Tesla Roadster Arrives

The first production all-electric Tesla Roadster has arrived in San Carlos, California. Having finally passed all of the necessary regulatory hurdles, full production is scheduled to begin on March 17th.

The current model has a two-speed transmission, limiting 0-60 acceleration to 5.7 seconds. The company is developing a one-speed replacement transmission that will achieve 0-60 in four seconds. The upgrade will be installed in existing Tesla Roadsters at no charge when they become available.

The Roadster has a range of over 200 miles on one charge, and costs $100,000.

Tesla Motors is developing the WhiteStar, a four-door sedan to be available in two models, all-electric or range-extended. In the range-extended model, a small internal combustion engine would drive a generator to recharge the batteries while driving.

The WhiteStar is expected to start production in late 2009 and cost around $50,000.

[Tesla Motors]