[Peakoil] A sleek, high-performance roadster that happens to be electric

[Keith Thomas]

This is from the New York Times today. One for Leigh especially.
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Keith Thomas
www.evfit.com
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  Go Speed Racer!

Published: July 23, 2006

Virtue alone will not break the grip that petroleum holds on the 
automobile market. That’s why the introduction of a sleek, 
high-performance roadster that happens to be electric rather than 
gasoline-fueled is worth noting.

Tesla Motors, a Silicon Valley start-up, has developed a two-seater 
that goes from zero to 60 miles an hour in four seconds, leaving the 
days of electric cars as glorified golf carts in the dust. The company 
seems to understands what it means to love cars as well as the 
environment. (On its Web site, 
http://www.teslamotors.com/index.php?js_enabled=1, Tesla revels in the 
power of the car’s acceleration pinning passengers to their seats.)

With a range of about 250 miles, the Tesla Roadster can go much farther 
on a single charge than earlier electric cars. And 150 of those miles 
cost about the same as one gallon of gas. But the car itself will not 
be cheap, running from $85,000 to $100,000. Rather than a stumbling 
block in this case, it’s actually a selling point.

  Martin Eberhard, the company’s chief executive, recognizes that new 
technologies usually start out as high-end products. He and his team 
are making their car the newest hot gadget, a status symbol. If rappers 
and football stars buy them, maybe the company can make a dent in the 
market.

Tesla already has plans for a mainstream vehicle down the road if it 
can expand its business. Perhaps this is one area where trickle-down 
theories could really work.