Tesla Roadster unveiled in Santa Monica – AutoblogGreen ***
Tesla Motors unveiled their uber-chic Roadster, a supercharged electric vehicle that looks, feels and drives like many other high-end sports cars Wednesday night. The main difference is the noise. Powered by a 3-phase, 4-pole AC induction motor, the Roadster can go 130 mph and does 0-60 in about 4 seconds, all completely silent.
Some of the more interesting factlets:
- Range is 250 miles (on a 3.5 hour charge). This is a lot for an EV that actually looks like a car – compare for example with 80 miles for the Tango.
- Battery pack is 6,831 lithium-ion cells. (253 x 27).  That’s the same technology as laptop batteries.
- Price is $80,000 – $120,000. That’s a lot more than the plug-in Prius: actually about the same as the equally sporty top-end Tango : but the Tango looks like it got stuck between two buses, while the Tesla looks like, well, a car.