http://blog.wired.com/teslacar/

The Tesla Roadster, powered by more than 6,800 lithium-ion batteries, can go zero to 60 mph in about four seconds. Top speed: 130 mph.

 

That car looks sweet... but that is a lot of batteries! How much waste is created when all of these batteries are produced? and what about when you have to change them (if you can)?

 

The idea is pretty cool, but for me there are two problems that need to be solved:
1) the price...$80-$120k...yikes !
2) batteries have the tendency of dieing down after time (2-3 years)...if this happens to a cell phone, fine, no problem, I will buy a new one. But what if that happens to a vehicle that has 6800 batteries in it ? It could be a nightmare...

 

I saw this on tv were i work 2 days ago. The two people that developed the car said this car is aimed at wealthier people and they are currently in the process of develping a cheapier more affordable car. Still this car is awsome.

 

This car is incredible, definitely shows off the potential for electric drive trains. I just find the battery set up pretty strange. I know that's sorta what the escape does too... its got something like 250 C-cells in series... but 6800??? I dunno if that means 6800 individual consumer type batteries like double As or C cells or something. If so, to me that means you're carrying 6800 battery cases that add a lot of weight, whereas if you had fewer larger batteries, the ratio of battery casing to useful battery volume would be a lot better. I also start thinking about the connections between all those batteries, its gotta add up to a lot of resistance for the current.
The battery we used at my school for our electric snowmobile was an 80 pound box of 20 lithium ion cells... never saw the cells inside but i'm guessing each one was about the size of a small coke can...
Either way, i'm sure these guys spent a lot of time thinking of these things and this is what they came up with, and it can do 0-60 in 4 seconds, so obviously they know their stuff.
Crazy car!

 

This is a step in the right direction but it has some obvious drawbacks. Limited range, long charge time (at what cost?), and price. Of course it's aimed at wealthier people; this car isn't practical for the Average Joe.

I hate to say this but my prediction is that this company won't be around in two years. They may be be visionaries, but they aren't very good businessmen.