I’ll apologize in advance if this column comes across as little more than an advertisement for Tesla. In case you haven’t heard, the independent car company is producing an all-electric two-seat roadster. And my husband is buying one. Much as I would love to be able to say his motivation is to “go green,” in fact he’s motivated more by the car’s zero-to-sixty time of less than four seconds. That the car emits nothing is a nice added bonus, from his perspective – and that’s okay with me.
We are still a year away from owning this car. After several years of development and testing, including some wrangling with the transmission design, Tesla has finally begun production of its first few cars, which are being manufactured in the UK by Lotus (under contract to Tesla). My husband is on the customer list, but not near the top. The first hundred cars are already sold; he’s somewhere in the next group.
The cars are powered by a lithium-ion battery and are reported to have a range of over 200 miles – presumably under fairly gentle driving conditions. I should mention that the car is a convertible with a cloth top (though a removable hard top is an option). The top must be installed manually (and it’s a bit tricky).
How do I know? We were able to take a test drive in June. The Tesla dealership is in Westwood, on Santa Monica Boulevard just east of the 405 freeway. We were given an hour with the car, a waiver to sign, and a map of the route. We were waiting at a traffic light when the driver in the next car excitedly said to me, “Wow, is that a Tesla? I didn’t know you could get those yet!” We explained that you couldn’t, this was just the test drive. I had the impression of being spoken to from a great height, so I thought the driver was in an SUV, but my husband later said that he’d been speaking from a lofty… VW beetle. So I guess the Tesla is pretty low to the ground!
Halfway through the test drive, I took the wheel. Once many years ago I had the chance to drive a GM EV-1, and just like that car, this one has plenty of acceleration, whenever you want it, at any speed. Whee! There’s no power steering, but I didn’t have much trouble maneuvering the car, though the steering wheel is smaller than standard. Coasting and braking felt just like they do in a regular car. My only complaints: poor visibility over your left shoulder thanks to a big pillar (but if the top’s off you can just crane your neck around it), and wow, what a tight, sports-car suspension! I felt a little like I was driving a skateboard. But I guess that’s partly what sports-car lovers are after. I must say that I was absolutely elated to drive knowing NOTHING was coming out of our tailpipe.
At another light, I noticed the driver behind us taking a picture. After he lowered the camera, I waved, and he waved, and my husband waved.
Tesla was in the news this week because Governor Schwarzenegger held a press conference at their San Carlos headquarters to announce that the company plans to build a 5-passenger sedan at a facility to be located in California. Tesla had been looking at a site in New Mexico, but finally opted to place it closer to their research & development operations and take advantage of several California incentive programs. One such incentive is a sales tax exemption for manufacturers of zero-emission vehicles that the state estimates will save Tesla $7 to $9 million on its eventual purchase of manufacturing equipment. This makes me happy because it means the company’s that much likelier to remain in business long enough to deliver our car!
The roadster is not a car for everyone. The California-made sedan will be more accessible, though it’s still to be priced at about $60,000. I’m just delighted to see that zero-emission cars are not a dying dream but a current and future reality; that our state policies are attracting clean-technology companies; that Californians will benefit from clean-technology jobs; that Tesla has made sure its car batteries are recyclable; and that California will continue to lead the way in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions while reaping economic benefits. Let’s keep it up and do more of the same.