DLWIGGINS

SRQStingray

My wife wants a Tesla Model S, but I can't bring myself to spend that kind of money on a car that makes no exhaust noise. Other than that, I have been very impressed with the ones I have seen. The owners seem to be very happy with their cars.

W88fixer

Sure looked like the Vette driver was asleep at the wheel on the first run, looks like the Tesla red lighted.

W88fixer

It is indeed impressive technically but worthless for any trip and where do you get it charged if you leave the local area? Costing about twice what a base Vette doesn’t doesn’t make it very attractive. Don

Turbooo2u

You need Snorman behind the wheel.

astrotx

I had a Tesla S (P85+). The instant torque will just about beat anything off the line--but down the road most cars take it.

It's a great car, amazing technology (think cars won't catch-up for 2-4 years) and customer service bar none. Just having that 4 door car sitting in the garage for $130K, it was a novelty for me and sold it.

Zymurgy

If I am reading those time slips correctly (hard to see), the R/T for the Tesla was .005 while the Vette was asleep at the wheel on both runs.

Snorman

Trap speeds in left lane at PBIR read high...almost always. They should have swapped lanes. Those Teslas are pretty efficient getting down the track. From what my friend told me of the weather conditions at PBIR on Sunday the C7 should have gone 11's.
S.

fredl11

C7 was late getting out on the first run but I think his run was faster 12:029 @116.93 and the Tesla was 12.393 @ 110.51 . Did I read it right??

rockethead7

Battery and electric drive technologies still have lots of room for improvements, and can be considered in their "infancy" right now (depending on your point of view). That being said, the "infant" technology is neck-and-neck with the very best sports car the US produces. Let's face reality: electric drive technology *will* greatly surpass gasoline engines sooner or later (some say it already has). And, for those in the Corvette Forum who resist this, I wonder... what will you do/say if/when the C8 or C9 is an electric car?

*My prediction: the same people nay-saying the idea of electric Corvettes will be early adopters when they see one for real... and gas powered Corvette engines will go away just like the pop-up headlights did, and there won't be any shortage of Corvette enthusiasts who embrace whatever car carries the Corvette cross-flag emblem.

(Don't get me wrong, I love the pop-up headlights... I own 2 Corvettes with pop-ups... just using pop-ups as an example.)

MisterMe

Tesla has completed installation of Supercharger stations across the Country. In this case, across the Country means from the Northern Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Its owners can now drive their cars across the country.

Now obviously, you cannot drive a Tesla just anywhere and expect to be able to charge it. This is, however, a significant development. Supercharger coverage is much better than several wireless providers' 4G LTE service. You may view the coverage map on Tesla's website.

rockethead7

Tesla is also developing a battery replacement mechanism that might allow you to treat your electric cars the same way you treat gas cars. Gasoline fill-up stations can migrate to being battery-replacement stations. Tesla has demonstrated prototype cars where they've been able to drop out a dead battery and replace it with a fully charged one even faster than you can fill a gas tank.

This still has a long way to go before it's viable, of course. Gas stations would need to spend a lot of money to install the necessary equipment. And, there would have to be pretty good technology developed in order to assure that you're getting what you pay for in a replacement battery. You want a fully charged replacement, not a partially charged replacement. And, you don't want to give up an almost-new battery for one that is near the end of its usable lifespan. But, again, there are possibilities.

I don't know what will happen first: lots of charging stations and/or battery replacement stations peppered across the country... vs. battery technology advancements that will allow you to go massive distances without recharging (so you don't even need fill-up stations). But, either way, I believe electric cars WILL BE the dominant technology sooner or later.

W88fixer

Yes, I too thought the slips were hard to read, didn’t go further, didn’t want to respond to an incorrect reading on my part. Don

W88fixer

Exactly, not saying I’m not impressed with the car or the technology but no matter what Tesla does, it will be a very, very far cry from the availability of gas.

And Tesla is an exception, no other mainstream pure electric car is even remotely in the same league performance wise. Not talking about a $1mil Porsche hybrid. Don

The Spark

I talked to a guy in one of the original Tesla cars at the road race track a while back. He said it goes really fast around the track but the motors or battery starts to get hot after a few laps and shuts down. I thought he was in a Lotus at first.

It was funny when he took off because it didn't make any noise - just the sound of the tires on the pavement.

ersin

Tesla's are very impressive indeed. Nice looking too. But notice how much faster the Vette is at the end of the 1/4, on both runs. The tech is still not quite there, IMHO. You have limited range, especially if you run the A/C. If it weren't so expensive I would consider getting one. But maybe when the tech matures ...


Cheers.

Zymurgy

20 minutes (at best) for 1/2 charge. Still a long way from a 5 minute fill-up that will take me 400 miles. While I agree that someday electric technology will probably become the dominant auto drivetrain, that day is still a long way off.

Sorry, coverage map is still a joke. Good luck leaving Dallas area for anywhere else.

36couper

I'm no fan of electric cars but the Tesla is a nice looking car.
I'd like to see someone yank out the electric motor and install a Z06 drive train. Then you would have a real car!

xmonger

The Tesla is a beautiful and fast but the C7 is that plus it comes with that intoxicating V8 sound.

AK47

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOqWl...ature=youtu.be


interesting