[SharkDiver]

At around 5pm this evening I was on my way to meet up with a fellow Lotus owner to inform him about an upcoming drive and in the valet area of a local outdoor mall was a Tesla Roadster and a marketing rep from California, in town to do some grass roots publicity for an upcoming dealership in Scottsdale. This was the first Tesla I have seen in person and I got to spend a little time playing around with the car and learn some facts straight from the factory, or so it would seem. First off, the car looks almost as good as the Elise, side-by-side. It really has lost much of its agressive styling but overall it's still pretty pleasing to stare at. The interior, while still very basic, is a bit more comfortable than the Elise, and easier to enter and exit.

Now, the driving bit. I've been in some fast cars in my day, even ones with a faster 0-60 time, but the feeling of all that instant torque is really awesome, even after heavy braking and lifting off, the car is just so damn quick. It just mashes you in the seat and rips your face off every time. The lack of engine noise is also very strange. The sales rep was a very cool guy but I am concerned about some of his information from the factory. My biggest problem was his claim that the this current Tesla model and the upcoming Tesla Sport could out-drive the Elise and Exige S. I felt a whole lot of body roll and understeer around the bends and I knew he was full of it. Furthermore, he was using it's 0-60 time (3.7 sec) as a big sales pitch, leaving out any real performance numbers. Well, i'm hardly a Lotus expert but i could tell right away that this car is fast in a straight line, it is really lacking in handling, maybe because it weighs 2800lbs and its in a chassis designed for the Elise/Exige, and its full of batteries. But according to the rep the perfect 60/40 weight distribution lets it hang with real, "motorsport" cars like the Lotus, I didn't buy it.

Either way, it was really fun to see it in person and get to spend some time behind the wheel. Here are some pics, enjoy!

 

[Demonized]

Cool pictures.

Should have told him that your car weighs 900lbs less, has the same weight distribution, is much cheaper, and most certainly handles better.

 

[SharkDiver]

don't worry, I did several times but he was very persistent in letting me know that the Tesla can outperform the Elise. I didn't want to be too much of a hard-on so I could keep playing around with the car lol

 

[Demonized]

don't worry, I did several times but he was very persistent in letting me know that the Tesla can outperform the Elise. I didn't want to be too much of a hard-on so I could keep playing around with the car lol

Should have punched him in the teeth as you were leaving...

Just kidding.. sorta.

 

[cemaykan]

i get the whole idea of the electrified future...but im just not happy lotus selling its "designs" to other companies.

I mean would you be happy if you saw on the street look-a-like robots of you with no soul...

 

[the1sen]

nifty.

did you get any interior shots or a shot with the door open?

 

[clearskies]

nifty.

did you get any interior shots?

+1

and any front shots?

how amusing/interesting...

 

[SharkDiver]

i get the whole idea of the electrified future...but im just not happy lotus selling its "designs" to other companies.

I mean would you be happy if you saw on the street look-a-like robots of you with no soul...

I understand what you mean. I kinda got the impression that it was a lifeless Elise clone, and it did make me a bit upset. And the fact that this sales rep was so adamant that this was a better car in almost every way, and I just didn't agree. The only thing its really good at is being green. If my math is correct, its the worst value ever if you compare it's fuel economy. For $60,000 more than what I paid for my Elise I calculated that at 12k miles per year, at an average of 30mpg, it would take 62 years of filling up at the pump to meet the base price of the Tesla, so whats really the point other than rubbing it in peoples face that you produce no emission? Oh, I have a front shot also. I totally spaced on the interior, but its nothing too remarkable, just think elise with an auto gearbox. there is a really cool touchscreen thingy where our ignition button is though.

 

[MickOpalak]

You should have asked for him to go on a three hour mountain drive with you. That way you could have given him a ride back to town when his ran out of juice half way through.

 

[clearskies]

You should have asked for him to go on a three hour mountain drive with you. That way you could have given him a ride back to town when his ran out of juice half way through.

+1:clap:

Thanks for the front shot. I dont think it looks too bad... If it only had an elise logo... Guess we have the Evora for that but even thats a whole different beast.

 

[Flash G]

Great pics. It's cool to see the two side by side.


.

 

[Cardinal]

"NO W1F3" rotfl

That's a great license plate.

 

[SharkDiver]

lol thx, old dudes love it