Tesla Roadster

[rx7922]

0 - 60 in 1.9 seconds for the base model

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd9JQAkcYak

[PeteH]

Yeah, I saw that earlier today. Blistering performance. I hope it does indeed become reality.

[GoDadGo]

So That's Where Our Tax Money Is Going!

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-musk-subsidies-20150531-story.html

[Gumball]

Most likely a smoke-screen for their inability to perform to expectations and stated forecasts on the Model 3. Certainly $50k per deposit, it'll help make up their cash reserve shortfall.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Most likely a smoke-screen for their inability to perform to expectations and stated forecasts on the Model 3...

My thoughts exactly! Last I read fewer than 500 had actually been manufactured since production commenced in July; a far cry from Musk's 5,000 per week projection. But hey, they're still sitting on 700 million bucks in customer deposits...

Jeff

[q4stix]

I know there's a Model 3 up here north of Seattle in the parking lot of my building... brought a lot of talk to the building and we don't know who owns it. I wasn't able to walk out next to it to see the panel gaps and manufacturing issues reported in the news.

1.9 does seem fairly insane for a road car on road tires though. Sure it may have the torque to get it moving, but even race prepped rallycross cars can 'only' do 1.9

[toolerwayne]

My brother has the original lotus chassis roadster. I beat on it for a day around Vegas a few years ago. Well a few hours actually because the harder you drive it, the faster the batteries go down. I was really impressed. I,m not sure I could keep up with it in my roadster if I tried. Plus it is nearly silent! I think the numbers they claim may be correct. Very low center of gravity, well balanced, traction control. fairly light. He loves his Teslas and pre-orders every new model. It changed my attitude toward them.

[cnutting]

SpaceX can stick a first stage landing on a floating barge regularly and they are now launching national security payloads. He'll most likely get to Mars before NASA.

Maybe routine production isn't Elon's thing... I suspect he underestimated the challenge there. Unfortunately, a lot of people have cash tied up while he figures this out.

[carbon fiber]

Have you seen the acceleration videos? I doesn't look slow. The level of traction control with electric motors seems way superior to combustion engines. You hear very light tire squeal and it's haulin'.

[h22bomb]

Would be cool to see someone put an electric motor in the front of an 818 - you already have the RDU and half shafts to do it from the subaru donor, AWD hybrid 818!!

[SerpantFL]

Way too close to a self drive toy for me. I will stick with the smell of motor fuel and the feel of the cylinders popping... Cobras will be the "I am Legend" vehicle survivors of the future.

[TDSapp]

My Hot Rod will be a hybrid, it will burn both Gas and Tires. Just like the original models.

[NiceGuyEddie]

Wrong R&D.

Electric cars are a neat niche market, but they will NEVER overtake gasoline powered vehicles unless the battery can be charged as fast as you can fill a car with gas. (1-2 minutes.)

[shinn497]

Wrong R&D.

Electric cars are a neat niche market, but they will NEVER overtake gasoline powered vehicles unless the battery can be charged as fast as you can fill a car with gas. (1-2 minutes.)

Funny I think the very opposite. Tesla especially is really good at selling evs. They have 500k preorders for a car that has no commercials. Its insane. And you can sueper charge them for 20 mins, which is about what you'd spend on a rest stop for a long trip anyway. For other applications, the car has a full tank every day and goes over 200 miles.

I see it this way. For the 90% of people EVs will work just fine. Rather gas cars will be the niche. And that can include sports cars. I also think we as a whole are moving towards less car ownership and I'm fine with that.

I really want a roadster and will probably get one oneday. I definately proves that EVs are just a more performant tech than ICE. Which is fine. Gas cars can still be fun even if they aren't as fast.

[videodude]

Everybody posting here is chocolate or vanilla. Black or White. I think you're missing the obvious: Hybrid. I didn't think much of them until I bought a Ford Fusion Titanium Hybrid (same model is now called "Platinum") for my wife. Man, that thing is sweet! For half the price of a Tesla, it accelerates like a Bat (no disrespect to Jeff Miller) out of you know where, handles like a dream, and gets great gas mileage (over 40 without trying). And it charges it's batteries WITHOUT using any other energy source! That's hard to beat. I know the stated EV range is only 4 miles, but I've driven it WAY beyond that on batteries alone. The lower the battery level gets, the more careful you have to be, but I view it as a challenge rather than an inconvenience. I didn't buy it as an electric vehicle, I bought it as a hybrid, and it excels at that task. Apparently, the only difference between the regular Hybrid and the Energi Hybrid is the size of the battery, the charge connector, and the engine management software/firmware. Frankly, I can't see spending an additional $8,500-$10,000 for the small difference in electric performance and minor subsequent savings in gasoline. The biggest downside is that it doesn't sound like a "car". Even the new 3.5L EcoBoost Hybrid's don't sound like real "cars". Now, if you could give me a 3.5 EcoBoost Hybrid that "sounded" like a stroked small block with a "letter" cam, now you've got my interest! Notice I said small block. I'm not asking for much. Make a Hybrid that sounds like a Big Block, and I'll likely wet my pants. That'd be something to put in a Roadster!

Video

[shinn497]

I mean we are all going to have our preferences right. The thing about hybrids is EV batteries are more efficient when they are larger. And EVs have simpler powertrains with less maintence, as opposed to hybrids that have dual systems. I think hybrids were nice to transition us to EVs but in the longer run they are just going to lose. But hey that is me. I'm an obvious EV Bull.