Overview & Reviews

While Martin Sheen and others ponder Who Killed the Electric Car? a group of Silicon Valley millionaires is trying to answer the next question: Who will resurrect the electric car? Tesla Motors is the result, a manufacturer of vehicles than run 100 percent on electricity.

The company gets its name from Nikola Tesla, the inventor of alternating current, who went toe-to-toe with Thomas Edison (and won) to prove whether AC or DC was the preferred method of transporting electricity over great distances. In the same light, Tesla Motors is trying to prove that electricity is not only capable of transporting automobiles great distances but also that electric cars can be fun to drive.

The company is the brainchild of Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning and PayPal founder Elon Musk. The founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, are also investors. This fresh blood from Silicon Valley is further evidence that Tesla is an entirely different type of car company.

Tesla went about creating its first vehicle with the theory that nobody wanted electric cars because nobody had created an electric car worth buying. So they sought to correct the many perceived electric-car problems like range, recharging times, styling and performance. The company's first product, the Tesla Roadster, is capable of going about 250 miles between charges, which is a drastic improvement from the GM EV1's 60-90-mile range. A complete recharge is accomplished in less than 2 hours. (The EV1 took 5.) Recharging is accomplished via regenerative braking, a home recharging unit and an optional portable recharger.

As for styling and performance, Tesla chose a $100,000 sports car to enter the market as a way to establish "performance DNA" that would trickle down to less expensive models. Based on the Lotus Elise, the British-built Tesla Roadster is lightweight and svelte, capable of keeping up with other sports cars in its price bracket. Tesla promises 0-60-mph times around 4 seconds and a top speed of more than 130 mph. Throw in handling indicative of its Lotus roots and it should be obvious that the Roadster is one heck of a sports car.

Tesla announced in February 2007 that it would be making a new sport sedan known as the WhiteStar, built at a new factory in New Mexico. The company plans on producing 10,000 units each year at a cost between $50,000 and $65,000 per car. Like the Roadster, it should have a range of about 250 miles, but with battery technology improving, that number could rise.

With growing international attention, including Tesla Roadsters ferrying stars to high-profile events like the Oscars and the rising interest in alternative fuels to combat global warming, this young electric car company could soon be a big name in the automotive industry.

User Reviews:

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  Worst Car I Have Ever Owned - 2015 Tesla Model S
  By GA - February 4 - 3:55 pm

  I rue the day I believed the hype and ordered this vehicle. It has been a problem since day one, and not a week goes by that something doesnt go wrong. The resale market doesnt exist without a huge write-off, far worse than any other vehicle Ive owned. I have had 3 batteries replaced, my charging unit has been repaired multiple times and the list goes on and on. I live in a condo, and when the faulty battery died, Tesla did not send a repairman but told me to get AAA out to jump the car (as it turns out, the battery was incapable of holding a charge). When AAA arrived, since there is no WiFi in the basement garage, Tesla could not troubleshoot the issue. The repairman initially couldnt locate the battery to jump it, and had to walk upstairs multiple times to get a cell signal so he could call Tesla for further instructions. I missed an entire morning of meetings due to the faulty battery issue. Even with multiple problems with my car, Tesla has never provided me with a loaner car, and I have missed countless meetings, had to carpool with friends, etc. due to the ongoing problems with my vehicle The Navigation system insists on such neat tricks as guiding me to drive onto a freeway off ramp when trying to enter the freeway. In addition, daily it suggests I make left turns onto streets with No Left Turn posted signs and when I make the legal right turn, it instructs me back to continue to make illegal left turns. I have never had a more dangerous GPS system in any car. For a car that is supposed to be so technologically advanced, why cant it tell me which tire has low air pressure, and what the pressure is? I have this feature on every rental car, including low cost vehicles. Other cars have automatic high beams, the Tesla does not. I do not have lane change warning sounds, front beeps should I get too close to an unseen obstacle while parking, etc., etc. I have 5,000 contacts in my smartphone, but that is too many for my Tesla to upload so I cannot place phone calls from the car computer directly, but have to use my smartphone instead. Why is there no cargo storage in the car doors, or behind the seats for the back seat passengers? Why does the A/C work so poorly? Why are there no lighted make-up mirrors in the visors? Why does the car computer tell me I have a 230 mile range but Ive never been able to get more than 140 actual miles from a charge? My radio reception is much worse for local stations than in any car Ive ever owned. By far. If anyone wants to take the car off my hands, Ill give you a great deal.