Netscape & Autoblog Green at Tesla Event

[lassiecox]

electricity in america comes mostly from coal fired power plants, really nasty environmental disasters

[lassiecox]

coal powered car, emissions are hidden, emitted from high stacks, in the gas phase, where the avg coal fired power plant kills more than 100 people each year. The myth of environmentally friendly electric cars. by a real bankruptcy fraud expert

[lassiecox]

one accident, thats all you get, in this oversized moped

[miguelsmith]

How much kilowatts needs for take full battery?

[MmmTea82]

It's beautiful. It's fast. It doesn't require gas.  It has passed all legally required safety standards. It has all of the extra stuff people love in standard vehicles... I want one. Too bad it costs $98k. But they are working on a sedan too, which will probably take several years to come out. Maybe I'll win the lottery...

[kevinpaulharper]

Its around 100k, You can customize it on the website they have, I love it, yea 100k is allot but this is for people who would normally buy a farari for 300k. So nice and NOT FOR YOU, we have to wait for them to create a cheaper car, they are already talking about it.

[REALTIME123123123]

Weapon Of Gas Destruction = Tesla.

[itsbusinessbaby]

100K for this piece of machine?

it definitley costs to be an early-adopter!

[tehNewbie]

AHNOLD!

[slitteva]

best thing about electric vehicles is being able to fuel them yourselves with home solar panels and that the oil companies can't own the sun.

[swankrecords]

Weapon Of Gas Destruction = Tesla.

[pbonney]

LOL!!!! Now a weapon of ass destruction. . . Taco Bell.

[skeetswookie]

$90,000 USD minimum, runs on 900 lbs. of laptop type batteries.

[slitteva]

just wait till they have a battery that was built specifically for vehicles! F#$& hydrogen and bio-fuels. this is the future

[Abercr0mbie4life]

the US find a way to make it dissapear.

[Flamomatic]

Lol how expencive isnt this car? How much do u think it costs to do? O.o , so i'll just say Gl tesla :D

[DreadRaptor85]

I think its around 80K.

[GeorgeOfZala]

Intereting fact: Tesla (Nicola Tesla) invented AC current and the AC generator. We use it every minute of our life and don't know where it came from. It is fitting to name the most technologically advanced automobile after him. Congrats.

[Nichen]

I believe Exxonmobil have like 14 000 (!) scientists to favourize oil and demonize alternatives. We better inform people about myths which might be developed from their side. Someone said electric cars are too important for the automobileindustry...that there should be a law which says that there has to be electric vehicles available for consumers. I think we should follow that law.

[StarScream750]

If you run the numbers in the long run. Electric cars do less eco damage then gas cars. (Electricity comes from power plants, power plants pollute) But the amount would still be low with every car being electric.

[Nichen]

Think of all the executives with a lot of power and money would join in the electric car industry. It could threaten the whole gasoline industry in like a year if they all would join in together at the same time!

[Nichen]

Hehe I just used this videoclip in school to show people what electric cars are really like :) Although, most people don´t understand the importance of them :( That sucks

[saskrider26]

Have any been sold and driven on the road yet?

[ekuwa69]

Sold yes, they have sold hundreds.  Driven on the road... No.

[josephbbl]

They hit the market in November.

[Audubondragon]

It should be a runaway success scotsdoc, but think about the fact that NO one knows. The oil companies control the media, so there are no commercials or ads for it on TV, Radio, or newspaper.

Plus you have ExxonMobil paid "skeptics" to demonize the car and call is unsafe or inefficient. Big oil controls most of what goes on. and they hate this car. nuff said

add to that the 100 grand price tag, and most people can't afford it anyway

[brights2008]

The combustion engine today as compared to this Tesla motor looks so stoneage already. The only thing that needs improvement is the battery pack which is so heavy. Hopefully they'll invent a more compact power source. I think they should revive the Tesla Tower where it emits electricity through the air and thus power these cars without needing to have a battery pack.

[Paradiddler45]

The styling of the Tesla Roadster is freakin sweet. If I had 100k to blow on a car I would strongly consider it, it's so unique.

[langerCAN]

Musk and Eberhart are amazing guys, everyone who can afford one of these cars should definitely buy one... it's the COOL thing to do! :P

[josephhole]

This is really exciting and encouraging. With Lotus Cars involved it shows Tesla are serious about creating a car desirable for people who like cars (unlike many of the hybrid machines so far).

If Lotus were truly as innovative now as they were in the 1960s they would be championing their involvement in the project rather then playing safe and distancing themselves.

[knome]

AFA safety of lithium cells.. that whole things is HOKUM. There were exactly two incidents of laptop packs catching fire, and both of those were due to faulty cells, which were not QA'd well. Tesla tests ALL their cells before fitting them, and their heat control is exemplary.

There are 44 sticks of dynamite per gallon of gas. And you ask if lithium cells are safe? Eesh.

[knome]

AFA cost, the roadster will always be expensive.. it is designed as a top end sports car and will be handmade and so on. What will be affordable is White Star and version 3, the mid size luxury sedan and the economy car. 49k and 30k respectively. Those will come down the line in 2 - 5 years.

[minimaxa]

Seems like these guys have put together a great car, will be better once the cost comes down with more volume sold hopefully.

If you have not already seen this documentary called "who killed the electric car" I suggest you do. It will open your eyes with a interesting perspective as to what the big car manufactures have done and where we are heading in the future.

[cosa65]

How does it keep me warm driving -20 deg below zero  here in Minnesota?

[Zobeid]

It does have a cabin heater and heated seats. Tesla have also posted a video from where they were testing it on a frozen lake in Sweden, which looks waaay cool in more ways than one.

[cosa65]

what is the range with the heat?--I think it would render it impractical

[bhealy32]

"What Tesla has done is put in a cooling/heating system that keeps the battery at a constant temperature." paste into google to get to the review.

[Nichen]

I wish I could have seen that, I´m from Sweden.

[Greenman48]

After seeing this promo and reading the most recent posts I feel more like commenting on the posts than the car. I'm always amazed at how many negative comments you see posted by people with so little information. Are we so addicted to petroleum transportation that we miss the point here entirely?

[anotaai]

sure. People want to be slaves 4ever. Paying the price to die

[Glen000]

what a dickhead of a reporter.

[PICANOQWERTY]

myspace/alsetnotedison

[GambiBoi]

It's pretty insulting how most of these videos never mention that all these ideas originate from Nikola Tesla, a Serb born in late 19th century. Even the name symbolizes him but no one has given it much attention.

[GeorgeOfZala]

GambiBoi, you are right, we should give a little hommage to Tesla (Croatian by origin) who lived and experimented in NY with radio-controlled boats, decades before radio was invented. He also sold over 1000 inventions to Edison and Westinghouse and spent the money on more research...

[SCOTSDOC]

I still think this TESLA car is a phoney Stock Market promotion like BALLARD FUEL CELLED cars and buses!!....With the high price of gas today, $CAD 1.35/litre, Tesla should be a runaway success but it's nowhere to be seen except under special conditions some where in California!!

Are LITHIUM BATTERIES safe enough to be cleared for road use by the Underwriters Laboratories??

[Audubondragon]

Well, think about the fact that NO one knows. The oil companies control the media, so there are no commercials or ads for it on TV, Radio, or newspaper.

Plus you have ExxonMobil paid "skeptics" to demonize the car and call is unsafe or inefficient. Big oil controls most of what goes on. and they hate this car. nuff said

[SCOTSDOC]

We have been commenting here for about one complete year...yet nothing new seems to have been developed. Surely we should be seeing a lot more of them by now??

[chipsdubbo89]

Actually, I live in a town called West Longbranch, New Jersey, and I saw one on the road the other day.

[Bayritto]

This is undoubtedly the fruit of a revolution in the thinking of modern humanity. Even if one were to factor in the cost of electricity production, it still gets an eqivalent pollution rating of 135 or so MPG. With an optional solar option, this is a no-brainer decision. It's faster than a Lamborgini Gallardo, and costs less too. Why not choose the option that is more environmentally friendly as well?

[katiesweinerisblack]

My name is Tesla. ^^

[Renegen1]

Energy positive? Does that mean I can finally grill my steak WHILE driving? Or does that merely mean I will catch fire?

[rentoz]

Energy positive is good. Early technology costs bad.

[icandobackflips]

wow thats amazing you guys still manage to find some bad when some one is trying simply make a fast electric car that looks cool so what its a 100 grands worth of novelty but ill have one

[intersliced]

tis less then convention - but green = less profit and thats bad

[pittim]

In reality you have an eclectic socket to engine to road.Transmission of electricity is already happening.You already use this energy. So why not for motoring as well?Better have one big pollution engine in a place(p.s. electricity can be carbon free produced as well),rather loads small of them spreading all over.When a mile costs 1c of electricity.How damaging do you think that is?Isn't that efficiently?

[lukosrage]

Are these people stupid, where the hell do you think that energy comes from. Let me break it down for you

A. Sunlight

B. Organic Tissues

C. Wood,Coal,Petrol

Now for the use

D. Fire,Heat (Small Energy Loss)

E. Steam (Energy Loss)

F. Wall Outlet (Energy Loss)

G. Car with toxic batterys?, that uses oil to lube parts drives on a road made useing oil useing a body made with oil. -but because you think the energy magically arrives at your wall outlet its clean

[pittim]

Definitely you are right. It is not 100% green. BUT the damage to the environment this car produce, is far less than a gasoline one. (even if the electricity is being produced by coal, the most polluted way). And regarding the battery, is a Lithium, which can be disposed safely or being recycled (they say, recycling cost will be included in the purchase price)

[lukosrage]

With gas or biodiesel the energy goes (almost) straight from petrol to engine to road, with electric there are many paths every transmission and conversion each causes a reduction/loss from the origonal source. How is this more Mechanically Efficient? Just moveing the smog somewhere else.

[pittim]

In reality you have an eclectic socket to engine to road.Transmission of electricity is already happening.You already use this energy. So why not for motoring as well?Better have one big pollution engine in a place(p.s. electricity can be carbon free produced as well),rather loads small of them spreading all over.When a mile costs 1c of electricity.How damaging do you think that is?Isn't that efficiently?

[lukosrage]

"You already use this energy." No, not really this will be in addition to your normal electric use. So this is just a big "Not in my backyard" thing?, So we should pollute the heck out of areas people dont live in so the local wildlife has to deal with the smog, BRILLIANT.

[pittim]

Unfortunately we can't be an emission free society (at least not yet).Again,you can chose were the electricity can come from(ex,solar, smoke free option)but even if you go for something else,the pollution that will be created,in order this car to run a mile it will be far less than gasoline does. Plus the sound pollution is being solved as well.

[clayton790]

Sound pollution? Seriously? I am all for a vehicle being quite, but what sound pollution? Do you hate the sound of a combustion engine that much? Its not like there is a constant ambient hum coming from the cars all over town that it intrudes into my daily life or health.

Having said that, I agree with everything else you said. I am a car guy. I love the gas engine, but I am very pro-electric engine. It has always interests me. If I had the money, I'd rather buy one of these than a Porsche.

[pittim]

I don't say that I hate combustion engine. I'm saying that it is one of the main sources of sound pollution. I am like you, since we were born into this type of pollution, we can't realize the effects in our health, both physical and mental.

[zigadabooga]

Kudos pittim

[WideOfVision]

Isn't this watching Tzero all over again? Looks similar, similar cost, starting production, taking orders, reserve yours now, and then what? Even if you have the money to spare, don't hold your breath.

[rnsaza]

I want one! Never mind the pollution caused while making electricity, how much pollution is created making gasoline or diesel fuel? Besides, I don't care, I just want one because it looks cool!

[Snake350z]

Is it just me or does this car have the front end of a NSx and a back end/side profile of an Elise.

[NigoNI60]

for the front it's you, for the back I recall that Lotus developped the car with Tesla and will build it

[Sakuya29]

Best combo would be this car and a house powered by solar panels. Well money talks but I hope in the future things would be affordable for the common folk

[savagesteve13]

Needs no oil, needs no coolant, needs no transmission fluid, needs no spark plugs, needs little maintenance. Its very quiet.

lets face it, car maintenance costs a LOT.

[spadesghost]

whats with people not knowing the juice for the batteries comes from burning fossil fuels anyways?

you plug and charge your car from the outlet, where do

you think that comes from? magic?

this is not some great solution, its just different

[sivadwerdna]

-the amount of energy used for electric is still less than each car running on gasoline.

-at least we can keep better track of how much total carbon is emmitted (easier to track several power plants than each individual car.

-the technology for 'carbon capture' (ie: underground storage of carbon).

-coal power plants are dated technology, and are only used because they are cheapest. Nuclear (safer than you'd think), solar, wind, biofuels, etc. are all possible futures for power production.

[MetalMilitia5488]

Yes the emissions are just shifted from the car's combusion engine to power plants, but you don't necessarily have to buy your energy from a company that burns fossil fuels. When this government figures out that we are accelerating global warming they are going to start forcing energy companies to reduce CO2 emissions and might give subsidies to alternative energy companies. Having electric cars makes it much easier to reduce CO2 emissions.

[elpablogrande]

And do keep in mind that while electric power sources such as coal do pollute, an electric vehicle is still drastically more pollution-efficient. Even if the electricity to charge the car comes from coal or other fossil fuels, it's coming from a centralized energy source (fewer losses) and it's using a motor that's 80-90% efficient, as opposed to an internal combustion motor that's only 10-25% efficient.

[nige74]

that is one of the most exciting car developments ive ever seen, why dont governments support the marketing of these cars for god sakes, how can tesla even hope to match the budget of General motors and ford etc?? how much do these cost by the way?

[elpablogrande]

About $100,000. You'll save the environment and get a real sexy car, but you won't save any money. That said, I still want one.

[stopcrazypp]

msrp before was $80,000. $100,000 was for the "Signature 100." Some pp actually paid $100,000 for the normal ones, so they set it now to $89k. Delivery also delayed. That's what happens when demand>>supply.

[crzydrvrmn]

I love that it's named after Nikola Tesla too!

[baronempire]

If u look carefully at the ratings for anything regarding the electric cars they are all pretty much around 2.5 Star! Yet all the comments are positive. We should rate videos on their importance and significance as well as if they are well made

[johnrambothemighty]

Gas costs something like 3 times as much here in Europe.

[domdaniel]

Fuck ME I want one of these :) I'm putting the finishing touches on an electric motorcycle, but it's not going to look anywhere near as slick and quick as this beast does...that's awesome.

[SCOTSDOC]

I'm told a VW at 60mph on a flat road with zero wind needs 60 -66 KW........There are very few batteries that support a draw off of that size and survive very long.

[terrorist420x]

What kind of VW? Sounds more along the lines of a VW bus with studded tires dragging a parachute behind it, hardly a typical car.

60-66 kW will take a typical midsize car with a 24 square foot frontal area and .32 drag coefficient about 110 mph given proper gearing.

At 70 mph, most midsize cars and small SUVs with no special attention to aerodynamics will require about 18 rear wheel kW. With the aerodynamic cleanliness of a Toyota Prius(.26 Cd) and LRR tires, about 12 rear wheel kW.

[zigadabooga]

HAHA yea well you were told wrong. If you were told anything about a VW at all it would be the VW rabbit, they are converted the most for VW... and just 20 golf cart size batteries will take it to 60mph at 170 amp draw.

[SCOTSDOC]

Hey TERRORIST420x, Chat up the U.S.N. Find out why after $billions on research for motive power for atomic torpedos they gave up on QUIET BATTERIES AND QUIET FUEL CELLS in favour of a dinky(but noisy)multi cylinder swash plate central drive internal combustion engine. Reliability and Range..Pure and simple!!

[terrorist420x]

Torpedos are a much more demanding application than an automobile.

In automotive applications, modern batteries and electric drive deliver similar range to, better performance than, greater reliability than, and lower operating cost than an internal combustion system.

What will work for cars may not be suitable for torpedos.

[SCOTSDOC]

The USN torpedo motor is NEAT ... I'd like one for my motorcycle.....any way RANGE RELIABILITY and CHARGING TIME are the weaknesses of electric cars...so you've been visiting your parents, done a bit of shopping and come home and 'plugged in' and your wife goes into early labour and the damn car runs out of power 1/2 way to the hospital!!

[terrorist420x]

Range: Solectria Sunrise(373 miles per charge), AC Propulsion TZero(300 mpc), Tesla Roadster(250 mpc), Venturi Fetish(220 mpc), Solectria Force(200 mpc), Mitsubishi Eclipse EV(250 mpc), Electrovaya Maya100(230 mpc). Gas cars do ~250-400 miles per tank.

Reliability: No oil, belts, pulleys, gaskets, pumps, cranks or other IC-related crap to fail. Electric motors have one moving part, last over 500,000 miles. Cost parity with gas cars ~$1.50/gal, factoring in battery replacement. Gas now $3.

[terrorist420x]

Charging time: outlet power available is limiting factor with today's batteries/chargers. Might take 10 hours charging at home from 110V outlet; fast charge stations built by companies like Aerovironment and those drag racers who 'dump charge' using banks of stored batteries charge in 20 minutes.

Your scenario is applicable to gas cars too: run out of gas halfway to the hospital while your wife is in labor because you used up the gas in your tank, it's not the car's fault, it's your fault.

[SCOTSDOC]

REMEMBER DOUBLE THE SPEED AND YOU QUADRUPLE THE POWER CONSUMED. Treble the speed and the battery charge will take you only 1/9 of the range. THIS "SQUARE LAW" with regard to power demand is the reason there are no economic supersonic passenger jets.

[terrorist420x]

Those 200-300 mile ranges are quoted at highway speeds ~70 mph. Slowing down to 60 increases range ~15%. There aren't many people that are going to drive 140 on long trips.

Gas cars also see similar increases in energy consumption as speed increases. This is only partially mitigated by high load making internal combustion engine more efficient, but at 100+ mph, most cars won't do over 15 mpg. Range of gas cars at speed is drops too.

http://www.greencarcongress.co­m/2006/05/fuel_consumptio.html

[zigadabooga]

That depends on the charge controller. You could recharge fully in an hour and a half if you used a standard 220V 60amp circuit (like your range or hot tub).

Or if you make your own battery back-up supplied by solar you can charge in 5 mins with a 500amp charger.

[SCOTSDOC]

Terrorist420X..There are no electric cars around Vancouver..There are no Fuel Cell powered cars either that I have ever seen!!(Ballard is a Vancouver area company)Energy is the result of an oxidation process.Gasoline +Air(O2)=energy CO2,+H2O. Air is free so the oxidizer adds no weight to the departing vehicle.the exhaust is discharged on route adding no excess weight to the arriving vehicle. A battery has to carry both it's oxidizer and oxidized product=WEIGHT=lost efficiency!!

[terrorist420x]

There are electric cars in Vancouver. The city even has their own electric vehicle association.

http://www.veva.bc.ca

With modern batteries, there's little weight penalty of electric car over internal combustion car. Engines and related ancillary components are significant weight themselves. My Triumph GT6 has over 600 lbs of IC components to remove. Swapping in 200 lbs of electrical components and 400 lbs lithium batteries would allow 200 miles range, better performance, no weight gain.

[terrorist420x]

http://www.austinev.org/evalbu­m/geo/British%20Columbia

There are also 11 electric car/truck conversions listed on austinev.org in British Columbia(around Vancouver and up into colder territories), 3 of them specifically in Vancouver. By no means is austinev.org an all inclusive list, either. Most EV owners don't have their vehicle listed there yet.

There are electric cars operating in Alaksa and farther north in Canada. With thermal management of batteries, no appreciable range loss in winter.

[blacklightsouth]

$90,000.00

...in case anyone was curious.

For once, the Department of MOTOR Vehicles can have a car that is actualy run by a MOTOR, NOT AN ENGINE.

(Why don't they call it the Department of ENGINE Vehicles anyway? Anybody???)

[SCOTSDOC]

ELECTRIC CARS LOOK OK...but they are the shits...battery capacity is the problem...In Canada no electric car will function in WINNIPEG in winter at night...With the chill, headlights on and the windshield defrost on(No in car heater) the car will barely move and the range at slow speed will be about 1 mile!!!

[terrorist420x]

There are hundreds of Canadians driving electric cars. Some have their cars listed on www.austinev.org/evalbum/

Nickel Metal Hydride, Nickel Cadmium, and Lithium Ion batteries generally have no significant loss in capacity or power even down to -40 degrees Celsius. Even then, it is possible to use a battery heater that will draw 70-100W of power to keep them sufficiently warm with proper insulation, an no range loss will be had, even with lead acid batteries. The beauty of thermal regulation...

[zeroXcrossing]

The reason electrics have failed in the past is because they've sucked, plain and simple. This one doesn't suck. I hope it's a success.

[terrorist420x]

1990s EV technology:

NiMH batteries allowed Solectria Force 200 miles range, Solectria Sunrise over 350 miles range. EV1 did 140-160 miles per charge with NiMH. RAV4 EV, 120 miles range.

EV1 had decent performance. 0-60 mph 7.5 seconds, governor limited to 80 mph. Remove the governor, and would top over 180 mph.

AC Propulsion TZero of the 90s with lead acid batteries was doing 0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds, 100 miles range. NiMH would've doubled the range.

Good enough for market penetration.

[danmangt40]

I'm anxious to see a small manufacturer have a monopoly that major manufacturers can only sit back and watch. GM should've committed itself to electric cars. I hope it takes off and becomes more popular than just the current hybrid fad.

[merrykite]

great car!!!

[Gonk]

I want one now, and it doesn't make any noise it's perfect for late night booty calls.

[21k]

very nice. ill buy one when i have the moneeeeh

[cpnjack]

We all know electric cars can go fast. We saw the video of that one blowing away a ferrari. What would be nice is one that's as fast as a regular car, that you can fit more than 2 people into, that you can put shopping into, and doesn't cost much more than a regular car.

[terrorist420x]

What's needed to have the car you outline is mass production. The major automakers refuse to make electric cars. But the technology for a 200+ mile range pure battery electric car or small SUV, seats 5 adults, has ample room for groceries and stuff, does 0-60 mph in 8 seconds, and could be sold for around $20k, that technology has been here a decade. It will probably take Tesla another 10-15 years to filter it down to the common folk. The big automakers simply refuse to do it.

[ideaofprogress]

We'll see how long it takes for the auto and oil industries to crush this.

[arloj]

Yeah, and we didn't land on the moon either... :P :P :P

[18fcali]

<b>they should offer downloadable "cartones" so that doesn't happen.. ding-a-ling-a ling a ling.</b>

[18fcali]

<b>it runs too quiet tho.. lots of people are going to be stepping out in front of them, i bet. I know how those rich fuckers drive</b>

[fruzzl]

Sweet. Let's hope there are some rich hippies out there that purchase up a lot of these so they can offer something to the public at a reasonable price. And get them down here in Australia too!

[xMannyfestox]

Very nice!!!

[cace5]

Tesla ressurected the electric car...Its about time someone stood up to the oil lobbyist and BIG Three auto industry......F Detroit and all those standing in the way of progress. That goes for your President to and his veto of the federal funding of stem cell research.

[supertommy1]

I would love to buy one except for its $80,000+ price tag....the question now is how do I find $80,000? Ultimately, I'm sure its worth the expense as it does go fast :) and it doesn't emit bad shit. And the more its seen on the road, the more people will become aware and interested.

I would love to fly by other drivers super quietly. That alone is awesome.

[hu]

the company should offer promotional vehicles to the winners of an american idol-style driving contest

[arloj]

And of course, like any new technology, it's a luxury item before it filters down to the common population. Hopefully it happens before we start producing less oil than we consume...

[malayrojak]

It does cause the emition of bad shit, but more efficiently than their petroleum based counterparts. You need energy to make things work [that includes humans ;) ]

[terrorist420x]

The $80k price tag is from the car being hand-built. Tesla doesn't have the $200+ million needed to build the economies of scale to mass produce a car like the big automakers do. A mass produced electric car may in fact be cheaper than a gasoline one, but the major automakers refuse to mass produce electric cars. For nearly 10 years, we've had the technology for a midsize electric car that seats 5, has > 200 miles range, does 0-60 mph in 8 seconds, and could probably be sold at $20k.