Tesla Roadster

The news hit the press rooms of specialized publications around the nation like a tropical storm. While the country finds itself without any real alternative against the continuous raise of gas prices - and a few months after the release of Who Killed the Electric Car?, a movie unveiling the free-for-all sabotage in the late '90s of a well-advanced project to mass-produce electric cars. Tesla Motors just announced to the world the birth of a little red roadster that might just set the record straight.

The Tesla Roadster is indeed powered by an all electric engine. This detail sums it all up. The progressive depletion of the world's oil resources and the increasing evidence blaming CO2 emissions as a cause of global warming have already started to produce negative effects on international affairs. Oil wars will be sooner or later a pathetic memory of the past, but our children and their own will likely pay the price for the multiple damages caused by our criminal refusal to embrace sustainable energy. The Tesla Roadster doesn't release any greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It doesn't ever need a drop of gasoline, as opposed to hybrid cars. In fact it has no gas tank whatsoever. It can run up to 250 miles without a recharge, which is about how much a traditional vehicle can go without stopping at a gas station, and Tesla Motors claims energy costs as low as a penny per mile. Translate this into commuter English and you get the equivalent of 135 mpg, twice the fuel efficiency of a Toyota Prius, and roughly 10 times better than the massive SUV parked in your neighbor's driveway.

The Tesla Roadster is not the first car to offer a sustainable alternative to gas engines. Its main strength is to add a beautiful silhouette and attractive performance to a clean and earth-friendly package. Until now, most electric vehicles looked bulky and displayed a clumsy and slow behavior on the road. Built on a Lotus Elise platform, the car designed by Tesla Motors leaves all these clichés behind by showing enough stamina to outperform many gas-powered sports cars. While it reaches a top speed of more than 130 mph, the Roadster delivers stunning acceleration to those who like stepping hard on the "gas pedal." In contrast to a vehicle powered by a traditional engine, this amazing ride can rely on all its power at any given time: its peak torque is readily available at 0 rpm and remains consistent all the way to 13,000 rpm.

In other words, the unfriendly type sitting in his apple green Lamborghini won't be able to catch up with you until the next stoplight. The Tesla Roadster jumps from 0 to 60 mph in less than four seconds. That's barely four-tenths slower than a Ferrari Enzo. In order to achieve this prowess, Tesla Motors' engineers didn't have to burglarize some secret lab at the NASA headquarters. The Roadster's electrical engine relies on 6831 lithium-ion batteries, similar to the ones you can find in a laptop, to develop 248 hp. The car maker will provide you with a kit to plug the vehicle directly into a regular outlet and let it charge overnight just like any cell phone. You can even bring it to the next level by becoming fully self-sufficient: all you need at this point is to install some solar panels on the roof of your garage.

It's no surprise that the Tesla Roadster was invented in California. Since the late '90s economic boom, the state has become the home of many young millionaires who seem a lot more concerned about the environment than past generations. To be sold for a solid $100,000, the Roadster remains a luxury car by all means, but Tesla Motors could hardly be blamed for trying to establish its brand with such an exclusive vehicle. The new firm has been flooded with orders since the release of its revolutionary car, and all 2006 models have already been sold. The Roadster is first and foremost a symbol supposed to clear the path for more simple and family-oriented electric vehicles. Tesla Motors' engineers are already drawing plans for a green sedan. One had to finally find the nerve to prove to the rest of the world you can be sexy without making a mess.