French journalist tests the Tesla, loves it
At the Cannes Film Festival, it's not hard to find Ferraris and Mercedes McLaren SLR and Rolls-Royce on every street. Seems like a good pace to introduce the Tesla Roadster in Europe. Cannes is where a lucky French journalist test drove the Roadster, albeit with British registration plates and the steering wheel on the left. His verdict: Faster than a Louts Exige Cup 255, 1,200 kg for 250 HP (become 300 in April 2009) - he just loved it. He believes that V8s are in real danger because the Tesla offered a more satisfying experience. And here's an interesting figure: a four-hour charge for the Tesla costs €6 and will move you 350 km. Compare that to a Lotus that burns about 10 l/100 km - and knowing that a liter of unleaded costs about €1.5 in France - we find that driving the Tesla is much cheaper.
Watch a video interview (in French) with Tesla's Diarmuid O'Connell after the jump.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Doug 8:45AM (5/22/2008)
"... steering wheel on the left."
Pretty sure the journalist had no problem with the wheel on the left since they drive on the right in France.
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Rick 12:46PM (5/22/2008)
Screw the tesla, what's the little grey car in the background? That's a nice looking little car that we'll never see here.
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BlackbirdHighway 11:28AM (5/22/2008)
Electricity is France is generated mostly by nuclear, not coal, so the argument about CO2 emission from the power plants doesn't apply.
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Karl-Uwe Strunzen 3:04PM (5/22/2008)
you don't even need that HP to impress the likes of me....
Being able to understand a language isn't the same as being able to speak it. The guy's French is horrible and he should just have answered in English.
Did someone catch when the Tesla will be available in Europe?
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BlackbirdHighway 1:11PM (5/22/2008)
The 2009 model will be available in Europe, with deliveries starting sometime around April or May of next year. But they are taking orders now, and are already up to 30. There's a limit of 250 cars for the European market, so they will likely be all sold out before the first get delivered.
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Doug 1:25PM (5/22/2008)
That 250 isn't necessarily a limit, is it? It's a Signature 250 (full price up-front, fully loaded) similar to the Signature 100 they have for the US market. They could still sell 2009 non "signature" cars in Europe after that 250. Production order is an interesting question, though. Tesla has said they won't start on these Signature 250 till after the US "2008" cars are done (projected to be around April 2009). What about the US 2009 orders?
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rev0lver 2:13PM (5/22/2008)
Rick:
That grey car is a first gen prius
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Xavier Navarro 3:06PM (5/22/2008)
Karl-Uwe:
They will start selling by April 2009
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BlackbirdHighway 3:48PM (5/22/2008)
I thought 250 was the limit, but maybe not, it might be the number reserved for the UK/EU market.
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Joseph 7:05PM (5/22/2008)
"1,200 kg for 250 HP (become 300 in April 2009)"
April? Where did that come from? In Tesla's latest update on their blog they said that the...
"new powertrain configuration is planned to be inserted into the production schedule in September"
Navarro, what do you know that we don't? ;)
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Elias 11:36PM (5/22/2008)
Kudos to the guy for trying to conduct the interview in French, but it was a bit difficult to watch.
Anyway, he said that the battery costs roughly $20,000 USD.
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porschedevotee 1:09PM (5/30/2008)
Seriously. He obviously understood the questions, but it would have been much more watchable if he had hired a translator for his responses.
I think the Roadster will be a hit in and around Monaco - we'll see if there's a big showdown once the Fisker Karma makes its grand entrance :)
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