http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27210453/tesla-present-roadster-owners-upgrade-kit-400-plus Tesla gift to Roadster owners: Upgrade kit with 400-mile-plus range By Pete Carey 12/26/2014
[image http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site568/2014/1226/20141226__1227tesla1~1.JPG A Tesla Roadster is parked in front of the Tesla Motors plant in Fremont on Sept. 15, 2010. (Gary Reyes/Staff file photo) ] PALO ALTO -- Tesla has a Christmas present to owners of its two-seat, battery-operated Roadster, last produced in 2012 -- an upgrade kit the company says would nearly double the electric vehicle's range to more than 400 miles. "We will be demonstrating this in the real world during a nonstop drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles in the early weeks of 2015," the company said in an announcement Friday. The announcement did not say how much the upgrade would cost or when it would be available. Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said "availability and pricing are pending as this retrofit package is currently in its prototype phase." The current Roadster battery, which was designed in 2008, gets 245 miles per charge, according to the company website. CEO, chairman and co-founder Elon Musk tweeted the news on Christmas Day: "Roadster upgrade will enable nonstop travel from LA to SF -- almost 400 mile range. Details tmrw. Merry Christmas!" On Friday, the company followed up with an announcement describing the three components of the "Roadster 3.0" upgrade package. A better battery than the 2008 version installed in Roadsters. The new battery will deliver 31 percent more energy than the original one. A retrofit "aero kit" that will improve the aerodynamics of the vehicle. New tires that have about 20 percent less drag. "Combining all of these improvements we can achieve a predicted 40-50 percent improvement on range between the original Roadster and Roadster 3.0," the company said in making the announcement. These details didn't bother one Roadster owner. He posted a brief comment on the Tesla Web site after the announcement: "Elon, we love you!" Tesla made the Roadster as a limited production vehicle from 2008-12 and still offers certified pre-owned Roadsters for sale. The original base price for the vehicle, which began shipping in 2009, was around $110,000, according to Car and Driver. The website Cars.com puts the price range for used Roadsters at $73,000 to $114,000. Tesla spokeswoman Georgeson said there are no plans to renew production of the Roadster. "Our production focus is on Model S, beginning production of Model X in 2015 and introducing Model 3 in a few years," she said. [© 2014 San Jose Mercury News] ... http://newsmaine.net/21828-tesla-plans-upgrade-original-roadster Tesla plans to upgrade original Roadster by Felix Balthasar 2014, December 26 ... http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/12/26/elon-musk-the-new-tesla-roadster-can-travel-some-400-miles-on-a-single-charge/ Elon Musk: The new Tesla Roadster can travel some 400 miles on a single charge By Brian Fung December 26 ... http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/12/26/3607003/tesla-announces-roadster-upgrade/ New Roadster Can Travel 400 Miles On A Single Charge, Tesla Announces by Kiley Kroh December 26, 2014 For EVLN posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html#nabble+template%2FNamlServlet.jtp%3Fmacro%3Dsearch_page%26node%3D413529%26query%3DEVLN%2Bbrucedp2%26days%3D0%26sort%3Ddate http://www.worldcarfans.com/114122286238/gold-plated-electric-car-for-kids-costs-29995 Gold-plated electric car for kids costs [GBP]29,995 ... http://metro.co.[you kay]/2014/12/08/is-this-30000-gold-motor-every-car-obsessed-kids-dream-christmas-present-4979020/ Is this [GBP]30,000 gold motor every car-obsessed kid’s dream present? http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1095924_imagine-electric-car-charging-stations-every-25-miles-france-will-have-them France Will Have Public EVSE Every 25 Miles + EVLN: 1st adopter converts from> G-Wiz nEV to UK-made Leaf EV {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Tesla-Roadster-Upgrade-kit-with-400-mi-range-tp4673310.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
