Performance, Style & Efficiency — With A Conscience
The first performance electric car manufactured by Tesla Motors, the high-performance, zero-emissions Tesla Roadster, was unveiled before a throng of well-wishers, car buffs, and potential customers recently during Tesla Motors's "Signature One Hundred" event at Barker Hangar.
More than 350 invited guests spent the evening learning about the new sports car, speaking with Tesla Motors executives, and going for rides along the tarmac at the Santa Monica Airport. Many signed up to be among the first to receive a special edition Tesla Roadster, becoming Signature One Hundred Members.
Celebrities in attendance included actor Ed Begley Jr., producer Richard Donner, businessman Michael Eisner, PayPal co-founder (and Tesla Motors Chairman) Elon Musk, Participant Productions' Founder and CEO Jeff Skoll, also of eBay fame, and producer and car collector Joel Silver. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by prior to the evening's activities to learn more about Tesla Motors and took a ride in the Tesla Roadster.
"We're thrilled to have the support of top people from so many different industries," said Martin Eberhard, CEO of Tesla Motors. "High-tech, CleanTech, entertainment, automotive, you name it. It's gratifying to have others realize the significance or what Tesla Motors is doing."
The electric-powered Tesla Roadster boasts the equivalent of 135 mpg and a range of 250 miles on a single charge, a combination heretofore unseen in a mass-produced electric vehicle. Its extended range is due to its state-of-the-art lithium-ion Energy Storage System. The Tesla Roadster is capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph in about four seconds.
"The Tesla Roadster delivers sports car performance without using any gasoline," said Eberhard. "This is what we hoped to achieve when we started the company three years ago, to build a car with zero emissions that people would love to drive."
Using a unique two-speed electrically actuated manual transmission, the Tesla Roadster's power comes from a 3-phase, 4-pole AC induction motor. The motor is controlled by the Power Electronics Module (PEM) which also controls the inverting direct current to 3-phase alternating current, charging and braking systems.
The Roadster's Energy Storage System (ESS) provides power to the entire vehicle, including the motor. Its durable, tamper-resistant enclosure includes: 6,831 lithium-ion cells, a network of microprocessors for maintaining charge balance and battery temperature, a cooling system, and an independent safety system designed to disconnect power outside the enclosure under a variety of detectable safety situations.
The Tesla Roadster comes complete with its Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE), a home-based charging system, which features an automatic safety disconnect system and can charge the Tesla Roadster in approximately 3.5 hours. An optional mobile charging kit is also available.
The Tesla Roadster has a range of up to 250 miles (EPA Highway) on a single charge, roughly triple the range of previous mass-produced electric vehicles.
"It didn't make sense to sell a car that only goes 90 miles on a charge. You'd spend more time charging the old EVs than driving them," said Eberhard. "Lithium-ion technology, which has been proven in many different applications, has allowed us to achieve exactly what we thought it would in terms of power, range and efficiency."
The body design of the Tesla Roadster, which included a collaborative effort by the company's employees, was led by Barney Hatt, Principal Designer at the Lotus Design Studio in England. The result is a sleek, stylish sports car that will appeal to enthusiasts and environmentalists the world over.
Tesla Motors's engineers have gone to great lengths to ensure that not only is the Tesla Roadster safe to drive, but also is safe when charging, at home or on the road. Their goal is to meet the rigorous Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, or FMVSS, as implemented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Tesla Motors co-founders Eberhard (CEO) and Marc Tarpenning (VP, Engineering) have brought together a team of automotive industry veterans plus Silicon Valley electronics and software engineers to bring the Tesla Roadster to life.
Research and Development for Tesla Motors is located at the corporate headquarters in San Carlos, California and in the UK. Motors are manufactured at Tesla's facility in Taiwan, and final assembly for the Tesla Roadster is in the UK.
Eberhard and Tarpenning provided the early funding for the company, and were joined in 2003 by Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, who is the major investor in the company and serves as company chairman.
Musk worked with Eberhard and Tarpenning to attract more investors and approach venture capital firms, and in June 2006, Tesla Motors announced that the company had secured an additional $40 million in financing led by Musk and VantagePoint Venture Partners, one of the largest CleanTech investors in the Silicon Valley.
Deliveries of the Tesla Roadster are expected to begin next summer.
All performance numbers are preliminary. Tesla Motors is involved in important and time-consuming safety and durability testing for the Tesla Roadster. While they are confident of their numbers, this testing may require design changes that affect the final specifications. Mpg is for the EPA highway driving cycle. Conversion from electric consumption to gallons of gasoline equivalent is calculated using the EPA conversion factor documented in the Federal Register: June 12, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 113), Rules and Regulations, Pages 36985-36992.
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