The Tesla Roadster is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) sports car produced by the electric car firm Tesla Motors. The Roadster is one of the few highway-capable electric automobiles for sale to the public in 2010, and Tesla delivered around 900 cars to customers in the United States and Europe by December 2009,[4] with production reaching 1,000 cars in January 2010.
The Roadster is the first production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production BEV (all-electric) to travel more than 200 miles (320 km) per charge.[7] The world distance record of 501 km (311 mi) for a production electric car on a single charge was set by a Roadster on October 27, 2009 during the Global Green Challenge in outback Australia.
According to an independent analysis from the U.S. EPA, the Roadster can travel 244 miles (393 km) on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery pack, and can accelerate from 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) in 3.7 seconds. The Roadster's efficiency, as of September 2008, was reported as 120 mpgge (2.0 L/100 km). It uses 135 Wh/km (21.7 kWh/100 mi or 490 kJ/km) battery-to-wheel, and has an efficiency of 92% on average.
The Roadster has a net base price of US$101,500[11] after a $7,500 U.S. federal tax credit is discounted ($109,000 MRSP price), and there are other tax credits and incentives in several states. The Roadster has a base price of £86,950 in the UK and €84,000 in continental Europe. As an electric vehicle, the Roadster also qualifies for several government incentives throughout Europe.

Development

The Roadster was developed by Tesla Motors to mass produce AC Propulsion's tzero concept car. The production idea was conceived by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning who were then joined by financier Elon Musk; Musk currently (2009) serves as Tesla's Chairman, CEO and Product Architect.[18][19] He has said that he aimed to incorporate touches from his two favorite kinds of cars—Porsche and McLaren.[20] British sports car maker Lotus helped with basic chassis development. The Roadster has a parts overlap of roughly 6 percent with the Lotus Elise. Tesla's designers chose to construct the body panels using resin transfer molded carbon fiber composite to minimize weight; this choice makes the Roadster one of the least expensive cars with an entirely carbon fiber skin.
Initially, Tesla Motors licensed AC Propulsion's EV Power System design and Reductive Charging patent which covers integration of the charging electronics with the inverter, thus reducing mass, complexity, and cost. Tesla Motors then designed and built its own power electronics, motor, and other drivetrain components that incorporated this licensed technology from AC Propulsion. Given the extensive redevelopment of the vehicle, Tesla Motors no longer licenses any proprietary technology from AC Propulsion. The Roadster's powertrain is unique.
Several prototypes of the Tesla Roadster were produced from 2004 through 2007. Initial studies were done in two "test mule" vehicles based on Lotus Elises equipped with all-electric drive systems. Ten Engineering Prototypes (EP1 through EP10) which led to many minor changes were then built and tested in late 2006 and early 2007. Tesla then produced at least 26 Validation Prototypes (VP1 through VP26) which were delivered beginning in March, 2007. These final revisions were endurance and crash tested in preparation for series production.
In January, 2008, the NHTSA announced that it would grant a waiver of the advanced air bag rule noting that the Tesla Roadster already includes standard air bags; similar waivers have been granted to many other small volume manufacturers as well, including Lotus, Ferrari, and Bugatti.

[edit]Production

Interior

Tesla cumulative production of the Roadster reached 1,000 cars in January 2010. The Roadster is an American car with a vehicle identification number common to all cars considered American manufactured, but it has parts from around the world. The body panels come from French supplier Sotira. These are sent from France to Hethel, U.K., where Tesla contracts with Lotus to build the Roadster's unique chassis. The Roadster shares roughly 6 percent of its components with the Lotus Elise; shared components include the windshield, air bags, some tires, some dashboard parts, and suspension components. The Roadster's single-speed gearbox is made in Detroit to Tesla's specifications by Auburn Hills, Mich.-based supplier Borg Warner. Brakes and airbags are made by Siemens in Germany, and some crash testing was conducted at Siemens as well.
For Roadsters bound for customers in North America, the chassis is then sent to Menlo Park, California, for final assembly. For Roadsters bound for customers in Europe or elsewhere outside of North America, the chassis is sent to a facility near Hethel, U.K., for final assembly. At these final assembly locations, Tesla employees install the entire powertrain, which consists of the battery pack, power electronics module, gearbox and motor. Tesla also performs rigorous "pre-delivery inspection" on every car before customers take ownership.

History of production

Subsequent to completion of production car number one at Hethel, the company announced problems with transmission reliability. The development transmission, with first gear enabled to accelerate 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) in 4 seconds, was reported to have a life expectancy of as low as only a few thousand miles. Tesla Motors' first two transmission suppliers were unable to produce transmissions, in quantity, that could withstand the gear-shift requirements of the high torque, high rpm electric motor. In December, 2007, Tesla Motors announced plans to ship the initial Roadsters with the transmissions locked into second gear to provide 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) acceleration in 5.7 seconds. The first production car was not delivered with this interim solution; P1 has both transmission gears enabled. According to the plan, the initial transmissions will be swapped out under warranty when the finalized transmission, power electronics module (PEM), and cooling system becomes available. The EPA range of the car was also restated downward from 245 to 221 miles (394 to 356 km). The downward revision was attributed to an error in equipment calibration at the laboratory that conducted the original test.

  • During the first two months of production, Tesla produced a total of three Roadsters (P3/VINF002, P4/VINF004, and P5/VINF005). Production car # 1 (P1) and P2 were built prior to the start of regular series production, which began March 17, 2008.
  • By September 10, 2008, Tesla had delivered 27 of the cars to customers. It was also reported that a newer, better transmission had been developed and that production of the car was hoped to reach 20 per week by December, 2008, and 40 per week by March, 2009. Over the next 20 days, however, only 3 more cars had been delivered to customers which brought the total to 30 as of September 30, 2008.
  • By November 19, 2008, more than 70 of the cars had been delivered to customers.
  • By December 9, 2008, the 100th car had been delivered to its customer.
  • By February 11, 2009, 200 Roadsters had been produced.
  • By April 2, 2009, 320 Roadsters had been delivered.
  • In May 2009, Tesla issued a safety recall for all 345 of its Roadsters that were manufactured before April 22, 2009. Tesla sent technicians to customers' homes to tighten the rear, inner hub flange bolts. Tesla Motors told customers that without this adjustment, the driver could lose control of the car and crash. The problem originated at the Lotus assembly line that builds the Roadster and Lotus is also recalling some of its own vehicles. Tesla reminded customers that millions of cars are recalled every year.
  • By the end of May 2009, the 500th Roadster had been delivered.
  • Tesla made its first profit ever in July 2009, when it shipped 109 vehicles, the most ever so far for a single month.
  • By September 15, 2009, 700 Roadsters had been delivered.
  • Tesla announced on January 13, 2010 that it had produced its 1,000th Roadster. The company has delivered vehicles to customers in 43 states and 21 countries worldwide. In 2009 Tesla began taking orders from customers in Canada, and Canadian deliveries began in February 2010.
  • In January 2010, Tesla began producing its first right-hand-drive Roadsters for the UK and Ireland. The 2010 model-year right-hand-drive Roadster includes a suite of unique noise-reduction materials and an upgraded sound system. The Roadster starts at £86,950 and costs about 1.5p per mile, compared to as much as 32p per mile for petrol-powered sports cars, based on current UK petrol prices including VAT. Roadster drivers do not have to pay the London congestion charge, saving up to nearly £1,700 annually. They can park for free and without time limits in various London boroughs, they get four hours of free charging at certain parking sites, and they are exempt from the forthcoming Showroom Tax of £950.
  • On 29 January 2010, in a Form S-1 filing of its preliminary prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company stated that it would halt production of the Roadster in 2011 and replace it with a new model which would not be introduced until 2013 at the earliest: "...we do not plan to sell our current generation Tesla Roadster after 2011 due to planned tooling changes at a supplier for the Tesla Roadster, and we do not currently plan to begin selling our next generation Tesla Roadster until at least one year after the launch of the Model S, which is not expected to be in production until 2012...
  • On 16 March 2010, Tesla Motors announced that it had "negotiated agreements with key suppliers that will increase total Roadster production by 40 percent and extend sales into 2012", also indicating that it would expand into the Asian and Australian markets by 2011.

 
Make a Free Website with Yola.