Tesla Roadster

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Tesla Roadster
Tesla Roadster
Manufacturer: Tesla Motors
Production: 2007-present
Body style: 2 seat convertible
Platform: Unique; Lotus technology
Engine: 3-phase AC induction
Length: 3946 mm
Width: 1873 mm (incl. mirrors)
Height: 1127 mm
Curb weight: ~1140 kg
Similar: Wrightspeed X1
Designer: Tesla Motors, with help from Lotus Engineering and others

The Tesla Roadster is the first fully electric automobile to be produced by electric car firm Tesla Motors. Tesla claims prototypes have been able to accelerate from 0-60 mph (100 km/h) in about 4 seconds, and reach a top speed of 130 mph (210 km/h). Additionally, the car will be able to travel 250 miles (400 km) on a single charge of its lithium ion batteries. While the Roadster does not actually use gasoline, an equivalent fuel efficiency of 135 mpg (57 km/l, or 1.75 l/100 km) is reported[1].

The car was officially unveiled on July 19, 2006 in Santa Monica, California. Its "Signature One Hundred" first set of fully equipped cars sold out by late August, and the second hundred sold out by October. Each of the first 200, fully loaded with all options, cost US$100,000; delivery is scheduled for 2007.

The Roadster was developed in collaboration with Lotus Cars and AC Propulsion. Roadster propulsion technology is principally matured from that seen in the tzero, Venturi Fetish, and Wrightspeed X1. Lotus supplied the basic chassis technology from its Lotus Elise. Tesla engineers designed a new chassis with this technology, lengthening it, lowering the door sills, and adjusting its strength to match the weight of the Tesla Roadster. Besides the chassis, the Roadster appears to share a number of components with the Elise, such as the windshield and windows, some dashboard parts, and suspension components. The styling was penned by Barney Hatt at Lotus' design studio with significant input from Tesla. The car will be assembled at the Lotus factory in Hethel, England, with all drivetrain components and body components supplied to the factory by Tesla.

Contents

[edit] Moniker

Enlarge

The Tesla Roadster is named after Nikola Tesla, a Serbian inventor, electrical engineer and scientist. The principal visionary and inventor of alternating current, Tesla's designs and ideas changed the world, providing a stable means of delivering electricity over enormous distances; his fight with Edison over this issue went on for years with Tesla and Westinghouse ultimately triumphing. The Tesla Roadster's powerplant is basically a Tesla three-phase electric motor.

[edit] Pricing

Final pricing for the 2008 Tesla Roadster base model is US$92,000. As of November 2006, over two hundred of the initial flagship 2007 models sold out in under four months, the majority of which came fully loaded with all Tesla Roadster optional equipment at a cost of around $100,000. Tesla Motors is currently accepting reservation orders for their 2008 models with several payment options used to determine the 2008 delivery date of the vehicle.

[edit] Specifications

[edit] Motor

  • Type: 3-phase, 4-pole electric motor
  • Max net power: 185 kW (248 hp)
  • Max rpm: 13,500
  • Efficiency: 90% average, 80% at peak power

[edit] Transmission

[edit] Performance

  • 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h): approximately 4.0 s
  • Top speed: 130 mph (210 km/h)
  • Range: 250 miles (400 km) on the EPA highway cycle
  • carbon dioxide emission equivalent: 89 - 178 g/km
  • Fuel efficiency: 200 watt-hours per mile - the electrical equivalent of about 135 miles per gallon [2]

[edit] Battery

  • 6,831 Lithium ion battery cells
  • About 450 kg
  • Full-charge time of three and a half hours
  • ~50 kWh capacity

[edit] Fuel efficiency

Because the Roadster does not actually use gasoline, equivalent petroleum fuel efficiency (mpg, l/100km) can be calculated in several ways.

  • A number similar to the typical Monroney stickers' "station-to-wheel" fuel efficiency can be calculated based on Tesla Motor's reported[3] motive efficiency of 110Wh/km, charging efficiency of 86% and the DOE's energy content for a U.S. gallon of gasoline of 33705 Wh/gal:
\frac{33705 \begin{matrix}\frac{Wh}{gal}\end{matrix}}{ 110 \begin{matrix}\frac {Wh}{km}\end{matrix} \times \begin{matrix}\frac {1.6 km}{mi}\end{matrix}} \times 86% = 165 mpg\;(1.43 \begin{matrix}\frac{l}{100km}\end{matrix})
  • Press reports[1][4] state the Tesla Roadster's fuel efficiency about 20% more conservatively at
    135 mpg (1.74 l/100km).
  • For CAFE regulatory purposes, the DOE's full petroleum-equivalency equation[5] combines primary energy efficiency for the USA electric grid and the crude oil to gas station path with a "fuel content factor" to quantify conservation and scarcity of fuels in the USA. This combination yields a factor of 82,049 Wh/gal in the above equation and a regulatory fuel efficiency of
    401mpg (0.59 l/100km)
  • Using the value of 12,307Wh/gal[5] (to compare the full-cycle energy-equivalency of gasoline with USA watt-hours - e.g. remove the "fuel content factor" of 1/0.15) in the equation above leads to a fuel efficiency value of
    60 mpg (3.91 l/100km)
  • For non-fossil-fuel-generated electricity, such as solar, wind or nuclear, the fossil-fuel equivalent fuel efficiency is essentially
    infinite

For comparison, an internal combustion engine produces 7000 to 9000 Wh of output energy for each gallon of gasoline input. The state of tune and seasonal variations in gasoline formulation account for the output range.

[edit] Criticism

 The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.

The assertion (by Tesla Motors) that driving their cars will generate less pollution than an efficient gasoline car is true only in certain US states such as California, where a large portion of the electricity is generated by natural gas power plants. [citation needed]

It stands to reason that if the cost of the vehicle (US $100,000) were spent into purchasing and installing home solar panels, the amount spent in utility bills and pollution savings would far surpass the gains from using the Tesla Roadster.[citation needed]

The battery pack on the Tesla Roadster also presents problems that are not adequately discussed by the company. Disposal or recycling of the battery is more benign than lead acid batteries but still may harm the environment. If a large number of cars were to operate the burden to local recycling facilities would be considerable. The hability of the battery to hold charge also goes down significantly after fewer cycles than claimed[citation needed]. This results in far fewer savings in equivalent pollution emissions than the ideal figures that were stated. It also means that operating costs for the vehicle (namely the replacement value for the battery) would be higher than a similarly priced gasoline or diesel powered car[citation needed].

[edit] Rebuttal

The assertion is variably true, but true nonetheless. If the power comes from coal or gas the pollution eliminated is less than if it is derived from nuclear power, solar or wind[citation needed]. However, even if the power is derived from coal, given a population of individual gas motors of variable degrees of maintenance producing fumes at the gas motor's rate of efficiency, or one power plant powering the same number of "Tesla" cars - the one source coal plant is much more easily regulated and maintained for least impact on the environment[citation needed].

As for diverting the $100k price into solar panels, it is probably that those that can afford the price tag can already afford to mount solar panels on their house if they wish. In fact in some areas there are rebates in place that cover almost 90% of the cost of panels/inverters if the customers bothered to pursue the home improvement - they still pay the cost of installation. Sadly, most consumers underutilize such programs, author’s personal experience is a 3.4 Kw system cost a net $5700 installed, after rebates and tax credits. Xcel Energy Solar Rewards Program That much money would barely buy the solar panel roof for the Tesla - $100k spent similarly wouldn't fit on the roof of a mansion and qualifies as a commercial installation anyway. However, the rich that are buying the Tesla Roadster are not driving a Ferrari in it's stead and are reducing the produced emissions by some percent, again depending on the derived source of power[citation needed].

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Tesla Motors. Tesla Motors Corporate Backgrounder (English) (html). Retrieved on 2006-12-05. “...the Tesla Roadster is capable of 135 mpg equivalent...”
  2. ^ Neil, Dan. "A roadster that's electric", Marketplace Public Radio, Thursday, July 20, 2006. (in English)
  3. ^ Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning (2000-09-18). "The 21st Century Electric Car" (PDF). Tesla Motors. Retrieved on 2006-09-22.
  4. ^ Edmunds.com Inside Line (July 21, 2006). Tesla Roadster: Lotus Helps Create Sporty 135 MPG Electric Car (English) (html). Retrieved on 2006-12-05. “...achieves the equivalent of 135 mpg.”
  5. ^ a b (2000-07-12). "Federal Register Vol. 64 No. 113" (PDF). United States Department of Energy. Retrieved on 2006-09-22.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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