Roadster Tesla Roadster sets world EV record of 313 miles on single charge

[HighestOfHigh]

PRESS RELEASE:

Tesla Roadster travels 313 miles on a single charge in what appears to be new world record

Competing in Australia's Global Green Challenge, Customer Simon Hackett's red Roadster goes from Alice Springs to Coober Pedy with 3 miles left on the charge.

Coober Pedy, South Australia -- (Oct. 27, 2009) – Tesla Roadster owner Simon Hackett and co-driver Emilis Prelgauskas completed 313 miles (501 km) in a Tesla Roadster on a single charge – a distance that appears to set a new record for a production electric vehicle.

Hackett and Prelgauskas are driving Hackett's red 2008 Roadster as part of the 10th annual Global Green Challenge, one of the most high-profile rallies worldwide for alternative fuel cars. Hackett is providing updates in real time on his blog.

The pair drove from Alice Springs, in the Australian Northern Territory, to the finish marker at a point 183 km north of Coober Pedy, in South Australia. They had an estimated 3 miles left on the charge at the finish marker.

The previous distance record for an electric vehicle was set in April, when another Roadster was the only vehicle to complete the entire, 241-mile Rallye Monte Carlo d'Energies Alternatives. It had an estimated 38 miles left on the charge.

The Tesla Roadster is the first production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production EV with a range greater than 200 miles (320 km) per charge. Tesla has delivered about 900 Roadsters to customers so far.

Hackett sent Tesla the following note before going to bed last night:

"Emilis and I have decades of experience flying gliders competitively and we applied the same energy conservation techniques to our driving, with significant results! The car had about 3 miles of range left when the drive was completed. We travelled 501km on a single charge. Let that sink in for a minute.

"The security seal was applied to the charge port door when we started the journey. As this is being done as part of the Global Green Challenge, we have a full set of official verifiers here who will attest to the results and to achieving the outcome. We were followed along the journey by our support crew and a documentary film crew - so we have it on film.

"It's late here and we have another 541k to drive (with an intermediate charge stop) tomorrow - and another two days of the event left after that. When we're done, we will have driven over 3000 km's in the Roadster over the course of only six days, from Darwin to Adelaide.

- Tesla Roadster sets world EV record of 313 miles on single charge — Autoblog

 

[Wolfgang]

UK Tesla superfan goes 772 miles from London to Lands End in a Roadster

by Domenick Yoney (RSS feed) on Jun 28th, 2010 at 9:57AM

Tesla Roadster London to Land's End road trip – Click above for high-res image gallery​

Recently, Vauxhall sent an Ampera – that's the Chevy Volt with a strong British accent – on a 170-mile press release promenade and declared that they were undertaking, and we quote, the "longest single road trip ever for an electric vehicle in the UK." Putting aside the fact that 130 of those miles would be spent consuming E85 and that the Racing Green Endurance team had already completed both a 264 mile double-lap trip around London and a similarly lengthy trip to Paris before the Vauxhall junket, someone else made a real-life road trip even earlier in the month. Of course, they might be forgiven for being unaware of this odyssey since it wasn't trumpeted by a press release. It was merely the culmination of one Tesla fan's desire to spend some quality time with the vehicle he had long admired, the Tesla Roadster. While it didn't make headlines, a lengthy account of this jaunt did make it onto the internetz and so we share it with you.

The short version goes something like this. Super-fan David Peilow somehow talked Tesla into letting him take possession of a Roadster for a few days. Combining work with pleasure, he motored on down to Land's End – the iconic southern-most tip of the main British Isle – and back, meeting friends and family members along the way. Many rides were given and many minds were changed. As well as being on the receiving end of stranger's cameras on the road, David took full advantage of his matte-black-wrapped loaner's photogenic nature himself, finding many opportunities to snap images for his own collection – a selection of which await you in the gallery below. You can read a full accounting of the 772-mile trek here (take that, 170!) and tell us where you would take the Tesla on a road trip in the comments after the break.


Gallery: Tesla Roadster London to Lands End road trip




[Source: Tesla Motors Club]

 

[Rainer271]

Elon Musk says 500-mile range car could happen 'quite soon'

Says Tesla will launch only full electric vehicles
In an interview to Auto Express, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk said a 500-mile range car could be launched "quite soon."

The Tesla Model S fitted with an 85 kWh battery pack can provide a maximum range of 265 miles (426 km) which is quite reasonable by today's standards but the company's CEO Elon Musk says in the years to come we should expect a Tesla model with a range of as much as 500 miles (805 km). He says such a range would be possible "quite soon" but would increase the car's price tag.

Asked by Auto Express whether there will ever be a Tesla-badged hybrid model, Elon Musk said the company will always stick to full electric cars and to the development of battery technology. In the upcoming Model III (estimated to start at 35,000 USD), the batteries will last for more than 200 miles (322 km) while owners of the Roadster will have the possibility for a battery upgrade increasing range to 400 miles (644 km).

Elon Musk also talked about autonomous driving saying that he wants people to enjoy driving their cars and he believes people can react better to different circumstances compared to computers which are prone to various problems. For this reason, Tesla will focus on launching affordable EVs featuring technology that can make the driver's life easier without resorting to autonomous systems.

Source: autoexpress.co.uk

 

[Tourbillon]

Three Brand-New, Undriven Tesla Roadsters Were Just Discovered in Shipping Containers!

Back in 2010, a Chinese buyer bought these three Tesla Roadsters but never took delivery. Now, you can own them.

MAY 2, 2023

Three Brand-New, Undriven Tesla Roadsters Were Just Discovered in Shipping Containers

Back in 2010, a Chinese buyer bought these three Tesla Roadsters but never took delivery. Now, you can own them.

www.roadandtrack.com

"A trio of brand-new, never-driven 2010 Tesla Roadsters have been found abandoned in a shipping container in China. Now, they're coming up for sale.

According to Gruber Motor Company, a Tesla service center handling the sale, the U.S.-spec cars were originally ordered by a Chinese buyer in 2010 but were abandoned. The cars have been sitting in shipping containers at a Chinese port since, untouched and accruing storage charges.

The three cars, a Radiant Red Sport Roadster, a Very Orange Sport Roadster, and a Very Orange Base Model Roadster, come packaged with unopened boxes in the trunks and large external boxes paired to each car, which Gruber Motor Company speculates are brand-new charging cables and hard tops with carrying cases.

The Roadsters are still in China, but will be shipped to Arizona-based Gruber Motor Company in mid-May if the cars aren't purchased before that. Gruber says it doesn't know how many miles are on the car's odometers, or if the battery packs will accept a charge after 13 years of sitting. It plans to do a full technical review once the cars arrive.

Right now the seller is only accepting offers, and would prefer to sell them as a set, though according to the listing, can be convinced to sell them separately. If you're tired of waiting for your 2020 Tesla Roadster to arrive, this is a fascinating alternative that, unlike the new car, actually exists."

Please note additional photographs are within the link.