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Tesla Roadster (first generation)

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Tesla Roadster
Tesla Roadster
Overview
ManufacturerTesla Motors
Also calledCode name: Dark Star
Production2007-present
AssemblyLotus factory in Hethel, England
Body and chassis
ClassRoadster
Body style2 seat convertible roadster
LayoutRear Mid-engine, Rear-wheel drive
PlatformUnique; Lotus technology
RelatedLotus Elise
Vauxhall VX220
Powertrain
Engine3-phase, 4-pole AC induction
TransmissionTwo-speed electrically actuated sequential manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase2352 mm / 92.6 in.
Length3946 mm / 155.4 in.
Width1873 mm / 73.7 in. (incl. mirrors)
Height1127 mm / 44.4 in.
Curb weight~1140 kg / 2500 lb

The Tesla Roadster is a fully electric sportscar, and is the first car 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 over 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. The Roadster's efficiency is reported as 133 Wh/km[1] or equivalent to 135 mpg[2][3][4] (57 km/l, or 1.74 l/100 km). For details, see the Fuel efficiency section.


History

Unveiling

The car was officially unveiled on July 19 2006 in Santa Monica, California, at a 350-person invite-only event held in Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport. According to the official press release,

Celebrities in attendance included actor Ed Begley Jr., producer Richard Donner, businessman Michael Eisner, PayPal founder (and Tesla Motors Chairman) Elon Musk, Participant Productions' Founder and CEO Jeff Skoll (also of eBay fame), and actor Bradley Whitford, who starred in The West Wing.[1]

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also attended the ceremony.

2007 Autoshow season

The 2007 San Francisco International Auto Show, held on November 18-26, was the Tesla Roadster's first auto show.

The 2007 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show (December 1-10) was a little larger, with more than 1 million attendees. Gov. Schwarzenegger held a press conference to discuss his environmental policies and showcase some of the car companies that were exceptional, including Tesla Motors. Chris Paine, who wrote and directed Who Killed the Electric Car, expressed his support for the vehicle at the show. Bob Sexton and Chelsea Sexton also viewed the car.

2007 Academy Awards

The Tesla Roadster was prominently featured in Global Green’s Red Carpet/Green Cars Oscar campaign, where celebrities arrived at the Academy Awards in fuel-efficient vehicles instead of gas-guzzling limousines[5].

Development

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. Tesla Motors has licensed key technologies from AC Propulsion, including a modified drivetrain.


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 technology, the Roadster also shares some components with the Elise, such as the windshield, air bags, tires, some dashboard parts, and suspension components[6]. The styling was penned by Barney Hatt at Lotus' design studio with 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.

Production

Several prototypes of the Tesla Roadster were produced during 2006 and 2007. After heavily testing several Engineering Prototypes in late 2006 and early 2007, Tesla Motors made many minor changes and produced a small run of Validation Prototypes which were delivered beginning in March, 2007. These final revisions will be endurance and crash tested in preparation for a production run with planned delivery in late 2007.

The brakes and airbags of the Tesla Roadster are made in Germany. The chassis of the Tesla Roadster is made in Norway. The batteries are assembled into sheets for integration into the Energy Storage System by Tesla in Thailand.[7]

Sales

Tesla Motors' "Signature One Hundred" first set of fully equipped cars sold out by late August 2006, and the second hundred sold out by October. As of March 15 2007, over 350 Tesla Roadsters have been reserved.[8]

Delivery is estimated to begin in the fall of 2007.[9]

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.

Service

A Tesla Roadster (rear view)

Service Centers for the Tesla Roadster are planned for the following United States Metropolitan Areas:

There are currently no planned service center locations outside of the United States.

A Roadster purchased within the United States but not near one of those cities will include an additional $8,000 out-of-service-area fee on the price of the vehicle plus additional transportation fees paid when the vehicle is serviced. Furthermore, there are no "independent" mechanics who are authorized or certified to perform maintenance to the drive train or electrical systems of the Roadster.[10]

There is minimal maintenance required of an electric vehicle. There are no oil changes and brake maintenance is minor due to regenerative braking.

Tesla Motors will build additional service centers over the next few years in order to support sales of its next vehicle, the sports sedan currently codenamed the Tesla White Star. "To do 10,000 units for Whitestar, we need to be in a lot more places," said Darryl Siry, Vice president of Marketing.

Specifications

For more details from the manufacturer, see: http://teslamotors.com/engineering/tech_specs.php

Motor

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

Transmission

Performance

For more details from the manufacturer, see: http://teslamotors.com/performance/specs.php

  • Acceleration time, 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

Battery

  • Type: lithium ion, 6,831 cells
  • Weight: about 990 lb (450 kg)
  • Full-charge time: 3½ hours
  • Capacity: about 56 kWh [11]

Fuel efficiency

For more details from the manufacturer, see Tesla Motors' white papers and their presentation comparing energy technologies

Tesla reports the battery-to-wheel efficiency as 110 Wh/km[12] at a constant 60 mph[13] (96 km/hr) and states a charging efficiency of 86%. This results in an overall station-to-wheel efficiency of 128 Wh/km.

On the EPA highway cycle, the Roadster's efficiency is "135 mpg equivalent, per the conversion rate used by the EPA"[1] which converts to 133 Wh/km battery-to-wheel or 155 Wh/km station-to-wheel.

The Roadster's engine efficiency is 90% on average and 80% at peak power[14]. For comparison, an internal combustion engine produces 6000 to 9000 Wh of output energy from each gallon of gasoline input[citation needed]. The state of tune and seasonal variations in gasoline formulation account for the output range.

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

  • A number comparable to the typical Monroney stickers' "station-to-wheel" fuel efficiency can be calculated based on the DOE's energy content for a U.S. gallon of gasoline of 33705 Wh/gal:
  • For CAFE regulatory purposes, the DOE's full petroleum-equivalency equation[15] combines primary energy efficiencies 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 329 mpg (0.72 l/100km)
  • To compare the full-cycle energy-equivalency of gasoline with electricity from the USA grid, the factor of 12,307 Wh/gal[15] removes the "fuel content factor" of 1/0.15 and the above equation yields a fuel efficiency of 49 mpg (4.77 l/100 km)
  • To compare the full-cycle energy-equivalency of gasoline with electricity generated by newer, 58% efficiency CCGT power plants[16], the factor of 21,763 Wh/gal[15] in the above equation yields a fuel efficiency of 87 mpg (2.70 l/100 km)
  • When using non-fossil fuel electricity sources such as hydroelectric, solar, wind or nuclear, the equivalent efficiency can be remarkably higher as fossil fuel is not used in refueling.

Using cost to find an estimate of the Roadster's price efficiency compared to gasoline requires a different analysis. The Tesla Motors website lists an operating cost of approximately $0.01/mile using PG&E's E-9 night-time incentive charging, or about $0.03 with normal prices of $0.12/kWh. With gasoline prices at $3.00/gallon, the Roadster's fuel cost would be the same as a gasoline car that gets 300 mpg (0.94 l/100 km) using E-9 or 100 mpg (2.82 l/100 km) using normal rates.

Total (Monetary) Cost of Ownership

Tesla Motors intends for the Tesla Roadster to "enter at the high end of the market, where customers are prepared to pay a premium"[17] rather than optimizing for total monetary cost of ownership.

Assuming a $3.20 battery cell cost[citation needed], and $0.60 of cell protection circuitry per cell (such as positive thermal coefficient (PTC) resistors, mechanical, monitoring and cooling), the 6813 cells in the Energy Storage System (ESS) would cost $25,899. Tesla Motors' ESS uses commonly available 16850 Li-ion cells with a lifespan of roughly 500 charge/discharge cycles[10]. Beyond this point, the capacity of the cell diminishes[citation needed].

Using 250 miles per full charge cycle and 500 charge/discharge cycles, the usable range from the pack should be about 125,000 miles. Tesla Motors' official estimate is a more conservative 100,000 miles with the caveat that their "well pampered" ESS cells may last longer due to improved temperature and charge maintenance compared with laptop cells[10]. Using $26,000 worth of cells over 125,000 miles leads to a cost-per-mile of $0.21/mile. Adding the $0.01 to $0.03 fuel cost noted leads to a cost of roughly $0.22 to $0.24 per mile.

A conventional car today will require oil changes every 7K miles at $40 (including the occasional air filter)[citation needed], and will likely require a timing belt and water pump change at 60-90K miles ($600) and a tuneup at 100K miles ($800)[citation needed]. Combined, this is about $2100 over the same 125,000 mile interval or $0.02/mile. Brakes, wipers and suspensions are common to both conventional and electric vehicles and the cost of those items should be about the same.

The cost to power a conventional car of similar weight and performance that gets 19 MPG at $3/gallon is $0.16/mile. The combined operational cost of that conventional car is $0.18/mile compared to the combined operational cost of the Tesla Motors car of roughly $0.23/mile. At a hypothetical run rate of 100K Tesla Roadsters per year, the demand (in tons) for lithium batteries would outpace the 1B unit-per-year demand of the cellphone market by 3 to 1. As cars increasingly rely on this advanced battery technology, the increased demand may change battery economics dramatically[citation needed].


Notable ownership

Signature One Hundred [18]

Unknown series

Possible owners

References

  1. ^ a b Elon Musk (2007-03-07). "Musk Testimony" (Microsoft Word). United States Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources. Retrieved 2007-03-14. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ Tesla Motors. "Tesla Motors Corporate Backgrounder" (html). Retrieved 2006-12-05. ...the Tesla Roadster is capable of 135 mpg equivalent...
  3. ^ Edmunds.com Inside Line (July 21 2006). "Tesla Roadster: Lotus Helps Create Sporty 135 MPG Electric Car" (html). Retrieved 2006-12-05. ...achieves the equivalent of 135 mpg. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Neil, Dan (July 20 2006). "A roadster that's electric". Marketplace Public Radio. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accesdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Global Green USA. ""Global Green USA's pre-Oscar Party Highlights Global Warming Solutions"" (HTML). Retrieved 2007-03-11.
  6. ^ Sam Abuelsamid. ""AutoblogGreen Q&A: Tesla Motors CEO Martin Eberhard pt.1"" (html). Retrieved 2007-03-15. {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help)
  7. ^ Elizabeth Corcoran (2007-03-17). "Can Silicon Valley Reinvent The Car?". Forbes. Retrieved 2007-03-26. {{cite news}}: External link in |author= (help)
  8. ^ "Tesla to open five dealer outlets" (HTML). ZDnet. 2007-03-15. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
  9. ^ "Tesla Motors Opens Michigan Technical Center" (HTML). Tesla Motors. 2007-01-27. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
  10. ^ a b c "Tesla Motors FAQs" (HTML). Tesla Motors. 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2006-12-20.
  11. ^ Sebastian Blanco. ""EDTA Conference: Tesla Motors ready to license battery tech to other companies"" (html). Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help)
  12. ^ Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning (2006-10-06). "The 21st Century Electric Car" (PDF). Tesla Motors. Retrieved 2007-02-23. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ Idaho National Laboratory. ""EVAmerica Baseline Performance Testing for 1997 General Motors EV1 with PbA Batteries"" (pdf). Retrieved 2007-03-05. Footnote 8 in Tesla Motor's white paper refers to this INL study for the equivalent efficiency number from GM EV1 testing.
  14. ^ Tesla Motors. ""Tesla Motors - Technical Specs"" (html). Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  15. ^ a b c "Federal Register Vol. 64 No. 113" (PDF). United States Department of Energy. 2000-07-12. Retrieved 2006-09-22. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ "Advanced Natural Gas Turbine Hailed as Top Power Project of 2003". DOE. 2003-12-30. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  17. ^ Elon Musk (2006-08-02). "The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me)". Tesla Motors blog. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  18. ^ "Tesla Roadster 'Signature One Hundred' Series Sells Out" (HTML). Tesla Motors. 2006-08-15. Retrieved 2007-01-27.
  19. ^ Jon Mittelhauser (2007-02-21). "Energy". Tesla Motors blog. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
  20. ^ Mike Harrigan, VP Customer Service & Support, Tesla Motors (2006-12-06). "Auto Show Mania". Tesla Motors blog. Retrieved 2007-03-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Darryl Siry, VP Marketing, Tesla Motors (2007-03-07). "TED Fans of Tesla". Siry Marketing blog. Retrieved 2007-03-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tesla Roadster.
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