Who Saved The Electric Car?

Well, I thought it was great until I saw how many lithium-ion batteries it took to power one engine...

Allisor, I've seen plenty of pedestrians in crosswalks or on sidewalks get run over by bicyclists who just get up, swear at the pedestrian and and KEEP GOING after they run someone down. I also see bicyclists break the traffic laws consistently, endangering both their own lives and the lives of the people around them when a car has to swerve around them. So don't act like cars are death machines and bikes are Jesus. Dick drivers are dick drivers, regardless of how many wheels they're on.

And can someone in the rabid bike community please acknowledge that only certain people are physically capable of riding a bike? How are you overlooking the millions of disabled or elderly people in the world? I have a heart condition, I can't ride a freaking bike to my gigs that are 60 miles away with 20 pounds of giant costuming in a little basket in the front of my bike. It just can't happen. And I can't fit my elderly mother in the basket of a bike either. How do you suggest we take care of our other, less mobile citizens?

Some people actually need cars because no other transportation can be used for them. Some people would be unemployed if they couldn't get somewhere by car. Bikes are only the solution for SOME people, not all.

I just want to comment on the remark in the pod that previous electric cars were designed by people who thought of driving as "a necessary evil."

Let's think about this for a minute. Every day, motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians are killed by cars--whether through driver negligence, ignoring traffic laws, or accident.

As a society, we have decided that it is acceptable that some people (motorists and non-motorists) will die so that we have the convenience of driving personal vehicles around. It's a risk we take every time we get into a vehicle. But when you get into a vehicle, you also risk hitting a non-motorist. Is that something anyone wants on their conscience, whether it was an accident or not? What does it say about me that I am willing to risk a stranger's life so that I can drive around?

The cars in the pod may save gas, but there are other problems caused by car culture in the US. We are made to feel dependent on cars--we believe that walking even a mile is a huge inconvenience. Even though I walk to get groceries, etc., I usually drive to work instead of taking the bus because it's so much faster. Many of us COULD bicycle, walk, and take public transportation more often.

Cars kill people. Bicycles don't. I beat myself up every time I drive when I could bicycle instead. Isn't our acceptance of traffic fatalities in the name of convenience at least a little evil? Should we continue to find ways to prolong our dependence on cars, even if 100% environmentally friendly cars could be made? Doesn't car culture isolate us and make us feel weak?

heatX, I don't know about the solar panel idea, but the Tesla is all American...their headquarters is about 20 minutes from where I live in California. So you already have your wish! I've heard they're coming out with a sedan as well in the next couple of years - $30k each I think.

Good, I'm glad people are finally seeing the answer to this big "energy crisis" we're having. Hopefully we'll see this in the U.S. within the next four years...

Great idea in that netscape report. Have solar panels in the car that produce more energy than you actually use!

Ahhhh, I am so in love with this car! 2 cents a mile to power it? Amazing. If I ever have $100k handy I will buy one of these beauties. I honestly was completely turned off by hybrids because they still use gas (only a partial solution), they're not as pretty as they could be, and I'm a manual transmission/fast driving kind of girl - you just can't blow the doors off anyone in a Prius. Once I saw the Tesla Roadster I knew this was the only car I'd give up my stick shift for :-).

I'll start saving my spare change now, and maybe when I'm 79 I can get one.