Tesla Motors has revealed the prototype of its all electric, zero-emission sedan, the Model S. The vehicle can accelerate from 0 – 60 mile per hour in under 6 seconds. It can also reach the top speed of 130 miles per hour. It will feature 17 inch touch-screen 3G connectivity, enabling drivers to access Google Maps and other data. Accordingly to the company, the car’s electrical charge could also be monitored via an iPhone or a laptop.
“This is just the first of many mainstream cars we’re developing,” Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said in a statement. Musk was a co-founder of PayPal and founder of SpaceX.
Tesla hopes that the Model S will ultimately lead to a mass-produced electric vehicle and make its place in the mainstream market. But it all depends on whether Tesla can convince the Department of Energy to provide a $350 million loan to help kick-start the production.
The cost of this green car is said to be similar to a gasoline car with a sticker price of $35,000, once you take into account the lower price of electricity versus the rising cost of gasoline in the future.
The company has estimated that the base model of Model S will stand at $49,000, once federal tax credits of about $75000 are factored in. It will come with a choice of batteries with either a 160m 230 or 300 miles per charge range.
Deliveries of the car are said to begin in 2012.
Tesla’s other product, The Roadster, which is currently in production with a price tag of $109,000 can do 0 – 60 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds and travel 244 miles per charge.
Starting this spring and continuing through 2009, Tesla will open stores in Chicago, London, New York, Miami, Seattle, Washington and Munich.
Google co-founders Larry page and Sergey Brin are major investors in Tesla Motors. Both Page and Brin, who’ve made no secret of their green IT leanings, were early investors in the company.
If Model S enters production, it may have a variety of technologies built in to help meet the commuting IT needs of today’s drivers.
Should the Model S enter production, it may very well have a variety of technologies already in place to help meet drivers’ commuting IT needs.
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