ReGeneration Roadtrip: Driving the future

Tesla’s motoring toward sustainability one sports car at a time 4

Regeneration RoadTrip 08

Tesla RoadsterIf you wanna talk about moving toward a greener future, surely the sexiest way to do that is in a Tesla Roadster. This car goes 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds -- faster than a Ferrari -- without guzzling a single drop of oil. All you need is about three hours plugged into the wall, and you're fully charged and ready to impress.

Tesla has already delivered about 50 of the cars to eager buyers -- including familiar faces like Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Matt Damon, and the guys at Google (they bought three!). The five-year-old company is working on upping production to get the rest of its 2008 cars out to their owners (including this orange beauty we saw in the Tesla showroom in Menlo Park, California). And the 2009 edition is on its way too -- the wait list is about a year long.

RoadTrip 08 - Day 2

The Roadster's got a hefty price tag, for sure -- up to about $120,000 depending on your options. But Tesla's also working on an all-electric 5-person sedan that might run ya about $60K. Still pricey, perhaps, but think of all the dough you'll save at the pump. Tesla Client Advisor Jeremy Cleland, who gave us a tour of the Roadster (inside and out), told us these cars will cost you just 2-3 cents a gallon. And look how easy it is to "fill 'er up":

Sarah van Schagen is Grist’s Seattle editor.

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  1. Bob Wallace Posted 3:58 am
    25 Sep 2008

    Grist folks...How about an in-depth piece on batteries - why they are so expensive and what's in the tubes that is likely to bring the price down so that we can have an affordable BEV.
    Is it materials cost, manufacturing cost, or simply economics of scale?
    Is MIT's micro-wave process likely to cut costs in half?
  2. KenG Posted 7:19 am
    25 Sep 2008

    Per what?Is the cost actually 2 or 3 cents per MILE? That sounds about right. (As oppposed to equivalent to gas at 2 or 3 cents per gallon.)
  3. thoman5 Posted 7:59 am
    26 Sep 2008

    2-3cents per mile03/2007 AAA estimated the average car in America cost 9 cents per mile for gasoline we must assume  this is probably significantly more today perhaps 20-25% more...

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Series Intro
Grist and Dell hit the road in search of a sustainable future 1
Van Jones talks about the National Day of Action 0
A quick stop at Google HQ 1
Tesla's motoring toward sustainability one sports car at a time 4
A visit to Alemany Farm in San Francisco 0
On the road to Vegas, we spot two wind farms 6
Visiting the Victory Garden outside San Francisco City Hall 0
Hitting the Vegas strip to see the world's largest LEED certified building 0
Spotlight on North America's largest solar power plant at Nellis AFB 1
Vegas may serve as hopeful proving ground 1
Living and learning at Arizona State University's School of Sustainability 2
Bridging architecture and ecology at Arcosanti 4
Living off-grid in a reclaimed gravel pit 3
Finding out what's important at the Rocky Mountain Institute 0
Raising a glass to sustainability at New Belgium Brewery 0
We're headed out on the town -- join us 1
Streamlining the agricultural process in Iowa 0
Constructing a green space for green biz 0
Chicago's City Hall is growing green 1
Methane digesters make dairy good sense 0
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's HQ is green and gorgeous 1
The Wolf Trap Center connects art and nature 1
Film Biz Recycling aims to roll credits on the wasteful film industry 0
Greening the South Bronx and empowering its community with Green Worker Cooperatives 2
The Green Theater Initiative aims to direct change 0
Verdant Power shows it's got the RITE stuff 0
Maps, videos, and images from our cross-country travels 0
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