Martin Eberhard building mobile charging units for Tesla Roadster
Could we be watching the birth of the Tesla equivalent of Mopar? Inside Line thinks so, what with the news that one of the founders of Tesla Motors, Martin Eberhard, is one of many who are interested in creating aftermarket products for the iconic roadster. Specifically, Eberhard is working in making it easier to get electrons into the cars. Writing on his Tesla Founders blog, Eberhard writes
One of these other things has been building mobile chargers for my friends who have Roadsters. I originally intended to build one for myself. Then a few for friends. Now I am swamped with requests from Roadster owners who want a more flexible mobile charging solution. I plan to write a blog about my little charger one of these days.
We're listening.
[Source: Tesla Founders via Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Robert 11:27AM (6/10/2009)
I'll be the first to say that I think Eberhard got elbowed out of his own startup, and I think that was the worst thing they could do. I don't know if it was Musk wanting more spotlight or some other power play, but it felt to me that Eberhard had his project stolen. I may be wrong, but that's how I feel about it.
So, I think it's great news that he is able to find a potential revenue stream based around the niche he started carving with the Roadster. He's obviously the type of engineer that can really make products and accessories for these electric cars (unlike some people http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/13/if-you-can-get-a-tesla-roadster-brabus-will-now-mod-it-for-you/ ), and he deserves to see some long-term involvement in the electric car market.
Reply
Nick P. 3:15PM (6/10/2009)
The only thing that count is results. Tesla is going great today thanks to him *and* Musk. Eberhard is a great man for continuing to support Tesla owners and the EV cause in general. He still has shares, so when Tesla succeeds, he succeeds too.
mister nomer 3:12PM (6/10/2009)
Agreed.
You go Martin!! = ))
Yanquetino 12:57PM (6/10/2009)
Great job, Martin!
I've said all along that people will never be content to only charge their EVs using the SAE "standard" J1772 plug, not as long as there are all kinds of outlets, voltages, and amps all over the planet.
Martin's invention comes with several adaptors for that very purpose. You can see photos of the kit here:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/technical-discussion/2889-roadster-foundry-mobile-charging-kit.html?highlight=eberhard+mobile+charger
And it will reportedly go on sale via EV Components in the near future:
http://www.evcomponents.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=RF40AMP
Reply