Pics of the First Production Tesla Roadster
Tesla customers have been waiting ages for the electric sports car, the Roadster, to make its way to market. Today the company’s first production Roadster, what Tesla Chairman Elon Musk called “the first production electric car on the road since God knows when,” was delivered to the auto maker’s headquarters in San Carlos, Calif. We were there and snapped these pics of the inaugural vehicle (check out more below the jump).
Production vehicle 1, or “P1,” will go to the company’s first customer, Chairman Musk himself. P1 was flown from the Lotus manufacturing plant in Hethel, England; its battery pack came from Tesla’s plant in Thailand and is being installed this afternoon at the company’s California headquarters. Musk called the delivering of the car “the beginning of the beginning.” Oh yeah, then there’s the beginning of “series” production, scheduled for March 17th, and then the beginning of the car’s production with the final version of the single-speed transmission. (Also check out our exclusive interview with Chairman Musk and CEO Ze’ev Drori back in December).
Amid all of the photo snapping, automotive lusting and “ooohs” and “aaahs,” Tesla took time to assure the gathered crowd that the recently reported “bloodbath” wasn’t that bad and that the company had not fired all of its key players. Indeed, the atmosphere was nearly giddy as the employees’ work was validated with the delivery of their first car.
Photo credit to Stephanie Lawrence.
[...] since God knows when,” was delivered to the auto maker’s headquarters in San Carlos, Calif. Earth2Tech was there and has pics of the inaugural vehicle. Share/Send Sphere Print Previous [...]
[...] the folks at Earth2Tech were there to snap some pictures (like the one above). A sweet ride that’s all [...]
[...] First Production Tesla Roadster Is Delivered!!! At long last the first production Tesla roadster has been delivered. I just gotta say I truly love this car! The idea of it. The actuality of it. If only I could afford [...]
That is a nice looking car……………I would love to be able to afford one.
[...] Pictures Here [...]
I am a huge fan of Nikola Tesla and of anything that helps against global warming, but I have a couple of issues with the idea of an electric car. Presumably this vehicle is recharged off of the grid, which is typically run off either coal or natural gas. Some places employ hydroelectric, wind and even solar collectors but all power that we harness and send through wires is subject to heavy losses.
Beyond this, battery storage is far from perfect and is heavily affected by temperature fluctuation and usage habits. Until we implement Tesla’s solution to this problem, wireless power transmission, the electric car unfortunately seems like an environmental quagmire. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the lithium ion batteries would need to be replaced within five years. I do have to admit though, the car has some pretty impressive stats and may serve as a model for commuters. Maybe if the car came with its own solar charger, that would be a start.
@ J. Michels: although you are right in a very general way, but you obviously have not done your homework on the Tesla Roadster before you commented. First of all the car can be charged from a variety of sources, including an optional solar array that can be purchased through Tesla Motors (TM) from SolarCity. Additionally, depending on where you live, you can purchase sustainably produced electricity either from your utility, or from private companies. To get a real idea of the efficiency of electric vehicles versus internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles you should read the white paper called “The 21st Century Electric Car” which can be found on Tesla’s website. It covers all the math, including transmission losses on the electric grid, and demonstrates that even when you use the “dirtiest” source of elctricity (coal), the Tesla roadster is still twice as efficient as the most efficient ICE vehicle, and produces half the amount of CO2 emissions. You are correct about the batteries eventually needing to be replaced. The time frame is dependent on how much you drive the vehicle. I believe that TM has a 100,000 mile warranty on the energy storage system (ESS), or “battery pack”. However, lithium battery technology is improving quite rapidly, and the cost of manufacturing individual cells is falling on an almost monthly basis, so the replacement ESS is likely to be better and cheaper than the original ESS. Also, keep in mind that you would not be buying gasoline for the lifetime of the ESS, and that many other maintenance costs would be reduced or eliminated (no more oil changes). All this information, and more, is readily available if you just look for it. I have spent quite a lot of time reading about various alternatives to ICE vehicles, and so far the case for the electric vehicle seems to be the best.
Lastly, the car works very well in cold temperatures. Take a look at the cold weather testing videos of the Tesla Roadster, again, on their website. I hope that this helps with some of your concerns about electric vehicles.
Chris H.
[...] car, Tesla hosted a big media event at its workshop. (The photo to the left is from GigaOm’s Earth2Tech.) Cleland walked me around the site, and gave me a close look at the both production car and some [...]
[...] Pictures of Tesla’s First Production Roadster: I headed to the Tesla Motors headquarters in San Carlos, Calif. to watch the delivery of the electric car maker’s first production vehicle for their first customer, Tesla Chairman Elon Musk. [...]
[...] Well the first one rolled our sort of….all the info over at Om’s earth2tech site.This one is going to the chairman….real production rolls out in March. Congrat [...]
Go, Tesla, go! I can’t wait for the 4-door sedan to come out and make this technology available to those with slightly slimmer wallets.
[...] vehicle 1, or “P1,” which was delivered to its new owner Tesla Chairman Elon Musk. We took a bunch of pictures, which we posted last week, and we also shot this short video that we thought you might enjoy. [...]
[...] Posted by Phoenix Woman on February 5, 2008 Niiiiice. [...]
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UPDATE: Be sure to check out our recently uploaded video of this event to see the first production Tesla Roadster roll out of the trailer and hear some words from company’s first customer, Tesla Chairman Elon Musk.
Watch it here.
[...] has been delivered to Tesla’s headquarters in San Carlos, California, and Stephanie Lawrence from Earth2Tech was there to take some snapshots (thanks!). More photos after the [...]
[...] First production Tesla Delivered… Pics of the First Production Tesla Roadster Earth2Tech [...]
[...] First Production Electric Tesla Roadster Delivered <IMG style="; WIDTH: expression(this.width > 800 ? 800: true); max-width: 800px" alt="" src="http://earth2tech.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/tesla3.jpg" border=0> Tesla customers have been waiting ages for the electric sports car, the Roadster, to make its way to market. Today the companys first production Roadster, what Tesla Chairman Elon Musk called the first production electric car on the road since God knows when, was delivered to the auto makers headquarters in San Carlos, Calif. Full Article [...]
[...] Tesla delivered. Pics of the First Production Tesla Roadster Earth2Tech [...]
Wow! What a gorgeous car! I’d love to have one, but bet they will be verrrrry expensive.
[...] earth2tech: Pics of the First Production Tesla Roadster. [...]
[...] 18th, 2008 at 3:21 pm in Startups With Tesla’s first Roadsters finally landing stateside, (first production Roadster pics here), Silicon Valley’s electric car company is starting to get serious about its second line of [...]
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Email This Post to a Friend (No Ratings Yet) Loading … Click Here for Automotive Videos [...]
[...] in early February started limited production of Roadsters with interim transmissions; it delivered the first one to Tesla Chairman and Founder Elon Musk. CEO Ze’ev Drori says on Tesla’s blog that regular production means that the company will [...]
Green energy is definitely the best solution in most cases. Technology like solar energy, wind power, fuel cells, zaps electric vehicles, EV hybrids, etc have come so far recently. Green energy even costs way less than oil and gas in many cases.
It looks like a beautiful roadster. If it comes out in a four door sedan at a price that the average Joe can afford, then you will have a winner. As battery technology improves, I,m sure that the reliability and long life, and extended range will also. I would also like to see the electric technology applied to pickup trucks.