A funny thing happened at work today.

I was installing a charger for Tesla electric cars when a woman in a new Tesla S pulled into the parking lot. My friend John and I approached to ask her to show us the charger connection port so we would have a better idea of how we could place the charger for best access. She was very accommodating and answered all of our questions. We thanked her and prepared to get back to work when she said "I'm going to be in the store for a while, do you want to take it for a ride?" !!!!

Mind you, this a $100,000 + car which can rival Ferraris and Lamborghinis in performance. There is a scene in the movie "Ferris Buhler's day off" that reminds me of how we felt about this...Lol. I'd never experienced 0-60 mph (0-96 kmph) in less than 4 seconds before. It was definitely an experience I'll never forget.


I've experienced many fine vehicles in my 30 years of driving but this was a different kind of car. Being all electric and battery powered changes what is possible. The car has electric motors at each wheel. The "physics" are different. There is no familiar sensation of the torque of the engine and drivetrain. Traction is monitored and power is distributed for the best possible control. It has no transmission nor gears to shift. Regenerative breaking recharges the battery as you slow the vehicle while providing the same advanced levels of traction control to each wheel. The battery is built into the floor of the body so the center of gravity is very low and widely distributed.

An added bonus is that she charges her batteries from a utility grid-interactive solar system.. She is able to drive it at a "fuel" cost of less than $ 0.05 / mile as compared to a similar capacity petrol powered car getting $0.12 -$0.15. As electric vehicles become more common there will need to be a new of way for collecting road use tax because the US system taxes petroleum fuel. What will it be, a tire tax?

Lol when i first got my license to drive a had a cheap car to get me from a to b. one day my friends sister in law pulled up in a bright red porshe i went wow nice motor! She says if you like take it for a ride (big mistake) 4 hours later after trolling the high street posing lol i got back she freaked out saying she called the cops but couldnt do much becuause she gave me the keys lol
Doggie buellers day off lol

I hope we don't see more toll roads.

Electric vehicles can be pretty cool. They've got great torque, but I still don't like the limited range. I also think that it will encourage the government to look for creative new ways to tax us, and give them even more excuses to limit our mobility. Give me a good old carburetor on a gasoline engine anyday!

That being said, here's an electric drag bike breaking 200mph in the 1/4 mile!

Would love a tesla, bout out of my budget for now

Where is the ride snap, Mcfate. You must have posed a photograph. Let us view it, if you have one.

Maybe you could post some of those facts about the tesla car on the "fun facts" thread

[NLR] The Blue Fighter wrote: Where is the ride snap, Mcfate. You must have posed a photograph. Let us view it, if you have one.

Lol, no I didn't take any pics of the ride. I did take some of the charging port...


Tesla is giving away the chargers to business with a stipend for installation as long as the business agrees to allow users to charge for free. In exchange the business gets a spot on the GPS maps in all Tesla cars. The drivers can stop and charge for free so they often stay and shop or dine while using only about 9 kWh/hour.

What if businesses gave you a gallon (+/-4 litres) / hour to park your car?

Sounds good, but I have my doubts. Businesses will recoup their losses one way or another. Besides the electricity usage the chargers are not cheap. Tesla may be giving some away but if this technology expands there will need to be a lot of chargers available for people to use. Many auto manufacturerers have electric or plug-in hybrids for sale now, and where I work we have 2 charging stations which are fought over. One of them broke last winter and had to be replaced $$$. I do think electric vehicles are in our future, mainly because of the "regenerative braking" feature they have. But people have to still keep in mind that there is no such thing as free energy. It has to come from somewhere, and that may be the key to making this technology successful.