Tesla Roadster Breaks Distance Record For Electric Car

An anonymous reader writes "The CEO of an Australian ISP has driven his Tesla Roadster into the record books, completing 501km on a single electric charge in the 2009 Global Green Challenge — beating the Roadster's official specifications, which rate the all-electric sports car as being capable of a maximum of 390km per charge. The previous record was held by another Roadster in the 387km Rallye Monte Carlo d'Energies Alternatives in April this year. In a race specifically designed for alternative energy vehicles (such as hydrogen and electricity), the Roadster was the only vehicle to complete the entire course. Though to be fair, that race course was a mixture of twists, turns and hills."

Comments

Re:Electric cars are not better for the enviornmen

[vadim_t]

Yes they are. Even the most inefficient plants are still vastly more efficient than a car's engine, with transmission losses accounted for.

Finally, how good are the batteries for the enviornment? Can they be recycled cleanly? And how often do they need to be replaced? After a few months of steady use?

Batteries are very recyclable, and are designed to last the life of the car.

Re:Now THAT is an electric car.

[pnewhook]

I don't know about you but when I travel long distances on the highway I expect a 500 km trip to take about 4.5 hours, not 9 hours.

Where did speed come into this? The Tesla has a max speed of 200km/h - more than enough for any sane road trip.