Tesla Roadster

The highly purposeful design of the Tesla Roadster shows up in its many multi-use components. There's a battery box that's both functional and structural, air ducts that double as energy-absorbing zones, and a high-performance AC motor that can run forwards and backwards. The PEM (Power Electronics Module) performs several critical functions, including motor torque control, regenerative braking control, and charging. Of course the most notable thing inside the car is the battery itself: the ESS (Energy Storage System) is safe, lightweight, and able to take you more than 200 miles between charges. Google founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page invested millions of dollars into the start-up that created the Tesla Roadster.

PROS:

The Tesla Roadster, the innovative all-electric sports car from Tesla Motors, seems like an idyllic amalgam between efficiency and aesthetics that sports car fanatics and environmentalists alike can appreciate. This zero-emissions sports car has a range of over 200 miles on a single charge of its battery (almost 7000 rechargeable lithium batteries), equivalent to 135-mpg and a fuel cost of $.01/mile. Furthermore, the car’s features also serve to satisfy sports-car enthusiasts, with the body of a Lotus Elise, a 0-60 time of under 4 seconds with a top speed of 135 mph. The Tesla Roadster has already hit the markets, with Tesla planning to produce 625 Roadsters for 2008 and 1600 per year in 2009 and 2010.

CONS:

The cons of the Tesla Roadster are headed, first and foremost, by its high price tag of $98,000. Nevertheless, the company claims that the highly-priced Roadster is merely a stepping stone to the development of more affordable electric or plug-in hybrid cars. In its technological and business struggles, Tesla has had to compromise some of the features of the Roadster, such as its 4 second 0-60 because of its use of an interim single-speed transmission in place of the planned two-speed transmission. Tesla, nonetheless, proposed a free upgrade for its initial customers to the two-speed unit once it becomes available. Furthermore, Tesla received a waiver to build the Roadster without the advanced occupant-sensing airbag system for the first 3 years, instead using the standard dual-front airbags. All in all, the Tesla Roadster has the makings for an innovative, unprecedented all-electric car once it overcomes these initial, minute glitches.