Mr. Liber, 245 miles per charge? If so then that is a significant increase of the 50 I have seen on other electric cars. I can do without the 130 Top Speed (Zero to Lose your Licence in 10 seconds) But an electric car that can go 200 miles on a charge & can hold 75 mph will be a big seller.

The Tesla hasn't been under any real scrutiny yet... but one thing is for certain - if you're accelerating 0-60 in 4 sec's. and traveling at 130 mph, you won't get anywhere CLOSE to the 245 mile range. More like 50. The 245 figure is based on flat driving with very modest acceleration and top speeds of no more than 40-45. Another important factor is it's light weight due to being a "sports car" - a "real" car with "real" room for more than a small duffel bag and the amenities people expect, couldn't do anything close to what the Tesla can do. At this point, it's a high-priced toy for the rich-and-famous, nothing more.

Okay, I've got one more thing to say about electric (battery) cars in general... people always assume that they are "clean". This is only true if you also assume that the electricity to charge the batteries appears out of thin air. The electricity has to be generated somewhere - and likely from some sort of fossil fuel. But in the case of battery cars it can be someplace else (not in MY backyard....) where you don't have to worry about whatever ecological atrocities are being created in its production. The battery car is another excellent example of NIMBYism. "Hey, there's no pollution comin' out of MY tailpipe!"

few points I have picked up from following the electric car over the years...

Electric cars still need power - sometimes from power plants running on coal. In this case you would still be polluting however the pollution would occur at the power plant rather than the tail pipe.

Electric cars have batteries which means pollution from the manufacturing of toxic components in the mass quantity of batteries

I guess the up-side of electric cars is that we will no longer be dependent on oil for gasoline.

No matter what car you drive it will require energy of some sort - so far the cheapest energy available creates the most pollution.

Nuclear power-plants are the future - lets hope we build some more soon

The 245 mile range was computed from the EPA combined driving cycle, same way efficiency ratings are computed for gas cars. This is supposed to simulate typical driving by ordinary people on real highways.

Tesla said when they really lead-footed it, they managed to run the battery down in as little as 165 miles, that was their worst case scenario.

Also, battery powered cars definitely produce less pollution than gas cars. The electric motor is about 3X as efficient as a gasoline engine, so when you do all the math you'll find it's producing less CO2 emissions than the gas car. As the electrical grid gets cleaned up, the numbers will only get better for electric cars.

If an electric car does x number of miles and my vacation plan is x + 500 how do I continue my trip and how long does it take the battery to recharge?

The advantage to electric and hydrogen powered vehicles is that the energy needed to produce these alternate sources can be done in a more controlled environment. Vehicles spend much of their time, "stop and go", which is not only inefficient but where most of the pollution is produced. A vehicle gets its best mileage and produces the least pollution at a steady slow speed.

An energy plant, whether coal, petroleum, nuclear, or ? can be designed to run much more efficiently than any car, even a hybrid. Therefore overall pollution can be greatly reduced by using "dirty" fuels in a plant instead of automobiles.

Plants can also take advantage of wind and solar power where those sources are sufficient. Nevertheless, wind and solar will never produce enough power. Recently the Israelis have made some major breakthroughs in reducing radioactive waste from nuclear production.

I drive an 02 ZO6 Corvette. This car flat flies and on the highway gets an honest 30 MPG and when drivin' like I stole it still gets about 22 and a not so great 14 in stop & go city congestion. Born in the USA cars rule!

There will be electric cars for rent too. You probably will be able to drop one off and pick up another all charged up and waiting for you mid-way through long trips.

So, 98,000 dollars, 0-60 in 4 secs., and 245mi. range. Lets see, 35,000 dollars, 0-60 in 9 secs., and 300 mi. range. If the technology for this car were de-designed to make it "less hot" or more "mom & pop & kids", then the more affordable model might be possible.What? I know first, you have to establish a company with flashy products, wrestle the big bucks from the richos and then you can offer a more affordable model after the profits role in. Why can't some company see the profit in an affordable elctric car. Henry Ford 2008, Where are you?

With electricity you have choices. You can get electricity from wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, tides, nuclear, natural gas, oil, or coal.

With gasoline, you only have one choice; oil. Although you do have a choice of countries that don't much like Americans to buy it from.

There are no panels I can put on my roof to turn sunshine into gasoline.

This is only a first generation electric car, although a very advanced one. Just like the first generation computers, VCRs, cell phones, HDTVs, and every other high tech device, it's expensive. By the third generation, it will become more on par with conventional autos.

Now Chevy, Mitsubishi and a few other car companies are working on getting into EVs as well. With the price of oil going up, this is a good thing!

Why would you vacation in your Ferrarri or Lamborgini? The Tesla is best compared to these exotics. It beats most of them in 1 to 60 times and does it for half the price.
Sure it has a "set of golf clubs" trunk, but one car cannot be all things. A pickup is for hauling, a MiniVan is for kids and family, a sedan is carpooling, and a sports car is for showing off. This one is made in the USA (a factory is being built in New Mexico) and is better for the planet than a Prius.

The telsa brings several things to the table.
One it's a new product that because its different wont sell well on a large scalse, also, even if it was on a large scale produciton, it would be over $30,000, more then most people's pocket books, but getting the product out, even if only for the rich, is the first step to getting people used to a product for future development of more affordable electric cars.
It's not 100% clean as some have pointed out, but power plants are much more efficient at producing electricity then your car uses it's fuel. and their are small percentages of the electricity that are 100% clean 10-15% plus 20% nuclear fission which is still much better then fossil fuels. polluting our atmosphere.
*one last note, electric cars will most likely always be small, even with Lithium ion batteries. my as well make it look good.

Why would you want to take such a tiny car on a 500! mile trip? and even wtih just yourself going, where would you put just your own luggage, this car. If your worried about the money and can't fly or rent/have another car, chances are this $105,000 car was one bad investment for you.

For years I have thought a simple solution to going on a long trip in an electric car is just an engineering issue. Drive into a "battery station", a device reaches up under your vehicle, removes your battery, moves it along on a belt, pops in one fully charged and you drive off.

At McBattery you could order burger, fries, shake and a deluxe super-charge.

Do I get royalties for the idea?