What’s more, electric cars use no gasoline and emit no pollution. And electric motors, which need only a single gear for all speeds, can also be surprisingly responsive and powerful. For commuters, there are no trips to the gas station-all you need is an outlet at home or work-and a full charge only costs a couple of dollars. Today’s electric vehicles promise several advantages over gas-powered cars. I could still make my trip, but a stop at a supercharging station was now essential. The battery gauge read 208 miles-short of the full 265-mile range for the Model S. When I got to Tesla in Palo Alto to pick up the car, however, I discovered that someone had forgotten to plug it in overnight. Later, I’d head back north to Fremont for a Tesla factory tour, before returning the car to headquarters-the whole trip would add up to about 230 miles. Tesla also wants to make electric cars more practical by building a nationwide network of charging stations that can deliver 200 miles of charge in about half an hour-compared to several hours to charge an electric car at an ordinary station today.įor the test drive, I planned a drive from Tesla’s headquarters in Palo Alto, California, into San Francisco, then over to Half Moon Bay for a cruise down the scenic coastal Highway 1 to Santa Cruz. Within a few years, Tesla hopes to produce much more affordable vehicles-including one that costs $30,000 to $35,000-with a range similar to that of the Model S.

Tesla’s Model S is expensive (it ranges from $70,000 to over $100,000), but its range is 265 miles, more than triple that of Nissan’s Leaf (75 miles).

Scenic route: A Model S speeds along the coast.

City car driving 1.4.1 car pck