Tesla’s Roadster: stylish, pricy and very green

In Silicon Valley, not far from the garages and business parks that spawned high tech companies like Hewlett Packard, Apple and eBay, an innovative automotive company, Tesla, is turning out electric vehicles. That’s right, in the shadow of Stanford University, a California automobile factory is making an electric car – the type that Detroit has resisted building for 80 years. And no, this electric car is not wrapped in ugly sheet metal (think Toyota’s Prius), but is stylish and sexy (think Lamborghini with a green power plant).

The company's goal is to advance the electrification of personal transportation by providing more and more affordable electric vehicles. Tesla, which is relentlessly driving down the cost of EV technology, also sells its patented powertrain components to other automakers. For example, the company is providing battery packs and chargers for Germany's Daimler AG (maker of Mercedes), which is building an electric Smart microcar.

Just this spring, Tesla secured a $50 million investment and strategic partnership with Daimler. In June, Tesla became one of the first automakers to get approval for $465 million in loans from the Department of Energy. Tesla also won a prestigious Globe Award for environmental sustainability and delivered its 500th Roadster – the only car in the world that offers performance with a clean conscience. Tesla is rapidly expanding its retail operations, with new stores opening in London and New York, Seattle, Chicago and Miami. In July, Tesla recorded its best sales week since the summer of 2008 – despite the lackluster economy and continued turbulence in the global automotive industry.

Tesla Motors’ (named for the brilliant but eccentric inventor Nikola Tesla) chief product is simply called, The Roadster. With its 0-to-60 mph acceleration of 3.9 seconds, it is the only highway-capable EV for sale in North America and Europe. It is twice as efficient as a Toyota Prius and has a range of 244 miles per charge. The Roadster has faster acceleration than most street-legal sports cars and recently beat a Porsche 911 GT3 in a time trial. The car’s 990-pound battery pack is powered by 6,831 lithium-ion battery cells, which are similar to those in laptop computers.

The Roadster is the only highway-capable EV for sale in North America and Europe. Tesla has delivered about 600 Roadsters to customers, while garnering glowing reviews from both customers and the automotive press. Roadsters are sold through Tesla Store (think Apple retailing) and can be ordered online with about a 90 day turnaround for delivery. Make no mistake, this is a low volume performance vehicle utilizing an unconventional powerplant, hence a sticker price slightly north of $100,000. An electric sedan, the model S, however, priced at about half the price of a Roadster will be available in 2011, featuring a range of up to 300 miles, and a recharge time of 45 minutes.

Given the instability of oil markets, President Obama’s dedication to green industries (and the resulting jobs) and an environmentally conscious horde of consumers, Tesla is well-positioned as a viable automaker as we advance through this century.