August 17, 2006. Copyright 2006, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Green light for electric car
By Mark Rutter

LONDON, August 17, Graphic News:  Things could be about to change radically in the world of motoring. Hot on the heels of the much sought-after, particularly among the Hollywood elite, eco-friendly hybrid petrol electric vehicles, come the new high performance all-electric cars. The Tesla Roadster, a two-seat sports car, is one of these vehicles hoping to become the next politically correct status symbol.
 
Electric vehicles are not new. In fact, many of the automobiles around in the early 1900s were powered by electricity, with some holding land speed and distance records. But the invention of the internal combustion engine, shortly followed by the mass-produced and relatively cheap Ford Model-T, ended any serious interest. Relegated to the role of urban cars, delivery trucks, forklifts and other transport requiring only limited distances and speed, electric vehicles soon acquired an unfashionable image.
 
Having invested in the internal combustion engine, established motor manufacturers have shown little commitment to electric vehicles. Early models were powered by lead-acid batteries, which suffered from the major drawback of a limited power capacity, capable of operating only at low speed and for short periods. Even the performance achieved with nickel metal hydride cells that replaced these was not acceptable to most car owners. There have been sporadic forays into the market such as General MotorsŐ failed EV1 electric car. Latterly however, concerns over pollution and tax breaks in the U.S. and Europe have seen a resurgence of interest.
 
The latest breakthrough has been made possible by borrowing technology from the electronics industry. Computer engineers had to develop lightweight, high capacity lithium-ion batteries capable of quick recharge to power gadgets like laptop computers and mobile phones. ItŐs no surprise then that Tesla Motors was founded in Silicon Valley in 2003, and financed by a consortium including the co-founder of PayPal, Elon Musk, and Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who gave us Google. CEO Martin Eberhard had created the Rocket eBook, a handheld electronic book that failed commercially but did provide valuable experience in maximising battery run-time.
 
Over the next three years, and in complete secrecy, the company set about its goal of developing the state of the art Tesla, named after Serbian Nikola Tesla, who built the first rotating magnetic field electrical motor. They drafted in expertise from motor component manufacturers, especially the British sports car company Lotus. Tesla Motors is making some bold statements, comparing its model to a Ferrari or Lamborghini. With its aerodynamic design, lightweight carbon-fibre frame and lithium-ion battery, it says the Tesla has a range of 250 miles (400km) without recharging, can accelerate from 0-60mph (0-96km/h) in four seconds and has a top speed of more than 130mph (208km/h).
 
While the Tesla should be available next year, priced at around $90,000, there are plans to have a less-expensive four-seater family car available by 2008. But the additional weight and inferior aerodynamics is likely to reduce the range, so the next challenge are to improve even further on the battery technology.
/ENDS