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Tesla Roadster Heads Out on 2,700 Mile Road Trip to NAIAS

 
1,432 views Dec 11, 2009

2009 Tesla Roadster Photo Credit: Rex Roy

2009 Tesla Roadster Photo Credit: Rex Roy

Enlarge Photo

Starting on December 17th, the Tesla Roadster Sport will make an epic, cross country journey on its way to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan.

The journey will begin in Los Angeles and cover 2,700 miles arriving in Detroit at the end of the trip on January 8th.  The trip includes stops in numerous cities.  The brief stops will give the Roadster time for recharging while on display for public viewing.

16 Tesla employees will pilot the Roadster along the way.  The entire journey will of course be gas free.  Tesla calls the trip "Putting Mud on the Tires for the Detroit Auto Show."  The trips purpose is to show the public that a Tesla Roadster is a capable performer in any weather condition.  As Tesla said, "It looks just as good with mud on the tires as it does on the showroom floor."

Given the time of year and the vehicle's route, it's likely that the Roadster will encounter some snowy conditions as well as mud.  Tesla is attempting to prove that whoever said that a roadster that can go 0-60 in only 3.7 seconds is not suitable for winter use is blatantly wrong.

For additional details about the trip including the route, city stops, and daily blog updates follow the link below.

Source:  Tesla Motors





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Comments (10)

  1. By NEWDL Posted: 12/11/2009 5:16am PST

    This is a great idea. Drive an electric car accross the country to the Detroit Auto Show.
    Visitor to the Show: "Yeah. but you can't go on long trips with it"
    Tesla Sales Assoc: Actually this dirty car right here just drove 2,700 miles to get here from Los Angeles. It is possible with some planning and the willingness to do so!
    GREAT IDEA.
     
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  2. By Jason M. Hendler Posted: 12/11/2009 6:44am PST

    Not sure that you can brag about driving 2,700 miles through all weather, yet requiring 23 days to do it. Slow recharge BEV's are not useful for long trips, and this proves it.
    I wish Tesla would reconsider a range extender of some type, or offer rapid recharge batteries.
     
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  3. By Frank Posted: 12/11/2009 11:00am PST

    They are planning city stop to show off the car.. if they would want to get there faster, they could drive 500 miles a day and do it in 5-6 days.. I think its a good idea, I would love to see it stop here in Québec, I would go for sure take a look at that awesome car!
     
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  4. By Noel park Posted: 12/11/2009 1:46pm PST

    Too true, alas. Maybe they are trying our old idea of the range extender trailer, LOL.
     
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  5. By Noel Park Posted: 12/11/2009 1:49pm PST

    Edit:
    I was responding to Jason's comment at #2. Sorry. Forgot to capitalize Park too. Maybe I should quit for the day, LOL.
     
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  6. By  Kris Trexler Posted: 12/11/2009 7:42pm PST

    I'm glad to see that a Tesla is making this gas-free journey. I can tell you from first hand experience, it will be a great adventure. I made a similar all-electric journey from Los Angeles to Detroit in 1998 with my GM EV1. The Arizona desert was the biggest challenge for finding power ports to charge the EV1, but a utility company graciously installed 220v power drops where I asked them to. I'm sure the Tesla will attract a lot of attention along the way. You can read about my adventure at: http://www.kingoftheroad.net/charge_across_america/charge_html/chargehome.html ... Most EV1's were destroyed by GM, but mine was saved and is frequently on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
     
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  7. By joe Posted: 12/12/2009 9:02pm PST

    they should tie up former VP Bob Lutz and make him watch the Tesla coming into Detroit.. would serve that old fart right.. his obsession with gas powered vehicles was misguided and hurt GM very badly..
     
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  8. By Peckhammer Posted: 12/13/2009 10:33am PST

    For those of you that won't have a chance to see the car, here's a vid we did about it in Seattle: http://tinyurl.com/ydnd4k8
     
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  9. By jeffhre Posted: 12/13/2009 1:07pm PST

    "they should tie up former VP Bob Lutz and make him watch"...This was done already, he was contractually tied up at one time and forced to be the chairman of Exide Battery, where he advocated for building an electric car demonstration project.
     
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  10. By  Greg Blencoe Posted: 12/16/2009 12:46pm PST

    Here are some questions I have about the Tesla road tour:
    1. How well would the batteries in the Tesla Roadster perform in very cold weather conditions if the car were driven from Silicon Valley on a more direct route from company headquarters to Detroit instead of going from Los Angeles down to San Antonio before going north?
    2. Where will the luggage go?
    3. How long will it take to recharge the batteries?
    4. What is the driving range of the Tesla Roadster when the car is driven at 70 miles per hour?
    People should be paying much more attention to what Toyota and Honda are saying about plug-in battery cars.
    "Top 20 quotes from Toyota and Honda executives criticizing plug-in battery cars"
    http://www.h2carblog.com/?p=577
    Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which will be arriving at dealerships in 2015, are far superior to battery-only cars when it comes to driving range, fueling time, cold weather performance, and trunk/passenger space.
    Greg Blencoe
    Chief Executive Officer
    Hydrogen Discoveries, Inc.
    "Hydrogen Car Revolution" blog
     
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