Tesla Roadster: The end of an era

The Tesla Roadster is nearing the end of its production run.

By

Melissa Hincha-Ownby

Thu, Jun 23 2011 at 2:11 PM

Related Topics:

Electric Vehicles, Tesla Roadster

Photo: randychiu/Flickr

Tesla Motors is preparing to close one door in its history while opening another; production on the Tesla Roadster luxury electric vehicle is nearing its end. The automaker plans to stop production on the Roadster in the next two months so that it can focus on the upcoming Tesla Model S sedan.

The super sporty Roadster was the perfect vehicle for someone that has both an eco-conscious and a need for speed. The $109,000 all-electric vehicle has a zero to 60 miles per hour time of less than four seconds and an approximate driving range of 250 miles per charge.

Tesla’s new vehicle, the Model S sedan, is quite a bit different from the Roadster. The vehicle still has sleek lines and a sporty look but the car can seat five adults and two children, five more passengers than the Roadster. Although the vehicle is larger, can seat more passengers and has ample cargo space, it still has a zero to 60 time of 5.6 seconds with a 120 mph top speed.

The Tesla Model S will come with three different battery pack options: 160, 230 or 300-mile range packs. Each battery pack will come with a 45-minute QuickCharge, perfect for recharging while on the go.

The base price of the 160-mile range battery model is $49,900, after the $7,500 Federal Tax Credit. The 230-mile range vehicle will cost about $10,000 more and the 300-mile option comes with a $20,000 premium. Interested consumers can reserve a Tesla Model S with a $5,000 fully refundable deposit.

For more information, visit the Tesla Motors website.

You might also like:

Join the conversation

Comments: 6

ramonhleigh Jun 24 2011 at 10:04 AM

Tesla didn't "discontinue the roadster to focus on the Model S". Selling the roadster would obviously be no distraction to the development of the model S, since the roadster's development was already completed. The roadster is gone because Lotus got a new contract to produce cars for another company and could no longer build gliders for Tesla. A different roadster will be back, as a Model S dervative, after the Model X, probably 2014.

Log in or register to post comments
Report This Post

taxpayer Jun 23 2011 at 5:26 PM

The Tesla Roadster were sold since last 3 to 4 years and not more than 1500 of these very high cost cars were bought by the rich people. How come the Roadster is catergorized as "end of an era". It's merely a Lotus car with a Li-ion battery pack. The only reason the company is surviving today is, because it received @$500 million from dept of energy (DOE) as stimulus funds!!!! This company is a joke as they are loosing money every quarter, and will file for chapter 11 in the next year. Elon Musk

.... More

will sell his shared, cash out the money and leave to the company to fail. What a waste of our tax dollars!!! Look at Coda automotive they received DOE funds and they are on the path to failure...

Log in or register to post comments
Report This Post

Billy_bob Feb 04 2013 at 10:21 AM

Coda did not receive DOE funds. Look at the history. They applied for them, but withdrew the application when it became clear that they would never receive any.

Log in or register to post comments
Report This Post

Guest Jun 23 2011 at 6:54 PM

Same old misinformed nonsense. The DOE loan has nothing to do with stimulus funds. It's a completely different bucket of money. Tesla only receives that money as a refund for expenses incurred while purchasing equipment for production of the Model S, so how could it be the only reason they are surviving? And of course, a lot of innovation went into the drive train of the Roadster. But of course if you were actually interested in the facts you would have looked into them already. Finally, the companies

.... More

stock has nearly doubled since the IPO less than a year ago. Are you really that much smarter than the market? Your post doesn't seem to indicate it. If you really think they'll go bankrupt please put your money where your mouth is and sell short. I be more than happy to make $$$ while you get squeezed. :)