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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".
Tesla Motors Inc. Roadster |
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NEW YORK Tesla Motors, manufacturers of performance electric cars, was named a
recipient of a 2006
Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award for its work in
developing the Tesla Roadster, the worlds first all-electric production sports
car. The magazine's editors presented the 2006 winners their awards Wednesday
evening at the publications new home, the Hearst Tower in New York City.
Popular Mechanics salutes 10 advancements each year and their innovators
that promise to shape the future by improving lives and expanding possibilities
in the realms of science, technology and exploration. 2006 is the second year
the publication has presented its Breakthrough Awards.
The Tesla Roadster is the first automobile to receive a Breakthrough Award.
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."
Were 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
cars 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 2½ 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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