From the Tesla Motors press release:
(Oct. 27, 2009) – Tesla Roadster owner Simon Hackett and co-driver Emilis Prelgauskas completed 313 miles (501 km) in a Tesla Roadster on a single charge – a distance that appears to set a new record for a production electric vehicle. (Emphasis mine)
Hackett and Prelgauskas are driving Hackett’s red 2008 Roadster as part of the 10th annual Global Green Challenge, one of the most high-profile rallies worldwide for production, prototype and experimental cars. Hackett is providing updates in real time on his blog.
The pair drove from Alice Springs, in the Australian Northern Territory, to the finish marker at a point 183 km north of Coober Pedy, in South Australia
The previous distance record for an electric vehicle was set in April, when another Roadster was the only vehicle to complete the entire, 241-mile Rallye Monte Carlo d’Energies Alternatives. It had an estimated 38 miles left on the charge.
The Tesla Roadster is the first production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production EV with a range greater than 200 miles (320 km) per charge. Tesla has delivered about 900 Roadsters to customers so far.
Hackett sent Tesla the following note before going to bed last night:
“Emilis and I have decades of experience flying gliders competitively and we applied the same energy conservation techniques to our driving, with significant results! The car had about 3 miles of range left when the drive was completed. We travelled 501km on a single charge. Let that sink in for a minute.
“The security seal was applied to the charge port door when we started the journey. As this is being done as part of the Global Green Challenge, we have a full set of official verifiers here who will attest to the results and to achieving the outcome. We were followed along the journey by our support crew and a documentary film crew – so we have it on film.
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Over 300 miles on a single charge, pretty darned impressive. And considering the Tesla Roadster has a zero to sixty time of under 4 seconds, this is the kind of green car I could really love. I will even forgive them limiting the top speed to 125, as if anyone could outrun police helicopters going that slow.
That’s awesome! Does it have a cup holder? ;o)
Good heavens, a cup holder in an ELECTRIC car? Madness!