Tesla Model-S launch: an electric car to answer even Clarkson's objections
Elon Musk's new electric sports car, launched in London, is the Aston Martin of the electric car world - but it doesn't come cheap
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| Samuel Gibbs test-drives a Tesla Model-S. Photograph: Antonio Zazueta Olmos |
My first encounter with the electric car that may even answer
Jeremy Clarkson's objections to such vehicles, was an
intriguing one. The Tesla Model S looks like a swish saloon
car, not a bug or bubble-car like so many other electric
vehicles, and it has enough power to beat even the Aston
Martin Rapide, all without petrol and with no emissions.
The first Model S, the follow-up to Tesla Motor's Roadster
electric sports car, has finally rolled into the UK, two years
after going on sale in the US. The launch at London's
Crystal, opposite the O2, was hosted by the flamboyant
serial Silicon Valley entrepreneur and chief executive Elon
Musk. It marks the first time the car has been available in
right-hand drive and hails the start of a new future for
electric cars that may actually fit into people's lives. That is, if
they can stomach the asking price: £49,900, for starters.
Tesla was founded by Musk, of PayPal then SpaceX fame,
which became the first commercial spaceflight company to
launch and dock a spacecraft with the International Space Station in 2012.
Musk has headed Telsa since 2008 and famously rowed with
Clarkson on the BBC's Top Gear show over the handling of
the Model S's predecessor, the £87,000 Roadster sports car
in 2008.
Since its US release in June 2012, Tesla has sold more than
25,000 of the five-door Model S electric cars worldwide,
backed by a network of the company's proprietary
superchargers which can rapidly charge the Tesla's batteries
giving up to a 170 mile top up in 30 minutes and a full
charge in 70 minutes, compared to the standard 15-hour or
overnight affair for at-home charging.
The supercharger network is Tesla's big draw, making an
electric car with limited range practical. In Europe, the
stations only number 19 - compared with 94 in the US - with
most in Germany and Norway. But that is set to change as
Tesla places free supercharging stations along the UK's
busiest routes. The current plan is to cover from Dover and
Bristol up to the M25 and north along the M1, with an
inner-city London network and the south covered in three
months, England in six months, and the whole of the UK
and Ireland covered by superchargers in 18 months. Tesla
says Model S owners will be able to drive the length of the
UK with one 20-minute top up mid-way.
With only 1,500 electric cars registered in the first quarter of
2014, the government hopes that Musk, the "electric car
tsar", and his luxury electric saloon will boost electric cars.
"The goal at Tesla is to produce a mass market electric car,
but we can only get there one step at a time by selling the
Roadster and now the Model S to fund the mass market,"
said Musk.
The Model S is set to compete with the BMWs and Mercedes
of this world, and its futuristic, swooping styling provides a
good-looking change to the German cars' hard lines. That
almost sci-fi feel is maintained as you approach the car and
see the door handles pop out automatically.
Inside it's all premium Silicon Valley technology. Musk likes
to think of Tesla as the "Apple" of cars, which might explain
why there is what looks like a large iPad complete with
Apple-style graphics where the centre console should be.
The 17in touchscreen controls almost everything about the
car, from the air conditioning and music to opening the
sunroof and firing up the heated windscreen wipers.
Below the screen the floor is entirely flat, while in front of the
driver the traditional gauges and dials are replaced by digital
instruments displaying battery charge, power usage, range
and speed – no rev counter needed.
There's no key hole or start button to speak of. Simply
placing the car in drive with the key somewhere on your
person kickstarts the car into life. Place your foot on the
accelerator and off you rush.
"The Model S will do 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds powered by a
motor the size of a lady's handbag," quipped Georg Ell
Tesla's UK director.
It is a thrilling rush reaching 60mph as fast as a Lamborghini
Gallardo, throwing you and your passengers back into their
seats. The only real difference is that there is no roar of the
engine, just a squeal of the tyres on the road, a space for
five passengers with all their luggage.
But beyond that, driving the Model S is as easy as any other
car despite the power under the hood. There are no gears,
no automatic gear box to deal with, just a surge of constant
power that only a linear electric motor can provide. Mark me
impressed, this is no G Whiz or Nissan Leaf, this is the
Aston Martin or Audi of the electric car world. However, the
car certainly feels heavy and despite a low centre of gravity
you can feel it in the corners, as you would any large
performance saloon.
Prices start at £49,900 for the 60kWh version rising to
£69,080 for the 85kWh Performance model and £98,000 with
all the options. Tesla's battery warranty spans eight years –
even if the battery is damaged by user negligence, while the
car comes with a four-year warranty.
Claims of zero emissions are slightly disingenuous, given
that the electricity has to come from somewhere. Attached to
the British domestic supply it will still contribute at least
85g/km of carbon to the environment costing around £10 to
fully charge. The average new car in the UK emits
128.3g/km in 2013 according to the Society of Motor
Manufacturers and Traders, however.