Tesla Roadster

In July 2006, Tesla Motors, Inc. (a $60M private corporation with $4M in sales) debuted its Tesla Roadster, arguably America's first electric premium performance sports car. It goes 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds and tops out at 135mph. It's disruptive 250 mile range has solved one of the major electric car problems. The Roadster has grabbed many headlines with a catchy motto ("Burn rubber, not gasoline!") and a test drive by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many heavy hitting rich and powerful entrepreneurs and visionaries have dropped millions into Tesla. The list of investors is a who's who of Silicon Valley including founders of eBay, Google and PayPal. Tesla adds to a growing handful of high performance electric startups in the Western United States. America leads the electric car race in performance with France at a close second while China and India dominate the low cost electric market. Tesla's strategy is to invade performance first, and use turnover to develop a sedan at half the price. So far, the Tesla is only available in the United States.

See Wikicars' comprehensive Tesla Roadster Review.

Recent Changes

 * The 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed will see the unveiling of the Roadster 2.5 which brings with it a facelift as well as upgrades in the form of restyled wheels (available in silver or black), a modified rear diffuser, improved sound dampening, better seats, and an optional 7-inch navigation system with a back-up camera.

Styles and Major Options
Certain vehicles come in different trim levels or body styles. Features and major options should be mentioned here.

Pricing
The company has received $100,000 down payments for it's first 100 Signature Editions. According to the executive team, the first production run is sold out.

EV Range
Add more fields as necessary.

As seen on the FuelEconomy.gov website, the City/Highway MPG averages are as follows:

Engine and Transmission
Specifications, details, graphs, pictures and other information regarding the powertrain is placed in this section.

Performance
Please make sure to write information of the vehicle's performance in a third-person point of view. This section should include information about the car's acceleration figures, handling, braking, etc.

If using information gathered from Road Test articles from a reputable automotive source, then please make sure to cite the quote.

Reliability

 * RECALL ALERT: Tesla is recalling 439 Roadsters after discovering a redundant 12v auxiliary cable rubbing against a carbon fiber panel on a customer car. This could possible cause a fire. The cable, which helps power a variety of auxiliary electrical systems if the primary cable fails, will be inspected and fitted with a protective sleeve. Only 2.0 and 2.5 Roadsters have the cable, so early adopters with 1.5 models aren't affected by the recall.

Safety
Tesla is currently pushing its sexy Roadster through the complicated U.S. safety regulations. Assuming it passes, and the company crashes enough vehicles to prove they are safe for consumers, the Signature 100 will be ready to roll!

Colors

 * Red
 * Green
 * Black
 * Blue
 * Orange
 * Yellow
 * White
 * Silver
 * Grey

Main Competitors
EVs: There are several electric cars from around the world available from under $6,000 to over $600,000.

Here's a partial list of the explosive niche:
 * Keio's $400K Eliica (Japan)
 * Axiam
 * Venturi's $600K Fetish (France)
 * Mitsubishi's Model (Japan)
 * GEM and Smart Electric (DaimlerChrysler Germany)
 * Wrightspeed X-1 (CA)
 * Commuter Cars Tango
 * $6,850 REVA's EV (India)
 * ElBil Norge (Norway)
 * Shandong Jindalu Vehicle Zebra (China)
 * Phoenix Motorcars $45K SUVs and SUTs (CA)
 * Qingyuan/Miles $15K ZX40 "Xinfu" or "Happy Messenger" & the $28.5K XS 200
 * $70K Universal Electric Vehicles Spyder (CA).

Gasoline Premium Performance Sportscars: Acura NSX (Honda), Aston Martin (Ford), Ford GT, Dodge Viper (DaimlerChrysler), Chevy Corvette (GM), Ferrari/Maserati (Fiat), Lamborghini (VW), Lotus, Porsche, Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Saleen and others.

HYBRIDS: Chevrolet Volt, Honda Dual Note Concept, Toyota Volta Concept.

Unique Attributes
The Tesla blog has been incredibly active with tremendous support. In addition the press has fallen in love with this concept car. The most common criticism is the price. But that leaves the question, if it was cheap, slow and ugly like the last 100 years of electrics, would it have gotten the attention?

Interior
This section should include information on the interior's design, build quality, ergonomics, space (head and legroom, front and rear), features, stowage compartments and overall comfortability and livability. Add pictures wherever applicable and keep information in a third-person point of view.

Resale Values
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Criticisms
The Tesla charging system has been criticized because it brings a new standard to the marketplace. In California, where there is FREE ELECTRICITY already installed, the Tesla's plug is not compatible. There are stations scattered in cities, company parking lots, airports, along highways, etc. Most use one of two designs that have been developed over two decades.

Unfortunately, Tesla brings a new design. In other words, it's like selling a new car with a gas tank that all the gas pumps won't fit in. I might be wrong, so please let me know if Tesla's plug is compatible with the existing infrastructure.

If by the "existing infrastructure" you mean every three pronged plug (don't want to confuse you with details), 6 of which you're sitting within three feet of, yes.

Worldwide
Tesla has contracted Lotus to build the Roadster in Great Britain. The motor estimated at $40,000 per unit will be engineered in Taiwan. The batteries and electronics will be designed in San Carlos, Silicon Valley. Sales and marketing are expected to be conducted in California.

The Tesla team has also benefitted from an estimated 30 of the 85 total employees jumping over from Lotus.

The roadster can be viewed as a European, Asian and American innovation.

Design quirks and oddities
It has more batteries than any other electric, 6,831 Lithium Ions. Tesla's Roadster is one of the first electrics to employ a transmission. It has 2 forward gears and 1 reverse powered an electric motor with only a few moving parts, that redlines at 13,500 rpms.

Awards
List out notable awards that the model has recieved while in production. Boldface the company or orgainization that gives out the award, and Italicize the name of the award.