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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."
Yes, there are zero emissions from the tailpipe, but the electricity has to come from somewhere. Hydro, solar, wind are all very small percentages of the total electricity generating solutions. The majority of electricity comes from 'dirty' sources, such as coal, oil and nuclear. All thats happening is the carbon output of transportation is being shifted from the consumer to the manufacturer.
And even if we DO get a much larger percentage of clean energy sources, we still have to consider the massive costs that will be needed to upgrade the aging energy grid to be able to support the huge draw that electric cars will demand. Even a few million electric cars in the US will put a huge strain on the grid.
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?
A) If a trial (IMHO, this isn't a race) doesn't include twisty turny roads it's pointless. B) 300 miles is nothing. I'll regularly drive 700 miles a day and it takes about 10 minutes to refill my tank, empty my other tank and get back on the road. Until THAT problem is solved, don't bore me with this stuff.
Every time I heard about Tesla Motors I thought I was hearing about that scam company Spark EV.
So I decided to post this clarification in case any other incautious reader did the same mistake.
http://dilbert.com/2010-12-13
Dumbass moderation, parent is not a troll, but a realist. Just because somebody does not have starry eyes does not make them a troll.
Mine's an 02, at 65 mph I get 27-30 mpg, at 50 I get 34-36*. Even with modern cars' better aerodynamics, wind drag starts cutting into your mileage at around 50.
* I have a mileage computer built into the car. I had a blowout in St Louis and drove back to Springfield on a donut spare; you're not supposed to go over 50 on one of those. Gas was very expensive then, I started travelling at 50-55 mph after I found out about the better mileage. Until gas prices went down, anyway.
Free Martian Whores!
You still have to factor in wind resistence, even though modern cars are more aerodynamic than they used to be. Anything over ~50 mph and your mileage WILL suffer.
Free Martian Whores!