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I'm not the ultimate expert on AC induction motors, but as I understand it, there are two ways to generate a reverse torque. One is the conventional regen method, in which the motor becomes a generator and recharges the batteries, and a second method in which the motor would consume power, much...

Maybe 1000 soon? The newsletter says the Roadster is "faster than a Porsche 911". That's either misleading or just plain wrong because the 911 has a higher top speed. I think it's more correct to say the Roadster is quicker than a Porsche 911.

The Elise is a 4 bolt pattern, the Roadster is a 5 bolt, so that's a no go. There's a discussion on the owners forum about this: http://www.teslamotors.com/owners/forum/index.php?topic=291.0 That was some time ago, and in the US, so the situation may be different now, and certainly...

It's about time! I hope to find out more about this on the 24th.

Don, terrific installation! I have a Sunpower installation also, but I think it was slightly mis-engineered. I have 24 of the 225W panels, but only a 4000W inverter. I think normally the peak power output is only seen during a rather brief time when the sun is just right, but I get a full...

Or to put it another way, the actual was only 11% less than the ideal miles. Not bad at all! Yet the casual viewer might come away with 117/230, only 50% of the claimed range.

So they drove 147 miles, still had 15 miles left, and would have had another 40 had they used Range mode, as would have been appropriate since they stated they were testing Tesla's claim of a 230 mile range. The results were actually quite good, the car indicated it could do 117+30+15+40=202...

Can you tell that Robert Farago has left? He would never have allowed this review to be posted.

I watched it a second time, and the very first time he mentions the range he says it's at 150 miles. To drop from 244 miles down to 150, I would think he would have already made it at least halfway around the 117 miles loop. A short while later he says it's 80 miles to Heathrow and the range...

According to today's Washington Post article, David Letterman used his Tesla to drop off his mistress at her place. It must be a good vehicle for such activities; the husband won't hear the motor running! :biggrin:

Most peoples first instinct would be to hit the brakes. Maybe new cars should have a switch that disables the accelerator if the brake is pushed. Of course, sports cars would need a disable switch for autocross fun :biggrin:

I've thought about about contributing to the charger funds, but it's almost exclusively all about California. Is anyone else interested in getting some public chargers going on the east coast?

THe first negative is that it is the same size as the Elise but costs more? Kind of meaningless if yu ask me. So, if a Ferrari is the same size as a Chrysler, does that mean it shouldn't cost more?

Remember their original plan was a two speed transmission. That would have addressed the top end torque falloff, you would just switch to 2nd gear and keep on accelerating. it was only at after several failed attempts, and about a year behind schedule, that they finally threw in the towel on...

I just finished reading the print version. It's an amazingly positive article. Probably about the most pro-Tesla piece ever written by the media that I have seen. "I will admit to having preconceived notions of how this would work out. I figured that after the Tesla was flatbedded a few times...

The Jackson Pollock edition.

"Not to worry, if you drop/break it - the liquid inside is harmless paraffin oil that has been tested and certified safe to UL and ROHS standards." Ok, so then it's a Lava Lamp!

For anyone considering an extension, I would recommend something more like 25 to 30 ft. It's a trade off between weight and space in the trunk versus coming up just a little too short and not being able to charge. For me anyway, charging takes priority!

I drove 162 miles to the beach this weekend and the range still showed 75 miles of ideal range, 74 miles of estimated range. I wasn't setting any speed records, but not holding up traffic either. For part of the trip I got stuck in some bad traffic. One thing about a rolling backup in an EV...

Dave, Yes, you are right, what I really wanted was the marine cord, probably something like this: 50A 125/250V Powercord Plus | Marinco But I only realized I had a problem the day before I left, so I didn't have much time to search around for the right product. Yes, this is at the...

I drove to the beach this weekend (finally!) and used my new RFMC for the first time. As I was planning the trip I realized that the RFMC would not be long enough unless I was lucky enough to get the one closest parking space at the hotel. With a longer cord, there would be plenty of spaces...

I did some engineering work on image processing some years ago. The mpeg3 image compression used on DVDs looks great to our eyes, but in fact it's actually a pretty horribly distorted image. It's just that the distortions are carefully designed so that they are occur in ways that our eyes can't...

He put up $5000 just so he could complain about Tesla on TTAC? I thought people could do that for free. I see from the comments that after delivering 700 cars Tesla still produces "vaporware". Predictable, sad but completely predictable.

About a year ago there was a house fire near where I live. The cause of the fire was an extension cord to a space heater coiled up inside a metal bucket with a pile of rags on top. They probably didn't know any better, but that was a seriously bad idea.

I look forward to getting that firmware upgrade. My pump runs when the charge is over 50%.

Mission Motors Motorcycle Established a new speed record of over 150 MPH, pops wheelies at 80. :biggrin: Mission Motorcycles passes 150 mph milestone, sets record at Bonneville — Autoblog Green They are planning first deliveries next year. Seems to me like a perfect compliment to...

Congrats, LST! Where in Europe are you? Hope you have some fun roads nearby!

I've been hooking one foot under the door for a little leverage as well as using both hands to lift myself out of the seat. With a little practice it makes getting out pretty smooth and almost graceful.

The part about Musk coming up with the idea for the Tesla was cringe-worthy. In addition to Martin Eberhard, there was one other subject significantly missing from the article: Hydrogen. The fact that it made no mention at all could be interpreted as the meaning the writer sees no chance at...

Tesla said something about the range indication emmediately after charging being not very accurate. You need to wait some time for the charge to 'settle". I'm not sure how long, but I think it's something like a half hour, and then you have a more accurate reading. I do notice that it usually...

I concur on the TC. I wanted to compare with and without, so my first couple autocross runs had TC on. My first run with it off I kicked it too hard coming out of a turn and did a donut. After getting a better feel for it I cut at least full second off my time. By the end I was power drifting...

The charging cables were fine, but the generator we had wasn't working well. Even though it was rated 70KW, it couldn't handle more than one car at a time. We also had a time when it was shut down because of fear that it was running out of fuel, then later it was determined that there was a...

The CNN reporter was named Poppy. She does some sort of special reporting on green energy or something. I didn't mention to her that I never watch CNN, so I've never heard of her show before. I took her for a short ride, and she seemed quite impressed with the acceleration, even in the brief...

Yes, that's TDave. We had a great time! Unfortunately, nobody got a video of me spinning out.

Wasn't that the accident that happened in France? It was a Tesla rep who was driving, and a potential customer got injured?

I totally agree, it isn't a simple, easy thing. But that doesn't mean it's not doable. I'm talking about only a very few cars, and the incentive for the dealership is mostly just attracting traffic. More of those visitors are going to drive away in a Merc because let's face it, there's a lot of...

Merc Dealers? I wonder if they've considered placing a few cars at select Mercedes Dealers? I still get a lot of: "What kind of car is that? I've never heard of it before." and "How did you get that, I thought they weren't delivering yet?" and "I thought they were only available in...

Yes, that RAV4EV was a tiny little thing, seating only 5 passengers and a good amount of cargo. Same for that Ranger EV.

Probably because AC power has to be rectified first before it can be used. The car has a built in rectifier for 120VAC and 240VAC, but the rectifier would become unmanagably large and give off an unmanagably large amount of heat at the power levels required for a 45 minute charge. At that...

So, when they were losing money on each car, they were selling pretty well. Now that they are making a profit on the cars, they aren't selling. The car business is brutal!

That sounds scary! Don't you worry about your house blowing up with all that explosive stuff flowing through! I guess any high power appliance can be dangerous if it's not engineered properly, regardless of the energy source.

Dimmable CFLs! That's very cool, I'll have to check that out, thanks!

I converted a lot of my regular light switches to dimmers several years ago. CFLs are not compatible with dimmers, so that may be holding up some people from converting. I switched out the lights that I can. Then again, I know a lot of people that just don't care. Since the CFLs last longer...

I think it's important to make sure your adapters work with both the regular AND Sport models. :smile:

I got those "Early Adopter, My Expensive Sports Car Won't Charge Blues". That has to be really annoying, but as an engineer, and considering how complex the Roadster is, I'm surprised there haven't been a lot more of these in the first 500 cars or so. I remember the early Prius had a problem...

I was planning to keep my S2000 for at least a year after getting the Roadster. I absolutely LOVED that car! Sold it after a month with the Roadster, partly because I figured I could get more money for it while it was still springtime.

(Once you go electric, you'll never go back!)

Go Electric!

Yes, exactly. It's like you were reading my mind!

Well, if you do decide to work with work with the MC240, let me know. Meanwhile I'll be thinking about it.