Tesla Model S electric car unveiled, specifications include 300-mile range, 5.6 sec 0-60 mph timing

Tesla unveiled Thursday [26 Mar 2009] the Tesla Model S, billed as the world's first mass-produced, highway-capable electric car. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company, which released its breakthrough two-seat Tesla Roadster, aims to have its sleek Tesla Model S sedan roll off assembly lines by 2011. It will be powered by lithium-ion battery packs capable of travelling between 160 and 300 miles (257-482 km) per charge, and can be charged at home in just four hours. The car has an anticipated base price of $57,400 but will cost less than $50,000 after a federal tax credit. Tesla's other zero-emission car, the two-seat Roadster, is on sale in Europe and the United States. GM is developing its own electric car, the Chevrolet Volt PHEV, which it expects to go on sale in 2011 for about $40,000.

wheels.blogs.nytimes.com

Three different power configurations will be available, Tesla Motors Mr. Musk said, "160-mile, 230-mile and 300-mile battery packs." The 160-mile pack comes standard on the $57,400 base model (a federal tax credit can shave $7,500 from the price). The Model S, which looks a bit like the Maserati Quattroporte sedan, was the subject of a recent styling re-do by Franz von Holzhausen, formerly of Mazda, who joined Tesla last year. The Model S will seat up to seven people. Folding the rear seats down increases cargo space.

- The Tesla Model S certainly looks good. And Tesla certainly knows its stuff - how to make high-end, good-looking electric cars. The question floating around the peakoiler community is whether it will be able to attract the same kind of clientele that it managed to do earlier with the Tesla Roadster - well-heeld, environmentally-minded, gadget-happy folks who do not mind being right out there on the cutting edge of technology and can still afford to shell out the big bucks for this kind of car in spite of the kind of economic times we are in. Let's see how the waiting list (if any) turns out to be like.

(2009-04-01 07:05:15 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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