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If there's a more entertaining show about cars in the world than the BBC's Top Gear, I've never seen it. Which is why we're psyched to see them take on the Tesla Electric Roadster.
Tesla, the electronic auto maker, has just stated that it needs a $US350,000,000 government loan in order to produce their upcoming four-door Model S Sedan.
The Tesla dealership is quiet as a cage of sleeping panthers. A pack of the electric roadsters, in varying degrees of grey, are strewn across the show floor looking 200kph standing still. I imagine most of them are awaiting for a venture capitalist to pick them up and take them from meeting to meeting for the rest of their uneventful lives. But outside is a bright blue roadster ready for the 10 minutes Telsa and God have handed me. This is my long awaited drive in the Tesla roadster.
Popular Mercedes tuner Brabus has designed a Tesla modding package which adds — among other things — fake engine sounds to make up for the Roadster's silent electric motor. You can opt for a traditional v-8 engine sound, a race car sound or even two "futuristic landscape" settings that may or may not make your Tesla sound like George Jetson's spacewagon. You also get a few trim additions, some interior tweaks and, oh god, groundlighting. The whole package might be gaudy, but the fake engine sounds take the tacky cake. I'll say it: they're the electric supercar equivalent of spinner hubcaps. [NextAutos]
We've seen Tesla crashes before, but none as severe as this current one. How did this one happen? A sales director was showing a potential buyer how the super fast, super cool electric gadgety vehicle cannot take wet turns at over 160kph. Better showing than telling, we always say. Luckily neither suffered extensive injuries. Who's up for trying it again at 150kph? [Wrecked Exotics via Jalopnik]
Fresh off a pretty huge round of layoffs, their Detroit office closure and a flurry of rumours about their solvency, Tesla Motors has been promised $US40m in financing. Considering the fact that Elon Musk, mildly successful space invader and the owner of the company, had admitted just a few weeks ago that the company only had about $US9m in bank, this new investment probably means the difference between customers getting their cars on time and Tesla, well, dissolving. So, Tesla, you've got your money — can we have our sedan, please? [NYT]
After laying off 90% of its Detroit staff, it seems that Tesla needs to keep the idea that they are still alive and eager to release their Tesla Model S sedan, even while it's going to be delayed until they get some money from the US Department of Energy. What you can see here is their chief designer von Holzhausen lifting the veil from the back of the $US60,000 four-door electric car. [Business Week via World Car Fans]
Martin Eberhard, former CEO and co-founder of Tesla Motors, was surprisingly frank in a recent blog post about a major shortcoming with his new Tesla Roadster. Soon after receiving his vehicle, Eberhard noticed that the ESS pump runs coolant through the battery all the time—even when turned off (so long as it is half charged).
Tesla Motors is finally rolling out its long-awaited single-speed transmission for the all-electric Tesla Roadster, which will pare down durability issues while upping torque and range. The new gearbox, made by transmission whiz kids Borg Warner, lets the Roadster hit its promised zero to 100 time of 4.0 seconds while upping travel distance to 392km per charge.
Japanese guitarist Merce Death set up his Tesla coil to output the frequencies of his electric guitar so even the wussiest John Mayer song would sound badass. He busts out a little 'Sweet Child O' Mine' at 1:05, but alas, not a hint of 'Your Body is a Wonderland.' [