TESLA Roadster Goes to Washington Pt 1

[narfer121]

I m in the process of stripping a Chevy s-10 2wd to make it an Ev, all together with the truck ill be gas free for 3k. Anyone can do it, just put down your mp3 players, pda's, and cell phones , get your hands dirty, and get yourself oil free...... the governments not going to do it for you.

[DRSmetal]

I would have love to convert my '97 cavalier to EV. Oh well..

[mikebuyaka]

The issue is not to question authority, but to question unjust authority. Let he who is without fault cast the first stone... but I digress.

The biggest challenge will be getting past the mountains of money the oil companies stand to lose if an affordable, efficient EV were to be mass-produced and affordable. ExxonMobile alone had over $40 Billion in profits in 2007.  That's BILLION. And that's PROFIT. And how many oil companies are there? It's going to take a massive effort, sheople.

[hiepaction]

Yep, there will be assasinations going on if this became mainstream.

I think it would nice not to depend on gas/oil

[proverb311031]

Not one bushiness will make way for the new kid on the block that take away their profit, would you!

[iamweasel4u]

I think even big business knows that if these guys died, something very suspect is going on. Everyone will suspect the oilers doing it. They (big business) need an alternative. Is is here.

[AcePilot101]

Well, I live in BC.

Maybe you could buy a ZENN and drive it (illegally) out west. We could make a video and post it on YouTube. Question Authority!!

[AcePilot101]

Tesla Roadster gets up to 250 miles between charges, speeds up to 165 mph and uses lithium batteries..you could charge it with solar panels. Check out the ZENN vehicle from Quebec, Canada..less than $14,000!!

[errielynn]

The only Canadian province that will allow the ZENN car on the road is British Columbia... guess it's time to move out west.

[mikebuyaka]

Not to mention the Zenn has a top speed of 25mph and needs overnight charging. (short charge is 4 hours).

[EnigmaNZ1]

Electric would be ideal in France where they produce so much electricity it is exported. With the Toshiba (iirc) Lion batteries that can be recharged to 80% in minutes, with a life of 20 years. The electric car is getting more practible. As long as it looks like a car we want to own, not some weird looking ecomobile. Google the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX MIEV electric car, power output rivals the regular Evo at 268 total horsepower, but it has 1,528 lb-ft of torque.

[arnofourie]

producing eth. is a type of pollution in itself considering most of the crops that were once used to produce foods will be converted to prod ethanol instead.another stupid idea is stupid young boys thinking the public roads are a place to tear things up on..

this is trully a great car. to be able to create such rivalling power.. its almst asif this was far too ezy. lets say oil comp. might have had sumthin to do with the development of such technologies not to mention corrupt leaders cough*

[Sruikyl]

we don't need to be drastic and convert to electric cars to save the environment, why not just stick to normal engines and use ethanol, MUCH cheaper than a 100,000$ Ferrari wannabe that sounds like a wind up toy.

and ethanol only requires a cheap conversion for any car to be able to . especially since ethanol can be grown (while converting C02 to air in the process), not to mention it has more octane, so it'll still please the petrol heads as they tear up the motorways.

[GSpotter63]

I'd like to clear up a misconception about electric cars. While it's possible that the emissions will be "pushed off" onto dirty power plants (which are more cleaner and efficient (by as much as 10 times) than the many individual gas engines they will replace).

[GSpotter63]

There are many sources of electricity--nuclear, wind, solar and hydroelectric being the most common alternatives to a power source based on fossil fuels. So it's very possible now (and increasingly likely in the future) that electric cars will be powered by energy that is entirely free of harmful emissions.

[GSpotter63]

I plan on buying an electric car within a few years (possibly the Tesla sedan when it comes out), and shortly after that I'd like to power it with solar panels on the garage.Look ma no pollution at all. And the electricity is free.

[Rhianimator]

@GSpotter63 There's also the fact that the Tesla is around 80% energy efficient, while your standard Internal Combustion Engine is only 20%. And, after your batteries wear down to being not car worthy after 100,000 miles or so, you can recycle them into your solar system as additional storage.

[rolexx]

Cool car, but I'd much rather have a Lamborghini Gallardo.

[BLUETIB]

Real cool destroying the environment....

[tubilar111]

say, can this car do a burnout, donuts,and the things alike?

[joelado]

Yes it can. 0 to 60 in 3.8 seconds.

[tubilar111]

i know that this car is fast, but theres no proof it can do a donut.

[ceriman]

Yes if you turn off the traction control, No if the traction control is on.

But really, this car is designed for driving, not pointless noisemaking.

[66ivo66]

well, and i think thats where they should work on next, making it more fun...

[kingpoe1]

FUCKIN RICH PEOPLE

[ac3l3r8tor]

Get a job,

[66ivo66]

you say that until you find yourself being rich.....hahaha

[SgtBeefcake]

Wish I could afford one...

[horsechalupa]

this car is too scary to walk infront of.

[sp3cs]

FUCK ARAB PETROLIUM

[anotaai]

hahahahaah goood one!

[SCOTSDOC]

Beat the Drum...Get the Marks to Line up...Put on a show for them...Get Celebs & Politicians suckered in for Publicity Photo-Ops...Take the money and scarper!! In 10 years nobody will remember!

[terrorist420x]

Unlike most frauds, Tesla's claims actually add up and from an engineering standpoint their performance claims are very feasible. Best of all, third parties have already verified them.

Tesla is for real dude.

[SCOTSDOC]

I've been around for 77 years! Seen the electric cars of the past come and go! Back about 1985 they were big too and looked fantastic! Same 'Blurb' as now - fast almost silent - dealers lining up now - get your DEALERSHIP NOW!! Look back to FNN archives. I saw all this on Satellite TV long ago!! Anyway what has " Mr.TESLA" to do with present product??

[terrorist420x]

In 1985, the battery technology limited range to about 80 miles. There were a few market ready ones built by small companies, but oil industry front groups managed to stall some, and general incompetence managed to stall others.

[ceriman]

The "money" is from the top company officials - Elon Musk and Martin Eberhard. Wouldn't do to "Sucker" themselves, would it?

Tesla Motors is not selling "dealerships", they plan to sell cars direct via internet and their own stores.

Nicola Tesla invented the 3 phase AC induction motor used in this car.

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[3theThird]

American AC propulsion. From California. You can put it in Japanese vehicles, German, English, take your pick.

Elon Musk made a deal with Lotus so that's the car it's in currently. Previously AC built the T-Zero vehicle from the ground up as a demonstrator. It beat all other sports cars hands down.

[Raisinjeff]

What was that "Dumbo" thing about in the beginning of the video?

But yeah, it's a British car. They'll be prepared in New Mexico in 2009, seeing as all the parts were made all over the world.  You buy ingredients for a cake in Thailand and bake it in North Carolina, it's not an American cake.

[bobdablob]

hahaha... i'm not sure you could call this an american car, though. everything but the battery and engine are pretty much all by lotus (english) technology and most of the car is assembled in the same plant that makes the lotus elise.

[herbys68]

Not exactly. The chassis is Lotus, the battery is Japanese and the engine is 100% american. But if you judge cars by their origins you know little about cars (and about logic). This car would be great even if it came from a horse's ass.

[bobdablob]

which is exactly the point i was trying to make. jukio01 seemed to think that the tesla was crap just because it was designed in a country that has put out some lower-quality stuff than its japanese or european counterparts in the past.

[voyager1985]

its not an engine its a motor like the great american oxymoron general motors witch produces mainly gas engines

[JUKIO01]

american cars suck, guys dont get american cars, their crap. japanese cars, german cars are the best

[alpha754293]

in what metric? Name me a Japanese or German car that you can get for $15k in the US; and then let's see you make the same statement. Anybody can make a "good" car when it's selling for $25k+. But to do it for $15k or even sub-$10k; where they're subject to the same rules and regulations as $1.5M supercars - it isn't as easy then.

Get a clue!

[anthonycut]

HAHA---YOU get a clue!  TARRIFS---you don't think The American Government KNOWS American cars now SUCK ASS....why do you think the government taxes imports heavily?

[alpha754293]

it's not because they suck. it's because of competition. Any company, and any state/government would impose tariffs/taxes in order to protect the (manufacturing) economy within.

If you have someone that has a better product than you, coming in from another country - you're going to put them at a cost disadvantage relative to your product by imposing import taxes. It allows the company to preserve their crappy product rather than competing.

[alpha754293]

Toyota and Honda's way of getting around that: first import the cars to find out what it takes to pass the regulations.

Next, set up plants in Mississippi and Ohio (along with Kentucky and Indiana) to build them right on American ground. Then continue to spank the Big 3 in their game. Tariffs and import taxes then no long apply to a foreign brand that's as "American" as the Big 3 (some would even argue more so, because the companies don't make a point to screw the workers/people over.)

[terry1919]

don't forget Alabama :)

[alpha754293]

Perhaps you should do more research into International Business (the motives, the strategies, and the workarounds) along with governmental policies before commenting.