BusinessWeek Logo

Tesla sets distance record for electric car on a single charge

Posted by: Adam Aston on October 30

australia_map_small.gif

As part of the 2009 Global Green Challenge, a driving duo has set a new distance record by going 311 miles on a single charge in a Tesla battery-powered car. That’s nearly 30% farther than the vehicle’s official specs.

Drivers Simon Hackett and Emilis Prelgauskas aren’t your everyday drivers. They set the record in Australia as part of the Eco Challenge, an 1,860-mile green car contest that includes vehicles powered by a variety of green fuels, from commercial diesel and hybrid cars to exotic solar-powered buggies built specifically for the race. Hackett and Prelgauskas told PC Authority that they kept the car at a constant, fairly low speed, averaging around 34 mph, to squeeze the most distance from the car’s 6,800 lithium battery cells.

Last week, I caught up with Martin Eberhard, co-founder and former CEO of Tesla Motors. At a manufacturing conference sponsored by Siemens in Minneapolis, Minn., Eberhard talked about the challenges of bringing Tesla from concept to showroom. Check out our chat below:

Siemens Thought Leadership from mabel lau on Vimeo.


http://www.vimeo.com/7316553

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blogs.businessweek.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/

Reader Comments

david wayne osedach

October 30, 2009 08:37 PM

311 miles? That will get me from home in San Diego to Las Vegas! I want one!

kelly

November 1, 2009 08:17 AM

Which record - 375 or 311 miles?

http://www.megawattmotorworks.com/display.asp?dismode=article&artid=305

Adam Aston

November 2, 2009 05:36 PM

Thanks Kelly, Wow. At 375, we're officially at ranges similar to a full tank of gas in a conventional car. And that record was set 11 years ago. What became of Solectria? Adam

kelly

November 2, 2009 08:34 PM

Adam,

It's said that the Solectria ran on NiMH batteries, which depended on the honesty and integrity of the patent owning firms GM and then Chevron, thus what became of Solectria.

Post a comment

 

About

In Green Business, BusinessWeek Energy & Environment Editor Adam Aston and Associate Editor Heather Green cover the green scene from New York, with Senior Correspondent John Carey in Washington D.C. and correspondent Mark Scott filing from London. Keeping on top of the business aspects of energy, the environment and climate change, their focus is the technologies, policies, markets and people that are shaping how the earth's resources will be used in the century ahead.

RSS Feed: Green Business

BW Mall - Sponsored Links