Telsa Motors Receives Prestigious
‘Breakthrough Award’ from Popular Mechanics
For the first time, Popular Mechanics
has awarded its annual top ten honor to an
automobile, citing the Tesla Roadster, with its
"6831-cell lithium-ion configuration that can
propel the car 250 miles between charges". |
Popular Mechanics
Breakthrough Awards 2006
BY Logan Ward
Published in the November, 2006 issue.
[ . . . ]
THE CHARGER
Innovators:
Martin Eberhard and team
"DRIVING RANGE HAS BEEN the Achilles'
heel of electric cars," says Martin Eberhard, CEO of
Tesla Motors. So the Silicon Valley engineer-and
creator of the Rocket eBook-built a $100,000 electric
sports car, the Tesla Roadster, using the ultimate
laptop battery: a 6831-cell lithium-ion configuration
that can propel the car 250 miles between charges.
Equally important is the 248-hp polyphase AC motor.
"Electric cars don't have to be goofy economy
putt-putt cars," says Eberhard, who plans to follow
the Roadster with more practical, lower-cost vehicles.
"If we can change people's mind-set about what an
electric car is, it opens up opportunity for other
models."
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"The Breakthrough Awards distinguish those ideas and inventions that are
changing the face of technology, and the Tesla Roadster is leading an
automotive revolution," said James Meigs, editor-in-chief of Popular
Mechanics. "Martin Eberhard and his team at Tesla Motors have developed a
car with something for everyone — speed, great handling, good looks and zero
emissions."
“We’re pleased to receive the Breakthrough Award,” said Eberhard, CEO and
co-founder of Tesla Motors. “We wanted to make a car that was fun to drive
and environmentally responsible. Our key breakthrough is the concept of
using Lithium-ion batteries which have long been used in laptops, cell
phones, cameras, and power tools. Due to the number of cells that are used
in a car we had to develop some unique technology for managing the
temperature, charge balance and safety of the Tesla battery pack.”
Tesla Motors, based in San Carlos, Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley,
is in the process of bringing the all-electric Tesla Roadster sports car to
market. It is capable of going from zero to 60 mph in around four seconds,
has a top speed of better than 130 mph, and can travel up to 250 miles on a
single charge. The car’s power comes from its Lithium-ion Energy Storage
System, or battery pack, which can be recharged in about 3.5 hours. First
deliveries are expected to begin next summer.
A complete report of the Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Awards will be
published in their November 2006 issue (on newsstands October 10, 2006).
High-resolution images of the winners will be available upon request and at
www.popularmechanics.com.
About Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors was founded in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning
to create efficient electric cars for people who love to drive. The Chairman
of Tesla Motors, a privately held company, is Elon Musk, who has led or
co-led all three rounds of investment resulting in $60 million in funding.
Musk has been instrumental in both corporate and product development at
Tesla Motors.
Tesla Motors currently employs more than 80 people, including teams in
California, the U.K. and Taiwan. The company has recruited employees whose
background and experience mirror the vehicle itself, drawing from diverse
expertise in the electronics, automotive and software industries.
Tesla Motors creates vehicles that conform to all U.S. safety, environmental
and durability standards. The cars include modern safety equipment such as
airbags, front crumple zones, side impact protection and 2˝ mph bumpers.
Tesla Motors will only sell cars in the U.S. once they pass the Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS).
About Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of
Hearst Corporation and one of the
world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, with a total of 18 U.S.
titles and 145 international editions. Hearst reaches more adults than any
other publisher of monthly magazines (76.3 million according to MRI, spring
2005). The company also publishes 19 magazines in the United Kingdom through
its wholly owned subsidiary, The National Magazine Company Limited.
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