The shape of the Tesla looks eerily Elise-like in first glance. I doesn’t surprise me a bit Lotus was chosen to build this car. The Lotus Elise’s mpg numbers are not that bad. Performance is adequate too. Better stick to the original car and save the leftover cash for a second vehicle. The Lotus name definitely sounds better than a upstart name like Tesla.

As long as Lucas is not involved in anything electrical!!

Tesla is a cool name if you know anything about the history of humans harnessing electricity.

Beats a car named the “Ohm”!!!!
Are we entering the Volt-Age??
Will there be a lot or Resistance to this car in the Current market??
Thanks, and I am here all week. Try the veal and tip your waiter….

i agree with #1 Lotus name sounds better. I hope this car helps Lotus in some way because Lotus is awosme and I really want them to keep building nicer cars that compete with ferrari and lamborghini and i dont want them to disappear.

much better than those wimpy weakass toyota engines.

#1, the Tesla is based on the Elise.

#4, the Elise began with a 118hp engine that gave it a 0-60 time of 5.9s. The current Toyota powerplant is a monster for this car (as it’s 0-60 time of 4.7s demonstrates).

Nice

I would love to have one of these.

Good ones, MGBYG!

Much nicer looking that the EV1. We’ve come a long way…

check out the videos or pictures of this thing, it has lotus elise wing mirrors, absolutely identical.

I dont think building an electric car is a good idea in this times id rather a hybrid

They’re being built by Lotus, and just like a good garage project created within a budget, you grab parts off of whatever’s available around you to shave costs to produce it. Of course it has Lotus mirrors and looks like an Elise; they actually robbed parts from it! I bet if you have the chance to look at one closely, you’ll see a bevy of Lotus parts on that car.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this body shows up as the redesigned Elise and the Tesla is badged an Elise variant.

A redesigned Elise! Its an ugly design to be an Elise

If GM supposedly ‘killed the electric car,’ this ‘Silicon Valley Based - European Produced car’ would be a big F.U. in the face of G.M. To think that a British company could produce a car that’s fun, beautiful, and works into daily use patterns that most people would utilize in a commuter or track-worthy sports car.

I mean, 3 extremely successful, independant-from-the-auto-industry technology moguls financed this project that their extremly good smart friends in the battery technology and automotive design industries created and sourced it out to a small British company that would take the bait and build an innovative car in the way none of the Big 3 automakers would even dare to create and probably F it up if they tried.

Do you know that kind of “new industry power” that is? Technology giants, not oil moguls will start calling the shots as to the directions automotive design & more importantly, implementation goes.

This car may not be the end-all for electric cars to come, but it’s a valid attempt in the right direction to determine whether there’s a future for electric cars in our lives or not. Sure, ‘fast-laps’ will only result in an maybe 2 hours of fun, but most days, your commute could be nice in a fast little rocket that you just plug in for it’s overnight charge, or if you own your business, a charge at work as well.

I’m ready.

This is my favorite car right now. Anyone complaining of the styling needs to go to http://www.teslamotors.com and look around. Then they should hop on youtube and check the videos. It’s a stunning car, I want a yellow one with Elise 240R wheels. Good for Lotus to realize this will sell to a different enough customer not to cannibalize sales of any existing products or the (supposedly) coming Esprit. I especially like the way the high-headlights look like they could pass height requirements that the elise currently has an exemption from.

The only objection I have to current electric car design is the reluctance to achieve a high top speed. I realize it’s not a sensible feature, given that with a 2-speed gearbox the car can alternately deliver 250 miles on a charge or 0-60 in 4.0 and a top speed of 130, but why NOT offer gearing up to 180+? I think electric-car manufacturers lose sight of the mildly-twitching green sides of the enthusiasts they’ll be selling to. Not having a high top speed, regardless of its usefulness, is a compromise many 100k car buyers are not willing to take when the same money for a 911 gets them a big number to kick around. Tesla deserves credit for even HAVING a second gear, as all the electric cars I can think of prior to the Tesla have had a fixed reduction ratio.

I realize max real-world acceleration is more relevant and that 99.9999% of owners will never touch more than 110 mph (c’mon, you know you’ve been that fast once). BUT (!), Not having the big number requires the owner to explain, somewhat condescendingly, that top speed was considered frivolous in the design, and this will inevitably strike the surprised and disappointed onlooker as an insult, that a standard of performance they identify with is somehow juvenile. The result of such an interchange makes the owner look like both a douche and someone who doesn’t really “get it,” or maybe worse, has more money than sense. And nobody spending 100k on a car should have to explain away their reason for buying such an expensive car. How much weight would adding a 3rd and/or 4th gear add? Just a thought.

It’s a bit like explaining to a guy in a mustang how one’s miata will eat them for lunch through some slalom cones. Both you and he know it’s true, but he still thinks you’re a pansy since his car is the same money and runs to 130+ regularly. (mustang and camaro owners, especially ones who mod their cars, are always up there, no joke.)

Why not build an all-electric car like Tesla had. The system was discovered, when I found how a Flying Saucer works and gets the power right out of the air.
I am experimenting with the system and when I can afford it I will have an all electric car like Tesla had.