I live in pennsylvania and wondering how this car handles in the snow?

How much reduction to battery life driving in the winter under average conditions.

pghrugger, I haven't driven much in the snow, but I've heard that if you put snow tires on (the OEM tires are not suitable) it's a pretty good snow car. 65% of the weight is on the drive wheels, and it has electronic traction control.

However, if the snow gets deep, you could find yourself with a toboggan as the car has a smooth underbelly. Also, if chains are required you may be in trouble as I believe the official recommendation is to not use chains--there is very little clearance.

From driving in around-freezing weather, I'd guess around a 20% hit to battery from the temps. Of course it depends a lot on how much you run the heater, if you have the top on :-), what speeds you are driving at, etc. Also note that driving in snow is likely to take a further hit because it's harder to plow through--then again, you may be driving at a lower average speed so it may even out.

first i would like to say tesla motors is pure genius, but i have an idea for tesla to try. what if you replaced the nice convertible top on the roadster with solar panels to help the battery life? i think you should still offer the convertible, but just something to think about.

rev;
Been discussed to death on the old boards. The power generated is too weak to contribute more than a few miles per day after sitting in the direct sun. WAY more expensive than it's worth.

Just a suggestion:
Felton, MO has an empty Chrysler plant: 5,000,000 square feet, about 300 acres, in what is called the heartland of the country where it is about a week to ship in any direction. With Toyota and Tesla signing development agreements to develop the HAV4 the empty Chrysler plant might have potential and opportunity.
just a crazy idea.
Sincerely yours,
Bruce Broyles

Bruce;
The New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant in Fremont, Calif., which was formerly operated jointly by Toyota and General Motors Corp., will provide TM with a huge space and ultra-modern plant to expand into. It will be some time before it needs more.

My dream car is a Tesla reminiscent of the Jaguar/hearse in "Harold and Maude" with gold/beige tones and etched rear windows for around $50,000. If you make it - I will buy it.

Would you consider an engineering and information forum, that’s not public? So when certain information or insight is provided its not public domain.

Any way you cut this, a Tesla electric car is a RICH MAN's TOY and simply not available to mainstream Americans.

@wilsonbh; Yes, and?

Tesla is here to make money, not for beneficiary reasons. They make sportcar. The fact that their car happens to be pure BEV just makes it a bit more desirable and also happens to change whole automotive culture at the same time. That money is used to make more money:

Tesla Type S is already affordable to many ordinary people and it is also practical car, not a toy like most two-seater sportcars are. That is the one they will make real money by selling it a lot more.

Then there will be even more affordable "bluestar" which just about anybody can buy. But not quite yet.

wilsonbh: Very insightful comment. Thank you. I had no idea one had to have money to but a car that starts at over $100,000.

dsm363;
wilson clearly hates people with money. There's a lot of that going around.

wilsonbh: All new (consumer) technology is introduced with initially high prices...look at the price a Plasma TV back when they were introduced compared with today...look at the new 3D TV being marketed today...pretty pricey...yet if they catch on, in a few years, the prices will drop.

Why would this not happen with Tesla or EV's in general?

@wilsonbh
The Model S is NOT a rich man's toy any more than a typical car. I am just getting rid of a 2002 Mercury Cougar, which has no special features, analog gauges, etc, etc, is more or less a 2 seater, and I would not compare it in terms of luxury of functionality to the Model S. When all was said and done, over 8 years, that Cougar cost me around $50,000. If you factor in the state and federal tax credits, the Tesla Model S over the same mileage and considering replacement of wear parts actually costs LESS than that a Mercury Cougar

Compare apples to apples
Pick a Lincoln towncar, BMW 5 series, Cadillac or any other car in that series and keep it for 5 years, 60,000 miles

BMS 5 series with a reasonable interior - around 53.5 K, around 7,000 in gas
Tesla in NJ - around 44 K (sales tax exempt), around 1875 in electricity (also you should be aware that some states have much more generous electric car incentives- OK, CO, CA, OR)

Good Luck Tesla,

I hope your company is prosperous in the future. And remember good customer relations leads to prolonged sales and growth. I remember companies in past that had difficulties in this area, and this affected their future. This often required answering questions while both promoting the product and individual pursuing, and often a difficult task.

I’m glad your company is committed to customer relations for success.

I Love This! Everyone who has earned wages for a few years has the option to buy what ever they want. They rationalize for the boat, the $50K pickup, the large screen TV, the 2000 sq ft home. They re finance the house and spend the equity on a vacation cruise. These are not rich people, but your neighbors. Then when someone builds a fantastic nice car, they cry because it costs more than they want to pay. The blue collar people I know drive big Ford and GM and Toyota and Acura SUVs, and guess what? $50K.

Any Tesla owners out there in Central Ohio? I am a part time resident there, but my Tesla is at our winter residence in Naples, Fl. My company, Juice Technologies/Plug Smart, is developing smart charging devices for the PEV world at the Center for Automotive Research at OSU.

Thanks,

Rich

Any Tesla owners near Toronto, ON? If you are nearby or will be on October 17th, you might want to attend EV Fest. Find the details at evfest.ca. Hope to see you there!

Thanks for opening this forum to not-yet-owners! My next car will be a Tesla Roadster, just have to find a way to finance it.

@EVTom_Norway; what, you need to find a way to finance it? You have a Think EV, if you can afford it then half of your finance problems are gone....what do you mean, Think is cheaper? It costs 50kEUR here in Finland. That's half of the price right there. (I would wait for Model S. But I'm not you).

Joking aside, how much did that Think cost to you? They have absolutely ridiculous prices here in Finland, considering that it is basically a bit boosted four-wheeled electric moped with semi-sufficient range for city use. If you can get some sucker to buy your Think here you might get more money out of it than you initially used to buy it. Or not. Don't know. Tolls and everything.

I just hope Model S wont have same ridiculous price increase here too.

eMileage: Thanks for the link. I'm in Niagara and after viewing the website, my wife and I are planning to attend.

There is a chap with a brand new 2.5 in the Toronto area, but I'm not sure if he plans to attend...I'll try to find out & let you know.

Newbie questions: Is there any cargo/storage space in the roadster?
Range-wise if I drive @ 62 MPH what range would I get? Lastly, what is the stowing/setting routine for the top of the roadster?
Please direct me to older forums if that is best.

There is exactly enough trunk room for the soft-top and a golf bag.

If you drove on a freeway with no traffic and cruise control set to 62, top on, no a/c, you would get pretty close to ideal range; 240-250 miles (in range mode). I've done 230 miles at 70mph.

For the soft-top, I unlatch one side, roll it to roughly the middle, take out the plastic reinforcement thingy, and put it inside the roll I just made. Go to the other side of the car and repeat the action. Put it in the recess in the trunk (I often don't bother putting it in the supplied bag). Takes about 40 seconds. To put the top on, reverse the process. There are handy arrows to remind you which end of the rolled up top goes forward. Getting the ends into the right holes and latched is a bit fiddly the first couple of times, but doesn't take very long to get used to.

Greg.

Hmm.....I was just thinking about SOLAR POWER. Now I figure it would be neat to add a small solar panel to Tesla vehicles (into its body) to supplement the plugging in to charge. The Solar panel would continuously charge the battery in which you would be able to go miles farther between plug-in charging.

Solar radiation is weak. You might be able to run a A/C fan with it and maybe interior lights, not much more. Not worth the cost.

That matrixcode-message is pure spam. Remove it.

Sorry to insist, but this month and began to move the first electric car in Chile labor Nissan and Mitsubishi. Chilectra, (one of the national companies producing and distributing electricity) supply stations have already installed fast charge (achieved to reduce the loading time of 7 hrs to 1hr, without a vehicle carrying special items), that added to the reserves Lithium in the north seems a good place attractive, at least to see opportunities?. I emphasize that I am an ordinary citizen and I have no government links, but I think his initiative and development are really interesting for everyone

Guess a lot of folks saw the elctric car segment on Fox News today. Two or three companies utilizing electricity were mentioned but a couple in Florida who had just bought a Tesla "Roadster" were featured. They were excited. I think feature mentioned Tesla was the only all electric of the group. Good going Tesla. Could I get a commission off sales of Tesla vehicles as I know two individuals who can afford them and who have said they would buy an electric car when they came out,ha.

Point them to the site, or better yet, point them to some of the youtube videos. You might even get a few free rides in a Tesla as a reward :D