Faster Than a Porsche, 250 Miles on a Single Charge - $35 Grand

So, today's "No Gas Tuesday." Every year around this time I get some spam email calling for a one-day boycott of the oil companies. “We’re not going to fill up our tanks for a whole day, man! That’ll show Exxon and Mobil and 76 and Chevron just who’s boss! Nobody buys gas on Thursday. No Gas Thursday!” Of course No Gas Thursday is followed by Buy A Lot of Gas Friday. Because as far as I know, cars still run on gas. And if you don’t buy any on Thursday, it’s not like they’re going to convert to corn overnight.

The smart way to eliminate dependence on foreign oil and the fossil fuel structure, aside from conservation, is to support sustainable cars. I went to this event with the CEO of Tesla Motors over the weekend. Tesla is not interested in making solar-powered golf carts; they are creating high-performance electric vehicles that look sexy and drive fast. The prototype Tesla Roadster goes 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds, benefiting from the torque generated by an electric battery-powered engine. The carbon fiber body is durable and light. It's faster than a Ferrari and looks just as sleek. The battery will take around an hour to fully charge; just plug in while you eat lunch, and you're ready to go 250 miles.

And the good news to me is that Tesla is not stopping there. The Roadster will hit stores this year and will have the sports car-equivalent price tag of around $100,000. Model II will be a sedan like a Lexus and will price around $50,000. And Model III will be around $35,000. Once they jump the barrier of making electric vehicles sexy, they will compete in the market where most people are buying. That's significant.

There's more at the link. But I was very impressed with Tesla's philosophy. Their dealerships will look more like a Starbucks than anything, with WiFi and good coffee, and mechanics working on the cars right out front ("like a fine restaurant where you can see the food being made," said the CEO). This is what will wean us off oil, not some ephemeral boycott. I believe that repsonsible government action and smart growth, combined with encouraging this kind of innovation, is the only way to change the system as it is today.