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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  terrible communicators - 2018 Tesla Model 3
  By Helen Ingram - October 17 - 3:38 pm

  Tesla mysteriously classified my car as ‘salvage’ and would not let me supercharge it. It took me a week before the reason came up on the app. My car was ‘unsupported’. I went to the Tesla service center and dealership with my Title, and they curtly told me that it has been declared Salvage and it was a Arizona Department Of Transportation problem. I called ADOT and a level 2 official said ‘ no way’. I called USAA, my insurance, and they had no record of my car ever being so classified. I even called the place that did body work for my last fender bender. Same response.They never reported it as salvage. No one would answer the Tesla phone and the app got no response. After nearly two weeks, the collision department of Tesla told me that my car had been reported as totaled by the last body shop I used. I have talked to them and they say they did no such thing. I spent money on unnecessary plane fared installing 220 in my garage. This morning I finally got an answer. While my car has been reinstalled, I am not to be reimbursed. Unbelievable. I would never buy a Tesla again.

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  Tesla cannot be topped - 2018 Tesla Model S
  By Bill Dale - April 27 - 1:23 am

  The Teslas are leading all tech, safety, customer safety, and efficiency ratings... the entire automotive industry is begrudgingly going toward Teslas and EVs. It is inevitable. On March 31, 2016, when Elon Musk announced he was ready to start taking orders for the new Model 3... all orders would be taken with a $1K deposit... even Musk only expected a couple of thousand orders/deposits. NO ONE predicted what happened: Tesla received 185,000 orders/deposits in the first 24 hours. They received nearly a half-million orders within the following week or so, and despite their diligent effort to fill all those orders starting in September of that year, they have continued to have roughly a half-million orders/ deposits ever since, because new orders continue to replace all the orders that are being filled. This is a phenomena that has never before occurred in the history of commerce: not with Beanie Babies, Pet Rocks, Barbie dolls, Boeing airliners, iPhones or Hula Hoops. The automotive industry went into panic mode immediately. Throughout, there was a nearly unanimous immediate response--- from Porsche, Jaguar, MB, BMW, GM, etc.--- that there was an unrecognized thirst for a sea change in what the American public wanted and demanded... that if any car company ignored the demand for electric cars providing the equivalent of more than 100 mpg, with essentially no maintenance for a decade or more, and performance unequaled by any ICE vehicle... it was to the peril of any company. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Honda, Toyota and others resisted the trend, trying for months to redirect the public interest with fuel cell cars, diesel... newly redesigned vehicles of every flavor... but it was for naught. None of them found any way of stifling the surge in demand for EVs. Billions have been allotted by the various car makers for battery R & D, battery manufacture, and redesign of form factors to accommodate powerful, long-range EVs to hopefully compete with the likes of the BBC various Tesla models being offered and developed. Any laggard car company such as Lincoln, that tries to ignore this major Change, will find Tesla will be eating their lunch. If Ford Lincoln or anyone else does not recognize the immediate need for Change, it will be to their peril.

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  American Ingenuity Electrified - 2014 Tesla Model S
  By rickallen - December 31 - 7:11 am

  I have the P85D AWD. The powertrain alone is worth the cost of entry. Faster than Ferrari performance, AWD, and every stomp of the accelerator doesnt burn a gallon of gas. Flex your foot and your face and body are thrown back with nearly no accompanying noise. The silence makes the acceleration somehow more rocket like, as if some unseen force is hurtling you toward the horizon. This car is the future of powertrains.

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  Zapped and Glad - 2015 Tesla Model S
  By hmp10 - December 10 - 5:32 am

  Im a "car guy" and have owned 3 Audi R8s, a Mercedes SL55 AMG, a Corvette, and a Jaguar. I traded in an R8 V10 Spyder for this car and havent looked back. This Tesla is significantly faster, just as sure-footed, far more practical (at least for local driving) and, in its own way, just as cool. It is also has the structural solidity of a bank vault and the handling tautness and tactile feel of the best cars I have owned. I thought I would miss the roar of the V10. Instead, I find the barely audible whine and whoosh of the electric drive train just as appealing. I thought I would miss the manual gear shifting of the R8. Instead, I find the eerie silkiness of the Tesla drivetrain addictive to the point that driving my internal-combustion cars is now vaguely annoying. I thought the regenerative braking would take some getting used to. It took me about 30 seconds to adapt, and I now find it one of the best features of electric driving. I thought the 17-inch screen would be distracting. Instead, I find it the best driver interface I have ever seen in a car. My biggest worry in buying the car was range. Unfortunately, this is not a car I would take on a long road trip, as the supercharger network still requires too much bobbing and weaving off ideal routes to keep the car charged. However, there is no amount of local driving that has left me anywhere near the end of the battery range. I picked the car up at a dealer on the east coast of Florida and drove it home to the west coast. I was driving well above the speed on which the range claims are based, I did some hard acceleration runs (this car requires no break-in), and I made a couple of detours for errands. The car still had 103 miles of indicated range remaining when I got home. Since then I have used the car for long days of running errands and lengthy pleasure drives and have yet to return home with less than 138 miles of indicated range remaining. The downsides: Its absurd to build a car with so little interior storage space, despite there obviously being room. (This is the one area where Elon Musks attempts to be stylistically chic backfire.) Fortunately, EVannex makes a center console that matches the interior perfectly and helps with storage. But I still miss door pockets. On the other hand, the front and rear trunks offer immense trunk space for things you dont need to reach while driving. Despite the cars large exterior dimensions, the rear seat is a bit cramped and difficult of entry and exit for adults. Also, the rear seat backs (at least in the Executive Seating option) are not raked back quite enough due to the low roof line. However, the upgraded Recaro front seats and the front seat accommodations in general are absolutely best in class. Reliability and Service: In 6 months of ownership the car has only needed service once, due to the failure of the door handles to retract. I called Tesla service at 9:30 p.m. the evening it happened and, to my surprise, got an answer. I was a bit aggravated at the prospect of having to take the car 100 miles to the nearest service shop. But then I found out that Tesla had a service tech who works out of a truck in my town and who keeps a supply of parts in a local storage unit. He was at my house before 9:00 a.m. the next morning and fixed the problem right in my driveway. In short, it was most convenient and quickest repair Ive ever had done on a car. (It also turned out that the service tech was Buddy, the mechanic who worked on my R8 at the Audi dealer. He had just moved to Tesla and was loving it.) Since then there have been a few software glitches with the car, seemingly related to bugs in updates. However, they have all disappeared of their own accord, probably as a result of correction downloads that came in overnight when the car is programmed to receive automatic updates. Would I buy a Tesla again? In a second . . . as long as its not my only car (at least until there are more superchargers).

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  Overpriced for what you get - 2014 Tesla Model S
  By Randy Martin - August 30 - 8:32 pm

  I have owned the P85D since December. Although the vehicle is incredibly fast and fun to drive the car is a disappointment. The front seats are very uncomfortable. We were promised new seats in February, didnt happen. The navigation system is the worst I have ever used except for the BMW. Mr. Musk told us all the wonderful thing that the New D will do so I bought one. The car does none of these. My wifes Kia has more safety features than the D. Its coming we are told.,I am elderly and am hoping I live long enough to have my tesla have the features I was promised.

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  GO FULLY ELECTRIC!!! - 2015 Tesla Model S
  By Derrick A. - November 21 - 1:50 am

  Take advantage of the newly introduced leasing program from Tesla. My first EV and its pretty good thus far. Of course there are exceptions such as key fob issues, finger prints on all materials are very common. eg.. door handles, interior doors and glove box. The bottom line is if you can afford it, get it! I opted for the 70D received on 09/28/15 and installed an 240/50 amp outlet facing my driveway. BYE BYE GAS STATIONS...... In time i will outline a more extensive review.

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  Great Car - Wish I could afford a second! - 2013 Tesla Model S
  By josh_b - October 28 - 2:21 am

  Hi everyone, Like you I was skeptical at first that an EV could be as enjoyable to drive as one with an ICE and as green as described. I can now say that after 14,000 trouble free kilometeres and no issues, my S has been all of the above and more. I have hauled four people and their equipment around all day, driven all over southern Ontario without issue or anxiety and saved countless tanks of gas from being burned. (I drive a lot.) Its great to see technology, but moreso great to see technology implemented smartly. (Not just for its own sake.) The car is reliable and a joy to drive!