One of the questions that came up on Tesla’s recent quarterly conference call was why Tesla was upgrading the Tesla Roadster. Elon Musk’s answer was simple: that they had an obligation to those early adopters. Tesla said it would do it, and it’s doing it. No doubt, many at Tesla are hugely grateful for what those early adopters provided.
Just a couple of days later, a new post popped onto the Tesla blog, “Roadster Road Trip Update: San Jose to Los Angeles on a Single Charge.”
Importantly, to cut off any potential speculation, Tesla highlights right at the beginning that Tesla 3.0 improvements are not things that will trickle into the Model S or other models, but have actually improvements that come from what Tesla has learned from the Model S. “No new Model S battery pack or major range upgrade is expected in the near term,” Tesla states.
It then proceeds to concisely summarize a trip from San Jose to Los Angeles that a Tesla Roadster with the 3.0 package made on a single charge. The 3.0 package includes “enhancements in battery cell technology, aerodynamics, and rolling resistance,” all together boosting the Roadster’s range by ~40–50%.
The summary of this test drive in a Tesla Roadster 3.0 prototype is as follows:
For our first test outing, we evaluated the prototype package on a historic route down the I-5 from our first Tesla store in San Jose to the Santa Monica Pier (via the Tesla Store on the 3rd Street Promenade), a distance of approximately 340 miles.
The trip was smooth, with no disruptions. On the highway, we set cruise control to stay right around the speed limit. We turned on the heater for a 40-minute stretch going over the Grapevine. And less than six hours from leaving San Jose, we pulled into the Santa Monica Pier, with 20 miles remaining in the battery pack.
I’m sure many Roadster owners will appreciate this upgrade. 😀
Image Credit: Tesla Motors
Also nice that GM is going to do the same thing for the EV1……….
No, no, I shouldn’t…… but I can’t just stop myself. GM giving similar service and warranty as Tesla????
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Thanks, I needed that!
lol. that might be top comment of the year so far. 😀
It is important for folks buying cars to consider the attitude of the car manufacturer. Are they trying to produce environmentally responsible vehicles? Are they adopting cleaner technology when it is available? Do they put profits before their customers?
Thinking about these things makes deciding between a Tesla and a Mercedes S much easier.
After Tesla gets the X and the 3 to market, why not bring the roadster back with all the upgrades? It’s a great top of the market car!
I’d like to see that. But imagine Tesla would prefer to make something new. Think Elon has said it was a mistake using the Lotus body and they should have designed one from scratch.
On a Roadster redux, back a year or two ago when first bringing up the upgrades for the current one Musk said he was interested in doing a version II. It won’t be possible though until production on the S, X, and then the 3 can keep up with demand..
His comments during the last conference call got me wondering about another possibility. It is known that the pan (battery pack and drive assembly) for the Model3 is to be somewhat smaller than the one being used under the S, and the 4WD version is probably the same under the AWD version of the S and coming X.
It is generally assumed from prior statements that in order to keep costs down the body of the 3 will be from light weight steel instead of the aluminum of the S and X. During the last call Musk said that they wanted to do some new and innovative things with the 3,but to keep introduction on schedule that would have to wait for a version 2.
So my extrapolation is knowing that Tesla is also interested in and working with carbon fiber, the pan from the Model 3 could get a light weight sports car type body of carbon in version 2. So without a lot of mechanical changes it would have faster speeds and performance, and by that time carbon fiber production will be more economical. Giving us reasonably priced sports car (maybe 50K or less) like with ‘ the original Mustang.
This is at least five years out, but does fit in with different statements from Musk and Tesla and various research projects they are doing, along with their production method.