Tesla Roadster News

  • 2011 LIberty E-Range SUV

    If you’re a regular visitor to this site, you’ll know that we’ve said before that making a good electric car is hard, even for large automakers like Ford, Nissan, Toyota and Chevrolet. As for turning a production gasoline or diesel car into an electric one? It’s a whole different level of tough. Which is why we went with an open mind to test-drive the E-Range, a prototype fully electric SUV conversion based on a Range Rover. Made by Liberty E-Cars, a U.K. based firm with grand designs to use its patented electric drivetrain system to convert a U.S. made SUV into an...

  • 2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5
    Musk: If You Want a Tesla Roadster, You’d Better Hurry Up

    Californian electric auto maker Tesla Motors might be in the final stages of bringing its 2012 Model S luxury sedan to market, but if you want to own one of its iconic two-seat roadsters you’ll need to order one soon. According to vivacious Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the firm is just a few months...

  • 2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5
    CEO Musk: 2011 Tesla Roadster Electric Sports Cars Are Gone, Almost

    The Tesla Roadster hasn't been front-page news for electric cars in a while, now that several mass-market family electric cars have launched. So as Tesla moves its focus to the upcoming Model S electric sedan, production of its first electric model is beginning to wind down as planned, so supplies...

  • Pump handle
    What Would You Give Up For Higher Gas Mileage? Cash? Features? Safety?

    It happens every time. Gas prices go up sharply, and new car buyers suddenly decide that gas mileage is important--and shop accordingly. With gas around $4 a gallon in many parts of the country, what would you trade for higher miles per gallon? Would you pay more? Would you buy a smaller car than...

  • Stevens Pass Electric Car Charging Point Launch
    Want to Take Your Electric Car Skiing? Now You Can (Video)

    Forgive us for saying so, but most electric car owners live in urban or suburban areas, using their cars to get themselves and their family to work or school, or perhaps running errands throughout the day. Most days, the car will end the day with charge to spare. But what if you could use your...

  • Miata EV conversion
    Tesla Fun For THINK Prices? The EV Mazda Miata Conversion

    If we said you could own an electric car that offered four-fifths the fun of a 2012 Tesla Roadster 2.5 for less than a fifth the price, you might think we'd been illicitly inhaling gasoline fumes on the side. What you might not know is how close we are to the truth, and one that comes in the shape...

  • 2011 Volkswagen Bulli Concept live photos

    The 2011 Geneva Motor Show in March brought a number of new models out of the closet. But for the green car fan, two concepts were the gems of the show: the return of the legendary Volkswagen Microbus, and an electric sports car from Nissan that just might be affordable. Bulli for the Microbus The Volkswagen Bulli concept is the second iteration of VW's styling exercise to reincarnate the spirit of the long gone Microbus. The name refers to the German model designation for what was formally known as the Volkswagen Type 2. In Geneva, the Bulli was presented as an electric vehicle with a...

  • Delta E-4 Eco Prototype
    First Drive Report: Delta Motorsport E-4 Electric Coupe

    On Monday we showed you the first pictures of the Delta E-4 Electric Coupe, an all-electric sports car designed and built by Delta Motorsport. Now it’s time to bring you our very own first person report from behind the wheel at the iconic Silverstone racetrack, home to the British Grand Prix...

  • Earth Day: Eager Electric-Car Advocates Meet Unaware Public

    Three weeks ago, in a suburban park in Roseville, California--just outside the state capital, Sacramento--a community celebration of Earth Day served as a gathering of the greenest cars now available. Both participants and random park-goers were drawn to the cars, providing a chance for eager...

  • 2010 Jaguar C-X75 Concept live photos
    The Fastest, Coolest, Sexiest Supercars Now Come With Plugs

    Supercars: sleek, blindingly fast, ultra-expensive objects of lust for 14-year-old boys and sober-suited executives alike. For decades, supercars were powered solely by gasoline. But now there's a new gang in town, and they've upended all the rules. The newest, coolest, most jaw-dropping supercars...

  • Sign on Vacaville, California, DC fast charger for electric cars, May 2011
    What Good Is Fast-Charging For Electric Cars If It's Closed?

    Vacaville, California, has the distinction of the very first public Level 3 or DC quick charging station for electric cars to be installed in the United States. It was first activated in late May 2010, and was used very soon after for a small fleet of Mitsubishi i-MIEV models to make a trip from...

  • Elon Musk
    Tesla Motors might seek additional funding for third electric car

    Tesla Motors, [NSDQ:TSLA] the company behind the Roadster electric vehicle, might look for additional funding from equity sales to help pay for development of its third electric car — the sport utility vehicle styled Model X — according to the company’s CEO Elon Musk. The company...

  • Tesla Branded Kids Clothing

    Here’s a question. Would you put your kids in branded clothes for a $109,000 sports car? If you answered yes, then we think that’s the answer Silicon-Valley electric car firm Tesla Motors is hoping for after it has quietly launched a new line of clothing aimed specifically at those way too young to have a driver’s license, yet alone own a Tesla Roadster. For the budding Elon Musks out there, Tesla’s latest line of apparel caters for babies through to toddlers and tweenies, with a selection of designer tops designed to go with daddy’s (or mommie’s)...

  • J1772 Tesla Mobile Connector
    The Price of Conformity: Tesla’s $750 J1772 Charge Adaptor

    As those who purchased Betamax when everyone else was choosing VHS will tell you, being at the cutting edge of technology is sometimes very, very expensive. The latest victims of “early-adopter light-wallet syndrome” aren’t buying a new video collection though: they’re...

  • 2011 Tesla Roadster Sport. Photo by Joe Nuxoll.
    Tesla V Top Gear: Top Gear’s Track Record With Electric Cars

    It’s been two weeks since Californian electric automaker filed papers against the BBC’s Top Gear for libel in relation to a segment the popular entertainment show did on Tesla’s all-electric Roadster back in 2008. By now you’re probably familiar with the details of the case...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf plugged into an EVgo quick-charging station, Texas
    First Private Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open In Texas

    NRG Energy has opened its first eVgo direct-current electric vehicle charging station in Dallas, Texas, as part of a privately funded 70-station network in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the company announced. The chargers are designed to be “fast-chargers,” which use a 480-volt direct...

  • DBM Energy Audi A2 Electric Car
    It’s Official: DBM Energy’s Electric Car Battery Is Real

    Remember the controversial 2010 Audi A2 converted by German battery firm DBM Energy? The car hit the headlines last year when it apparently travelled 375 miles on a single charge. Powered by the latest battery technology, the car’s creators even claimed a 6 minute recharge time. But before...

  • 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV Prototype
    2012 Toyota RAV4 EV Prototype: First Drive

    Just a year ago, seeing the 'RAV4, Powered by Tesla' startup greeting would have been almost unthinkable. Yet last May, Toyota and Tesla inked a deal that took the industry by surprise—and left a lot of observers scratching their heads. And nearly eleven months since that deal—and nine...

  • Erik Comas Wins Fifth Monte Carlo Alternative Energy Rally for Tesla

    There’s something quite fun about winning a competition two years in a row, especially if you’re preoccupied with impending court cases. So when its sexy two seat all-electric Roadster sport romped home in first place at the Fifth Monte Carlo Alternative Energy Rally Tesla’s board of directors must have felt particularly euphoric. Driven by former F1 driver Erik Comas, the $109,000 sports car beat a field of more than 100 competitors to claim victory in the final stage of the event which took place on Sunday. The Fifth Monte Carlo Alternative Energy Rally traces the route of...

  • Tesla versus Top Gear
    Top Gear Producer Says Tesla's Libel Suit Is Bogus

    Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla says BBC TV show Top Gear falsely stated that the Tesla Roadster could only travel 55 miles before needing to recharge, according to Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman. Wilman said the team behind Top Gear, a show that touts the latest and greatest cars...

  • Tesla versus Top Gear
    Tesla Sues Top Gear For Libel Against All-Electric Roadster

    About two years ago BBC’s Top Gear aired a test drive of the then relatively new Tesla Roadster. While this was seen as a major boon for Tesla, the light shone on its all-electric sports car by the popular show was somewhat less than flattering. In fact, it was rather downbeat. What makes the...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevy Volt, with charging station visible; photo by George Parrott
    Electric Cars: How the 2011 Nissan Leaf & 2011 Chevy Volt Differ

    Not all electric cars are the same. Buyers can now choose between "pure" battery electric vehicles and a car with a combination power train termed either a range-extended electric vehicle, which uses a gasoline engine to generate electricity to run the car, or a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) that adds...

  • 2011 Tesla Roadster Sport. Photo by Joe Nuxoll.
    Tesla Triumphs with Ten Million Miles Travelled Since Launch

    Ten million miles. That’s the achievement being celebrated by Tesla Motors after its customers have clocked up 10 million miles of low emissions, all-electric driving since the Tesla launched its two seat sportscar in 2008. Since delivering its first Roadster in 2008, Tesla has sold over 1500...

  • 2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5
    Tesla Says “G’Day” to Australian East Coast With 1,864 Mile Trek

    Eighteen months after Australian Tesla roadster early adopter Simon Hackett broke the world record for the longest distance travelled in a production electric vehicle Tesla Australia is planning a 3,000 kilometer (1,864 mile) trek along the country’s east coast After receiving official...

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