An Electric Car With Juice (Nikola Tesla&Arnold Schwarzenegger)

Washington Post ^ | July 22, 2006 | Mike Musgrove

[kronos77]

The Tesla Roadster goes from zero to 60 in four noiseless seconds, has a top speed of 135 mph and can roam for more than 200 miles before needing a recharge.

...

Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors Inc. raised $60 million in financing from San Francisco Bay area tech giants to get this car on the road. Those famous Toyota Prius owners Larry Page and Sergey Brin -- yes, the Google guys -- have invested, as have executives from eBay Inc. and PayPal.

The company is headed by entrepreneur Martin Eberhard, the man once behind a gadget called the RocketeBook. That product, sort of an iPod for books, didn't catch on, but Eberhard sold the company in 2000 to the media company Gemstar for $187 million. ....

The Tesla Roadster was unveiled this week in Santa Monica. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a surprise appearance and was taken on a test spin -- it was unclear yesterday if Schwarzenegger showed up to the event in one of the gas-guzzling Hummers he has sometimes favored.

[daviddennis]

Interesting. Of course Schedule B, which rates you if you put in a special meter and service only for your electric car, might apply. I wonder how they define baseline usage for an electric car-only service. If we assume, reasonably, that it would be the amount of use generally expected if only the charging electric car was plugged in, we might not be so bad.

But the rate is almost $ 0.06 per kwh, which is a far cry from $ 0.039.

I guess we'll just have to wait to find out how the company computed its costs. Certainly it looks like the rates being charged for on-peak use are downright draconian, even below baseline!

D

[festus]

Maybe we could notch the roads, put in an electric line and pretend its a slot car racer ;-)

[jonrick46]

The real attraction to this idea is that we can use home grown energy sources to make the electricity. On the pollution side, nuclear is very clean. All you need is glass to isolate the waste.

[jonrick46]

We will have to increase our power production. I say we need to build more nuclear plants. If France can run all of their nuclear plants, we certainly can.

[FormerLib]

But the lack of new nuclear power plants is a huge part of the problem. I've heard it said that we haven't built a new one in 28 years but I haven't verified that. Either of you know how long it's really been?

[potlatch]

Very TRIUMPHANT looking there!!

Lovely post devolve.

Great job doing the back eagle too.

[Bokababe]

I have no problem with the normal safety precautions of nuclear energy production, but in this age of terrorism, wouldn't nuclear power plants be juicy terrorist targets?

[jonrick46]

The transmission lines would be an easier target.

[RipSawyer]

Evan at a relatively low 20 mpg, $3 gas translates to only .15/mile. It seems odd to me that Americans who think nothing of spending $5 for a cup of coffee and $15 every day for lunch are horrified by spending .15 to transport themselves a mile in a 2-ton luxury vehicle.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It is a little hard to understand, I know I don't like spending eighty dollars to fuel my pickup but I never went to the extreme that some do. Back when gasoline was forty cents a gallon I saw some who had convinced themselves that they were saving enough on gasoline to make the payments on their new car. Of course it was mathematically impossible but they believed it nevertheless.

[devolve]

[potlatch]

Beautiful post!

[Smartass]

Clearly, Nikola Tesla was an electrical genius and far ahead of his time.   It's a shame that many of his thoughts and inventions died when he did.   All inventions come from a single idea or thought, whereas Tesla's brain power spun circles around many of todays engineers and scientists.

On nuclear energy.   Because of an accident at Three Mile Island, the anti nuclear pundits, and environmental wackos have helped put the United States behind the fear nuke power eight ball.   Nuclear power is as safer now, as it's ever been.   But few if any power plants of any kind are being built, yet America keeps growing and demanding for more electrical power.   Unless this country starts moving, we'll be back to living in caves and cooking with firewood.   Are nuclear power plants terrorist targets, of course they are.   Plants of any kind, not just nuclear need to be on guarded and protected.

The two maps of the world and U.S.A will show how woefully we're behind, while the rest of the world are enjoy their nuke energy.   For the next ten years, to catch up with electrical demand, the U.S. should be constructing five to ten new nuclear power plants per year!   And, modernizing all of the older nuke plants that licenses are expiring or due to expire.

 

[cousin01]

"The Gov. types will see that they are missing out on the gas tax and tax the hell out of these guys"

Boy have you got that right. Same thing with conservation. Pity the poor idiot that buys into all of this enviro/conservation crap only to see taxes raised on thier reduced consumption.

[cousin01]

You know your are right, tht $66 was just my baseline energy charge. the actual Electric charge was $123.09.

I am in California. Don't think the Tesla is cost effective here.

[Dixie Yooper]

"I have no problem with the normal safety precautions of nuclear energy production, but in this age of terrorism, wouldn't nuclear power plants be juicy terrorist targets?"

Not in anymore danger that an American tourist in Lebanon. There were at least 20,000 there less than a 2 weeks ago.

[Dixie Yooper]

""The Gov. types will see that they are missing out on the gas tax and tax the hell out of these guys"
and
"Boy have you got that right. Same thing with conservation. Pity the poor idiot that buys into all of this enviro/conservation crap only to see taxes raised on thier reduced consumption."

Did you two ever get the feeling that when President Reagan used to talk about the soothsayers of doom, that maybe he was talking about you and not the MSM.

[TChad]

Thanks for the link. The company's "Buy a Tesla to reduce global warming" sales pitch is unconvincing and unappealing, but the car is good looking and a neat demonstration of current technology.

I bet that bicyclists will not be happy with the prospect of silent cars.

[RobbyS]

Nice looking car.

[RobbyS]

Obvious good only for roundtrips.

[Nightshift]

ping