored by volunteer engineers, but GM won't let it be shown or driven on the streets.

[lpgas1]

another awesome video doug! thanks mate!

[dave777blaster]

bankRupt Gm Ford and Chrysler

sweep out the garbage in their plants and give the telsa company 50 billion

those stupid people in Detroit Auto are redundant.

Give Tesla auto a chance they will bury Detroit Auto inside 2 years.

time to free north America from foreign oil

bring it on

[ferrarimanf355]

... so you'd rather see hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, out of a job because of a personal vendetta. Stay classy, dude.

And Tesla has money problems, too, had to lay off people, and had to take out a loan because they had less than $10 million in the bank. And you nitwits call the Volt vaporware, where's the Model S?

[dave777blaster]

the Bailout wont save a single job

THERE ARE NO CAR SALES

[ferrarimanf355]

Well, blaming the current predicament on the EV1 is so shortsighted it's hilarious. It's never coming back, there is no Santa Claus, Aerith dies, and Rosebud is a sled.

And you can't force people to buy anything if they don't want it.

[liveoilfree]

The EV1 was NEVER OFFERED FOR SALE!!

Do some THINKING before you blather on.

[ferrarimanf355]

Did anybody ever tell you that Chris Paine is warming up to the Volt?

Like I said, blaming GM's predicament on an electric car that wasn't totally practical is as shortsighted as can be. Get off your goddamned high horse, it ain't coming back, modern crash testing standards alone would be a major obstacle.

[dave777blaster]

? Gm isnt coming back period

tesla is the future

that car is awesome the girl is even nicer lol

[liveoilfree]

Chris is warming up -- MAYBE. If they produce it, which is in doubt. GM itself states that it won't be material to their meeting CAFE mpg standards.

If the EV1 wasn't "totally practical" to YOU, why take it away from people for which it WAS fully practical???

[liveoilfree]

Actually, the UAW labor costs for GM are almost nothing compared to GM's waste, fraud and abuse. Even IF each UAW worker got $100/hour (instead of the real $28/hour) the total wages paid to the UAW is only 5% of GM's revenues.

[deloreanowner]

you guys have a tesla, that is awesome. i am so jealous, screw the corvette ZR1, same price but a bad car the vette is

[BasementDave]

Doug - Thanks for posting this. Way to go Linda!!

[falcon02012]

The red color is appropriate no more blood for oil, i pray the price will go down to 50,000

[ferrarimanf355]

Don't hold your breath.

[voyager1985]

I love the sound of the motors ,this vid captured it better then other Tesla vid's.

[SSparks555]

^ Yeah.

[SSparks555]

Did Linda finally get her Tesla!! Teah!!!

[randycarter2001]

Yeah! stick it to GM! This could have been the EV5 Super Sport, if GM had any balls and or brains. Now GM is playing catch up again. Looks like GM is not long for this world when inexperienced Silicon Valley upstarts can put a car like this together.

[SSparks555]

I agree, GM does not have any balls. GM could have been the leader of a new, "Cutting edge" technology, but instead they are asking for a bail-out.? Not meaning this comment towards Roger Smith, the former CEO who helped the EV1 come to life.