Tesla to Stop Building the Roadster in 2011

In brief: As hinted at earlier, when Tesla Motors filed for their S-1 to go public, the company plans to stop production on the Roadster and Roadster Sport in 2011.

Vehicle in the news

Make/Model: Roadster / Roadster Sport
Manufacturer: Tesla Motors

The word

An unnamed supplier for the Roadster, according to Tesla's IPO filing, will be retooling and no longer able to supply Tesla. Thus the company no longer plans to sell the current-generation Roadster after 2011.

This can be read several ways. The "current generation" wording certainly smacks of a redesign. Since the current Roadster is built in England by Lotus - being a Lotus Elise without an engine or drive train - it's likely that Lotus plans to change the design of the base car in a fundamental enough way that Tesla won't be able to use it without also making big changes.

With the Model S due to enter production in 2012, the company may be planning to just float from the Roadster to the new S rather than go through the R&D necessary to re-design the Roadster.

Or perhaps they have something else up their sleeves. Maybe a new Roadster design? Something all in-house like the S?

That could also be the case. It's hard to tell.

And so ...

Either way, if you want a Roadster, you'd better order one now before they're gone.

Photo credits: Tesla Motors

Tesla Electric Cars

Tesla Motors is one of the more well known of the American electric vehicle makers. Headed by former PayPal® CEO Elon Musk, the company produces the Roadster and Roadster Sport electric coupes. As the premier EV maker in the U.S., however, Tesla has plans beyond this car.

The Tesla Roadster

The Roadster and its higher-performance Sport version are icons of the electric car world. These cars are Lotus Elise rolling chassis ("sleds" with no powertrain) fitted with Tesla's electric propulsion system - motor, controller, batteries - and rebranded with Tesla's corporate logo.

The two-seat sports coupe is capable of very fast speeds (0-60mph in about 3.9 seconds; 3.7 for the Sport) and up to 220 miles in range per charge.

The cars will cease production in 2012 when Lotus re-designs the Elise, making them no longer available to Tesla.

Future of Electric Cars

So what is the future of electric cars? Good question and the answer will depend upon who you ask. Some believe that all vehicles will eventually become electric. Others think that EVs will only be a stepping stone to another, better technology. Most agree that however you slice it, the battery and how fast battery technology advances will determine the future of electric vehicles.

Not All Batteries Are Equal

There are several types of batteries for electric cars. Most people know of lithium-ion, some are probably aware of Nickel-Metal Hydrirde (NiMH), but most are not aware that fuel cells are also a type of battery.

Various forms of li-ion batteries have been and are being developed and tested. Lithium-iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) is currently the most common battery being used in electric vehicles (hybrids, all electrics). The trouble with any type of chemical battery like li-ion or NiMH is that they can only store so much power and release it so quickly.

This means that there is a size and weight limit to the batteries you can put into a passenger car before they became too heavy and begin negating their own gains. In other words, the batteries eventually cancel themselves out as they no longer increase range.

The price of batteries is also high and will likely remain so for quite a while. Not just the purchase price, but the overall price. Li-ion batteries have a limited lifespan when sued as an EV power source and will require replacement. Even best-case scenarios put this at every 7 years (many say 5) and at a cost of about 25-50% of the electric vehicle's overall price tag. That's not inexpensive.

It's for this reason that most major car manufacturers are looking into fuel cells (mainly hydrogen) as an alternative to batteries. A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is basically an electric car using H2 and a fuel cell as its battery. Instead of plugging it into an outlet to get more electricity, you refill a hydrogen tank.

Mini Cooper Electric

The BMW Mini Cooper Electric, or Mini E, is an all electric version of the popular Mini Cooper compact car. The E is fully electric and sports the following specs:

• 150kW power
• 220Nm torque
• 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds
• Lithium-ion batteries at 35kWh
• Range up to 156 miles per charge (104 miles average)

The car requires between 3 and 26 hours to charge. 3-4.5 hours if using 240 volts and 26.5 hours if using 110 volts.

The Mini E is currently in field trials in several countries, including select cities in the U.S. The trials include leases to drivers who are using the cars daily and reporting results to both BMW and the world at large via websites and blogs.

So far, these trails have proved several things about the Mini E design and BMW's technology. Despite the trials, however, BMW has made it clear that a production electric E is not going to happen. Despite there appearing to be a good market for these EVs, the size of the vehicle makes it untenable for market acceptance as an electric. To get the range the E has, a lot of interior space and storage was taken by the batteries.