When Apple launched the iPhone, people were astonished. How did it work, why had no-one though about this before, where can I get one. It did everything that you needed it to do, and you wondered how you ever managed without it. It totally changed the mobile handset industry, and I am convinced that the Tesla is the iPhone of the car industry.
The modern car concept has been around since 1885 when Carl Benz created his 3 wheel combustion engine driven machine and called it a car. Things evolved to the current platform of 4 wheels, steering wheel, pedals, and a combustion engine.
The Tesla Roadster I drove this weekend, I believe, has removed the need for the combustion engine entirely. I'm sure Nikola Tesla had no clue that his name would be attached to such a thing when he was making his many breakthroughs in the fields of electricity and UFO theories, but this car is the future.
Lets start with the car itself. Its a lovely looking thing. Based on an Elise, and stretched a little, there is significantly more room inside than the Elise. There's no center console as such and there is more legroom. The body is fully carbon fiber and the whole car weighs about 2700lbs with over 900 of that in the battery pack which sits directly behind the seat bulkhead. The electric motor sits between the rear wheels and churns out plenty of power. I like how it looks, and it doesn't matter where you park it, you will be surrounded by people asking questions about it.
This particular model, the Roadster Sport, had the full carbon interior, which was very tastefully done. The interior is very similar to the Elise. The dials are obviously a little different, as there is no need for a fuel gauge, or a rev counter, but the speedo is there, and the fairly small steering wheel falls right where you would want it. There are buttons for the gearbox, basically go forwards, go backwards, and I'm home, and there is a little touchscreen panel, that I found a little hard to find that allows you to switch between the power modes and get information about the vehicle. Looked like the iPhone cable was also included so your phone is never too far away.
So, you slip in the key and crank it up. Except, of course, there is nothing to crank. A bing tells you that you are ready to go. Press the D button, and press the go pedal. This is where things get very interesting.
First of all, when you take your foot off the loud pedal, the car uses that force to regenerate power into the battery pack. Its a lot like very heavy engine breaking and takes a little getting used to. In normal traffic, you would very rarely use the brake pedal. I was told that the brake lights actually come on even though you aren't hitting the pedal.
and when you press the loud pedal... Well, you have all the horses at your disposal. There is no lag. None. Its totally binary. In the performance setting, this car set off like warp speed on the Enterprise. The torque curve is absolutely flat. Its always there and always available. It was quite unbelievable, and the best part of all was the almost total silence when it was applied. The only real sound is a slight whine. The noise of the Batcycle on the Batman movie in fact. It was breathtaking. I was merging from an on ramp into traffic and gunned it, and the acceleration was incredible.
The handling was very tight. The steering was precise, and the suspension did a great job of absorbing the bumps. With the majority of the weight between the axles, the car went where you pointed it. It was almost surreal, and it it hadn't felt like my neck was getting snapped off when I hit the noise pedal, it was almost video game like.
So, no noise, instant power, ridiculous acceleration, great handling, good ride, no fossil fuel used in the engine, minimal service costs. Is there a even a downside?
Well, price is one. The model I drove was specced to the max and probably close to $150k. You are paying for the tech at this point. Again, I equate it to the iPhone. When it came out, it was almost $600, and worth every penny. This car will cost, at the most, $4.50 a day to power on the grid, no oil changes, no gas and servicing costs will be lower. It almost makes financial sense when you look at it over 5 years or so.
The other would be convenience. Having a charging station at your destination, for example, could be an issue, but I think with some additional planning ahead, you can get around that. At home, with a dedicated circuit, you can fully charge the car in 3 and half hours. The 250 mile range may be an issue for some people, but I think that's more than enough for most people when you consider that the majority of trips taken in this country are less than 20 miles long.
When Tesla launches the Sedan in the near future, I believe we are going to witness the birth of a revolution in this country. The price point brings the car down to a more affordable level. The platform will provide a more practical car for people to use, and with the continuing improvements in battery technology, the power source will be more and more compact, lowering the weight of the car, improving the consumption, and increasing the range.
Elon Musk should be very proud of what he has. This is the car industry's iPhone and its an incredible achievement.
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