Tesla Death Watch 15: 125 Miles on a Charge
Martin Eberhard now has driven 1000 miles on his Founders Series Tesla Roadster. Tesla's first CEO (now punted) took delivery of his lithium-ion-powered sports car two weeks back. ( It's got orange stripes on grey, if you're in his neck of the woods and want to flag him down.) Eberhard estimates the Roadster's range at 125 miles on the "normal charge" settings, and 160 at "max range". "The 'normal charge' setting (accessed via the touch screen) limits charging the battery to something less than full. (I guess they go to 85 percent) and limits discharging to something above fully-depleted. The max range setting allows full use of the battery, though it warns you that doing this often will cause reduced battery life. It also reduces torque noticeably." And there you have it. He also notes that the rear suspension is harsh on sharp bumps, but that's to be expected from the Kim Kardashian version of the Lotus Elise.
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Good to hear Tesla's got some numbers slowly rolling out. 125 miles goes far in urban driving, and it's certainly more fun to drive than say, a Smart.
So we've got what we've got and their going to swap out the motor/trans/inverter for something with some more pep. How many years are they planning on selling this model as it is? When will it get a bigger(range) and more powerful battery pack? How about even a higher performance motor/inverter then the yet to be released one? One way for Tesla to stay in business is to always have ultimate performance. Stay far ahead of any and all competition. They will have the field to themselves until Porsche, Ferrari, Lambo do up some EV models. Electric Vette? I think the only reason the bottom is falling out of the oil market right now is they fear they pushed it too far this time. Opened a door they can't close. Put far too much in motion. They had the prices up for too long. This has happened a few times before and no reason for it not to again. Nearly seems certain it will and should. No reason for it not too.
Anything is better than a Smart!
Teacher> Thank you for that info! It would perhaps have been to risky to put the Tesla in a truck and unload it at different scenic places! I looked the place up, and it was a circa 20 miles drive from Tesla HQ there and back. One must conclude that the difference between real and theoretical MPG:s/range are of outermost importance with electric cars, since refulling is so slow.