Tesla Motors is set to send its lithium-ion battery-powered prototype Roadster on a 200-mile road trip. According to Green Wombat , it's a "publicity stunt designed to demolish the perception that electric cars are short-range put-put mobiles more suited to suburban cul-de-sacs than the open road." Tesla PR wonk David Vespremi claims it's no biggie; Tesla has already "put the car through its paces during long-distance testing." The trip is sponsored by the Hyatt hotel chain and will include several stops at Hyatts along the route. Even though Tesla claims a 200-mile range for the Roadster and they're taking it on a 200-mile road trip, AutoBlogGreen reports they'll be stopping at a Hyatt in Sacramento "to show off the charging capability (and charge the batteries)." According to Vespremi, this was "the plan all along." Funny that this plan doesn't show up in any of the news stories about the jaunt before now. TTAC has been questioning their range claims from the start; too bad the company can't won't use this opportunity to prove us wrong.
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They need to replace some of those CF panels with solar panels. That would increase the daytime range at least. & then it would charge while it’s sitting in the parking lot at work.
or they could mount a lightning rod on the battery pack for a “quick charge” for those time when your driving through a thunderstorm.
On a separate subject, these electric cars remind me of the R/C cars I played with growing up. Does anyone else remember hooking two battery backs up in parallel? This will definitely change hot rodding. Funny stuff.
It would be interesting to see if the roadster can get anywhere near the 200 mile range in northern (colder and wet) climates. As I understand it, GM’s EV1 was lucky to get a 20 mile range in the Vancouver BC area where it rains and there are lots of hills to climb. Are the lithium-ion batteries that much less susceptible to environmental changes? This test would be an interesting proof of concept if the batteries hold up in the Lake Tahoe part of the trip.
Tesla should have done this test a long time ago, or at least provide a car to the “Mythbuster” folks and see what they would conclude.
RyanK02:
or they could mount a lightning rod on the battery pack for a “quick charge” for those time when your driving through a thunderstorm.
Or if they run out of plutonium.
It’s always funny when blogs source other blogs and the first blog was wrong. The compounding errors just grow and grow. This trip is not a demonstration of range. It is a demonstration of a partnership we are developing with Hyatt to install charge stations at Hyatt hotels. Jeremy mis-reported it and David corrected him. In any case, we have driven the car well over 200 miles on several occasions, but will not do any public demonstration of range until the EPA numbers are certified.
Mr. Siry: Why isn’t this trip being used as a demonstration of range? Your response concerning the certification of EPA numbers is confusing: Your car doesn’t use gas so we’re left to wonder what that means. I also have a hard time imagining how one “shows off the charging capability.”
I’m also unsure why you would expect anyone to take your word that you’ve “driven the car well over 200 miles on several occasions.” The act of making that claim seems especially odd, and is even more strange considering that, in the process of developing the vehicle, Tesla would likely have made such trips more than “several” times but in fact hundreds of times.
Assuming, of course, what you say is true.
Let me be clear that I want Tesla to succeed. This could be one dynamite car that changes perceptions far and wide. Please prove my doubts wrong.
I dunno, TTAC could be on to something.
This could be another DeLorean, Bricklin, or Tucker unfolding before our eyes.
we have driven the car well over 200 miles on several occasions, but will not do any public demonstration of range until the EPA numbers are certified.
You have to excuse me, but that is not a convincing answer.
I would appreciate an explanation of how awaiting EPA certification would prevent the company from providing a public test of the vehicle’s range.
The federal government isn’t forcing anyone at Tesla to make a pit stop during a media junket. That is Tesla’s decision, and it’s fair to ask why Tesla would make such a decision when the car’s range is so critical to the legitimacy of its claims.
“we have driven the car well over 200 miles on several occasions”
Damn! That’s gotta be the longest extension cord known to man!
I can drive a Tesla Roadster 500 miles tomorrow. The passenger seat and the back seat will have been removed, and the car will have been filled with batteries.
What siry is not saying, is whether they have driven well over 200 miles on the standard battery pack that they intend to supply to consumers – which I doubt.
And yes, why on earth would EPA certification be required?
That said – the work they are doing to have charging stations installed along the road is the way to go. Unfortunately, I suspect we’ll end up with something like the format wars in consumer electronics, and there will be dozens of different types of charging stations, as different manufacturers try to lock in customers.
The EPA must certify our range and efficiency numbers according to their standards, it is the law for all production EVs.
And when doing all range testing and development work we always use the standard battery pack that will go into the customer cars.
The EPA must certify our range and efficiency numbers according to their standards, it is the law for all production EVs.
I must have missed the part of the regulation that bars you from doing a press event without a charge-up in the middle of it.
At least Mr. Siry’s answer clarified one thing for me — Mr. Farago is onto something.
Thanks for that clarification, siry. As you may have gathered, I remain skeptical of the viability of a fast electrical vehicle – but it’s nice to be in direct discussion.
Yet more vaporware, sound and fury signifying nothing except that gullible investors can still be found.