For years, car manufacturers have thrown around ideas for gas-free cars, but most have gone nowhere quickly. General Motors introduced a fully electric car in 1996 that was scrapped a few years later, Honda recently unveiled a hydrogen-powered vehicle that cost a mere, oh, $1 million apiece to build, and Toyota's next-generation Prius has a fully electric mode with enough juice to carry you all of seven miles (no zeroes omitted). For big auto companies, the thought of a gas-free vehicle that actually resembles a car seems worlds away.
But for one high-profile start-up, fully electric cars are hardly a dream. Elon Musk -- the same guy who co-founded PayPal and later sold it to eBay -- has built a car that is likely making Detroit sweat bullets by the gallon.
Tesla Motors, based in Silicon Valley, recently began selling its first production car, the Roadster. Beyond its stylish looks, Tesla's top selling points are downright revolutionary:
There's absolutely no gasoline. The car is 100% electric. This isn't a hybrid, folks.
It can go roughly 221 miles on a single 3.5-hour charge.
Zero to 60 MPH in 3.9 seconds, enough to put many Ferraris to shame.
Top speed is 125 MPH.
The base price -- $109,000 -- isn't for the squeamish, but cheaper models are on the way (more on that below).
The Motley Fool
News
Discussions
Resources
Members
For years, car manufacturers have thrown around ideas for gas-free cars, but most have gone nowhere quickly. General Motors introduced a fully electric car in 1996 that was scrapped a few years later, Honda recently unveiled a hydrogen-powered vehicle that cost a mere, oh, $1 million apiece to build, and Toyota's next-generation Prius has a fully electric mode with enough juice to carry you all of seven miles (no zeroes omitted). For big auto companies, the thought of a gas-free vehicle that actually resembles a car seems worlds away.
