The Tesla Roadster may be going out of production in 2012, but Tesla drivers--and electric vehicle drivers in general--are nothing if not resourceful.
First, in December, the company managed a cross-country road trip, driving a Roadster from Los Angeles to Detroit.
Now, we find that a Colorado Tesla driver took advantage of an almost-hidden electric plug in the Denver International Airport parking garage to recharge his (her?) Roadster during what we assume was a trip out of town in late January.
![Tesla Roadster recharging at Denver International Airport, from SolarDave blog Tesla Roadster recharging at Denver International Airport, from SolarDave blog](https://images.hgmsites.net/med/tesla-roadster-recharging-at-denver-international-airport-from-solardave-blog_100305293_m.jpg)
Tesla Roadster recharging at Denver International Airport, from SolarDave blog
Early adopters are expected to adapt their lives to the limited range of their electric vehicles, according to a New York City study that suggested large numbers of public charging points won't be needed. In this case, the owner is taking advantage of a "free" plug.
At a commercial rate of about 9 cents per kilowatt-hour, a 50-kWh recharge would cost $4.50 (if we've correctly understood Xcel's remarkably opaque electricity rate information). Meanwhile, parking at DIA costs $18 per day in the East and West Garages.
The photos come to us courtesy of the SolarDave blog, which questioned whether the owner was recharging illegally--and wondered what would happen if an airport employee unplugged the Tesla, leaving a dead car to be picked up on the owner's return.
We just have two questions of our own to add:
(1) Did the owner's trip take long enough to recharge the Roadster's 53-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack on 110-Volt current? Tesla's high-voltage recharger is fast enough to charge the pack overnight, but a full recharge at 110 Volts could take a few days.
(2) Since it's a photo from Denver, was this owner one of the lucky ones who got a $42,000 tax credit from Colorado for purchasing a 2009 Tesla Roadster?