With time now on their side, Tesla will be able to begin production of its all-electric Roadster this March. After facing fears of going out of business due to operating losses amounting to $43 million between 2002 and 2006 it seems Tesla will be able to start delivering their electric sports car early this year after the decision was announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to waive current airbag requirements. The NHTSA is hoping to encourage “development of fuel-efficient and alternative-fueled vehicles” through its offering of the exemption.
In doing so they’ve made some US buyers very happy. Tesla Motors has pre-sold all Roadsters scheduled for production in 2008, a total of 625 vehicles world wide. The fully electric Tesla Roadster produced in the Hethel, England Lotus factory is priced at $98,000. You can only read reviews and dream about your next new vehicle for so long before you expect your dream to become reality. It is anticipated that those owners awaiting the release of their car in the US now have something to look forward to and will be dually rewarded for investing in a car of the future.
The three-year exemption from the NHTSA allows Tesla to use standard air bags on the roadster instead of the more advanced air bag currently required by car manufacturers. A similar waiver was issued for the two-seater Lotus Elise in August 2006 when it too could not comply. The waiver will affect over 3,500 Roasters in the next three years. Essentially it is waiving the requirement for the two-stage airbags which include sensors in the front seat of a vehicle. The sensors in the seat are used to calculate passenger weight and position to adjust inflation rate of the air bags on impact.
The news in the last few years hasn’t been promising with delays in production of the Roadster which was expected to be available in early 2007. Now looking to the future, Tesla has production plans for 2009 to produce 10,000 all-electric, five-passenger sedans named the White Star and then onward to a compact car.
Test drives from late last year are available from all the major car magazines including Automobile, Car and Driver, Road & Track and AutoWeek. A wait list has been started for the 2009 Roadster at www.teslamotors.com.
