Huhh! I like it!

Everytime I read about Tesla Roadster that ride keeps geting hotter and hotter :)
I realy expect it to be a bomb when it hits the market

where do i buy?Who do i write the check to?

The sooner we transition to electric vehicles the better. Development of charging stations is an essential part of this process.

Back in the 1800's it was the horse changing stations for the pony express, now it is the fuel pump station and later it should be places where vehicles can charge batteries.

The global warming problem is about to become much more intense than we thought because the carbon dioxide sink near the South Pole has recently found to be saturated. If the auto industry thinks it will be fossil fuels forever, they are mistaken. The rate of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere will now be increased and so will be the resultant global warming effects.

If we do not voluntarily switch over to sustainable electric vehicular systems, it will be imposed upon us later on as we reach depletion of finite fossil sources or before that if we cook ourselves like the frog in the pot of heating water.

adrianakau@aol.com

Yes, just what we need. The government helping rich people. Again.

Government helping rich people? Are you just bitter because you can't afford the car?

Though this car is targetted for the richest 10% of the population, the funding is for the development of a charging station that will eventuall benefit everyone in the long run once this technology becomes mainstream.

Since those making under 50K a year (myself included) can't afford to purchase technology that will pave the way for widespread adaptation of a new technology with obvious benificial outcomes, who exactly do you think should be paying for this?

It seems to me that half a million dollars will be used to lower our dependancy on fossil fuels, and once these charging staions are powered by renewable energy... well the benefit is obvious.

As much as some hate to admit it, creating a target market of the top 10% richest people (who hold at least 50% of the world wealth) which allows the rich people to pave the way for the rest of us actually seem like a logical way to introduce new and expensive technology.

Also, on the plus side, by the time the rest of us can afford our electric cars they would be Generation 4 or 5, and I wouldn't be suprised that we would be looking back and laughing at Generation 1 Tesla Owners like people today look back at the problem plagued De Loreans of the 80's.

When my ZAP grows up, I want it to be a Tesla.

The government helping rich people? Where do you get off with a narrow sighted comment like that? Give me a break.

You do realize that for technology to be cost effective it first needs to be adopted at higher rates. Just like solar panels, computers and pretty much everything else out there, when produced in lower numbers, they are much more costly. It's just how supply and demand.. and economics in general works.

I am personally quite impressed that one can own this vehicle for less then $100,000.00 USD!

Also note that Tesla is not turning big profits on these cars - they are keeping up with operating expenses and thats about it.

While I am all for Electric auto's giving money to Telsa seem dubious. They are marketing a high end Electric car I cannot afford. This HOT car is just for the rich and not the middle class. Untill a company cares to devlope a care for the masses The electric car will only get off the ground slowly. And the earth gets more polluted as I type.
It's sad but true...

Bob

This is a clear example of how electric cars can make a difference in solving our reliance on imported oils.

Once people buy cars like the Tesla and battery technology can decrease in cost, we will see more electric type cars in the near future.

Remember the cell phones in the 90's. What caused the price to be so high. Batteries.

Tesla is a great concept fot the rich and famous and the car looks great but really how many of us can afford to shell out $100,000 for a car

A lot of people here are missing the point: The air does not care how rich you are, so it doesn't matter that the Tesla is expensive. Having a car like this in the hands of rich and influential people and getting more charging stations in the wild will make the public like the idea of electric cars more.

The initial buyers of this technology will help bring down the cost of the components, paving the way for a family sedan, minivans, and other mid-priced vehicles. Plus, the demand from consumers will encourage the big carmakers like Toyota to make electric vehicles, or open the way for niche start ups like Phoenix and Tesla to release their family cars successfully.

We have the perfect car culture right now to bring out electrics. The public is concerned about the environment, gas prices are high and show no sign of a permanent drop, and most families are realizing that they may need a big car with gas for carpooling kids and road trips, but that they could do better with a second commuter car which is smaller and more fuel efficient. The most conservative family I know was making fun of my Prius, but they soon realized they can't keep paying for their Yukon with gas prices being as they are. Now they own a Prius, too, and the Yukon has become just their camping car.

Everyone's getting a Prius around here as a second car (It's my only car, it's all I need), but I bet an electric car could fill the niche just as well.

Hype hype hype...

Hype indeed... We all like a lot of really great things we can't afford, but that doesn't make them any less innovative or great. When I first saw a laptop and what one cost, I thought I'd never own one and only a few people had them. Now, I have not one, but a few and they weren't that hard to come by. Patience is a virtue. So straighten out your nickers because there will almost certainly be other makes and models at cheaper prices in the future. Not to mention that Tesla has already made a statement about plans for a similarly powered sedan at roughly half the price of the Roadster.

like a lot of really great things we can't afford, but that doesn't make them any less innovative or great. When I first saw a laptop and what one cost, I thought I'd never own one and only a few people had them. Now, I have not one, but a few and they weren't that hard to come by.

The difference, of course, being that electric cars have been around for as long as cars have been around (~140 years) and laptops have been around for maybe 25 years or so.

Tesla reminds me of the Segway - hyped to death before it ever hits the street. It may or may not be a sufficient catalyst for building the technology, but most of this will be driven by battery technology and economics more than one startup going after an extremely small niche ($100K two seaters with a 200 mile range and no existing "refueling" infrastructure).

And it's ironic that you mention laptops, because it's laptops and cell phones which are driving battery technology - not automobiles.

A new technology is already here. A technology that will allow the electric car to be self-powered. No batteries anymore.

I'm all for the rich essentially paying to advertise this technology and working the bugs out before it goes mainstream, but if it takes 3.5 hours to recharge it, how practical is a recharging station? Anyone want to wait for 3.5 hours? Better to recharge in one's own garage.

And, even if the car itself does not produce any emissions while running, that doesn't mean it is a zero-emission vehicle. Somewhere, there is likely a coal-burning power plant producing the electricity to charge it. We need to be building wind/solar/water power plants and using less energy all around. Also, somewhere, there was a factory which produced the car, an engineering office which designed it, and an air conditioned dealership which sold it, all of which produced a lot of emissions in the course of getting the car to its buyer (who probably has a huge house with a large carbon footprint). I'd venture to guess that 10-25% of a vehicle's lifetime carbon footprint happens pre-purchase.

What would make a bigger difference in our nation's carbon footprint and big-city haze? Being able to write off one's moving expenses if one moved at least 50% or 10 miles closer to work. If only 500,000 took up that offer each year, assuming they moved only 10 miles closer, and assuming they stayed in that job/location 5 years before moving to a new job/location, that would mean, on average, saving 50,000,000 miles a day (500,000people/year*5 sets of people*20miles) and ~$50 Million/day to terrorists. Combine that with more teleconferencing and fewer business trips, and company investment in shuttle runs between the office and the nearest mass transit stop during peak coming/going hours, and you can make a serious dent in the problem.