Tesla Roadster electric sports car aims at Europe market

Earth-friendly thrill-seekers in Europe can get into the driver's seat of their own Tesla Roadster, provided they have a trunkful of cash to buy an electric sports car that zips from zero to 100 kph (60 mph) in less than four seconds. California's "green" governor Arnold Schwarzenegger bought one. So did actors George Clooney and Kelsey Grammer. Tesla Motors opened its first store over the weekend on the Los Angeles coast and has begun taking orders in Europe via the Internet. It plans to show the Roadster off at the Cannes Film Festival this month and at the Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans auto races. Thanks to a wimpy dollar and stumbling US economy, the Northern California car maker is focusing on Europe a year ahead of schedule and plans to soon open stores in Paris, London, Munich and other cities there.

With a price tag of 99,000 euros (153,500 dollars), many eco-conscious consumers will likely be left drooling on the curb for the time being. Nonetheless, industry analysts say that the Roadster will enliven the humdrum image of electric cars and, hopefully, spur competition leading to more affordable green vehicles. The Roadster can go as fast as 200 kilometers (124 miles) an hour and travel 300 kilometers (186 miles) before recharging. The car is hailed as a quantum leap in the effort to reduce world dependence on oil. Tesla Motors is busy working on a White Star family sedan that the firm hopes to have on sales floors by 2010.

- The Tesla Roadster strategy seems to be working out pretty well. By aiming for the highest of the high end, they are putting electric cars squarely in the limelight. With all the celebrity endorsements, the Tesla Roadster is turning out to be the Toyota Prius of EV's. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger is buying one. That's a far cry from his Hummer days, and that tells you how politics has evolved with crude oil prices going well over $120 per barrel and gasoline prices going well over $4 per gallon over in the USA.

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