Will the Tesla Roadster make it to Lake Tahoe?

How far can the Tesla Roadster go in real world conditions? We're going to get more data on that probably in the near future.

The all-electric sports car will go more than 200 miles on a single charge. However, the actual results will vary depending on the terrain and your driving style, according to Diarmuid O'Connell, director of corporate development. The company, for instance, has driven the car on a single charge from Lake Tahoe, Calif., to corporate headquarters in San Carlos, Calif., a distance of about 200 miles. (Truckee to San Carlos is 207 miles, according to Google.)

But that's downhill. Tesla hasn't tried it the other way, which involves several thousand feet of climbing. That can sap the battery more than going downhill. Punching the accelerator a lot can also suck up energy, according to other electric car drivers. The company, though, will start to come out with more real world data as the release of the car approaches. (Owners will likely post information about their results too.).

In the meantime, the company is working with Hyatt hotels to install charging stations. The first ones are in San Francisco, Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. Sacramento was chosen because it bridges the gap between the other two, O'Connell noted.

Today, the company is driving the car between the three charging stations. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom drove the car around the block in his city. Company drivers will then take it to Sacramento where California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will take it for a spin. Then it's off to Tahoe.

Besides range, the other issue with electric cars is price. The Roadster sells for $98,000. The company hopes to get some in customers' hands before the end of the year. Electric sedans will sell in the $30,000 to $70,000 range but only go 130 to 200 miles on a charge.

[billmosby]

Other conditions..

How does it do in the cold? Does keeping the windshield and
passengers defrosted take much off of the range? How about when
it's been 10 or 20 below overnight and the battery is cold?

[tonybelding]

Cold Weather

Tesla tested the Roadster on a frozen lake in Sweden, and came
back with some pretty impressive video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5kkU23bfEc

More info here:

http://zobeid.zapto.org/caviar/tesla/tesla_roadster_FAQ.html#cold

[theBike45]

Wait for the VOLT and save yourself a lot of headaches

Now the clueless well-heeled souls who are gulible and bought into the nonsensical lies of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" will learn all the things that movie sort of forgot to mention about battery powered cars - like the fact that the car controls YOU, not vice versa, a fact broadcast loud and clear to GM by those few fools silly enough to lease the EV-1. GM learned, while those watching the totally fictitious movie did not. Their upcoming VOLT and Opel electrics will have just enough battery power to eliminate 95% ofmost people's demand for gas and still be affordable in a way teh useless Tesla is not, and
can run on guiltless ethanol when the battery runs
down. All for under $30K and looking sharper and far more practical than the Tesla. Only those out to convince the world they have plenty of dough waste their money on Tesla type vehicles.

[billmosby]

Where...

Where do you get "guiltless ethanol"?

[tonybelding]

Bad Comparison

I was sorely tempted to hit the "report as offensive" button.

TheBike45, you need to get a grip. You are completely out of
touch with reality in your comparison of the Chevy Volt and the
Tesla Roadster, and your almost-hysterical rants on every blog
aren't really helping to put your viewpoint across.

My Tesla is scheduled for delivery in May 2008. The Volt will hit
the market in 2010, maybe, if all goes well with battery
development. At this point there isn't even a functioning
prototype, there's only a "wish list" of what GM would like to
produce. I wish them luck. However, the Roadster should be
firing up the production line next month. They are effectively
different generations of vehicles.

More importantly. . . They are different classes of vehicles with
different purposes. Seriously. If you complain about the Tesla
Roadster being impractical or too expensive, then maybe you
should turn your attention to Ferraris and Lamborghinis first. I
suggest going to the Ferrari and Lambo forums and flaming
them for a while, because their cars cost a lot more than the
Tesla and are probably even less practical as daily drivers.

I'm looking at the Tesla as a replacement for a Lotus Esprit V8.
That's a car in roughly the same class, designed for the same
purpose. The cost is about the same. The "practicality" is
similar, or probably favors the Tesla really. The Tesla should
prove more reliable and cheaper to operate, and quite a bit more
fun to drive. And what's wrong with that? I mean, why attack it?

Attacking the Tesla because it's not a Chevy Volt is like attacking
a Porsche 911 because it's not a Toyota Camry. It's not even an
apples-and-oranges comparison. . . It's more like an apples-
and-hamburgers comparison.