313 miles on a single charge
November 27th, 2009 by maxstaedtleroriginally published on www.whatmattersweblog.com
On Tuesday, two Australians drove their Tesla Roadster all-electric car 501 kilometers (313 miles) on a single charge participating in the Global Green Challenge – a 3000 km race from north to south Australia.
This new distance record for a production electric car marks a milestone for all-electric cars. Most potential electric car buyers still suffer from range anxiety. Hopefully this record can help to ease some worries since most drivers – especially in urban areas – don’t drive 313 miles without taking a break of several hours when the car could easily be recharged.
Even though Australian entrepreneur Simon Hackett just drove at an average speed of roughly 34 mph (55 kph), his record shows that even under real-world conditions, all-electric cars can meet the requirements of most drivers. In NYC traffic for instance, you won’t be able to drive much faster than 34 mph most of the time anyway.
The first highway-capable electric car sold in North America and Europe accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour within 3.9 seconds, has a 244-mile range under normal driving conditions and is twice as efficient as a Toyota Prius. The only major downside of the Tesla Roadster is its price tag: about $100,000
While Tesla is expanding its retail chain throughout the U.S. and Europe (operating 12 stores so far in places such as L.A., Menlo Park, Boulder, Washington D.C., Seattle, Chicago, Miami, New York, Toronto, London, Munich and Monaco), the electric car front-runner is developing its luxury sedan Model S that will have a 300-mile range, accelerate from 0 – 60 mph within 5.6 seconds, seat 5 adults and two kids, and a 45-minute QuickCharge.
It can be charged from any electricity outlet at a bargain cost of $4. Including U.S. tax credits, the price will be about $49,900 according to the company’s website.
The model S will be the first mass-produced highway-capable electric car in the world and given the financial resources of Tesla’s two major investors, German car maker Daimler and Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments, there is a chance that Tesla Motors will finally shake up the car market.
While the Tesla Roadster was great to establish Tesla as a high quality brand name, the Model S can take on the mass market being affordable for upper-middle-class families.
http://blog.internode.on.net/page/4/
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/31/tesla-roadster-keeps-on-rollin-goes-313-miles-on-single-charge/
