Archive for July, 2009

With all the green cheer-leading about the Tesla Roadster, it has been difficult to find the truth. However, I f found something close on The Overrated List and the reader comments:

• Part car, part bullshit. Buying one seems to require a secret handshake, a briefcase full of cash and a pinky swear to never drive the car in public.
• A good proof of concept. Not a product. I know greenies that think this is god’s gift. Come on people! it’s for rich posers. Something this impractical, is not green.
• The Tesla is a bad joke.

Let’s be clear: the Tesla Roadster is a marvelous piece of engineering. It’s beautiful, it’s fast, and it’s all electric.

It’s also ridiculously expensive at over $100,000. That’s what makes the Tesla a failure when it comes to being green. We’re facing a global climate crisis; cutting the vehicle emissions of a handful of ultra-rich people is, well, pointless. What’s next? Making luxury yachts greener?

It’s difficult to criticize any effort to be more environmentally-oriented. For the most part, it’s “why not be green?” However, adopting this kind of mindset is how the Tesla came to be. Being environmentally-orientated is not just about choosing green options; it’s also about reducing, reusing, and recycling. Am I being green if I buy an unneeded super yacht that is 20% greener that other super yachts? No, it’s still an unneeded purchase to will increase my strain on the environment.

The people who buy a Tesla Roadster suffer from what a friend of mine calls “look-at-me syndrome.” The Tesla is simply the newest option for these people to get the attention they want simply because the Tesla has won so much undeserved media attention. People know that it’s obscenely expensive, so the people who drive one must be rich. And just because it’s electric, people seem to think it’s green, so these Tesla buyers are getting a free pass on obnoxious behavior.

Instead of buying a Tesla for well over $100,000, what else could you do to be helping combat climate change? Obviously, you’ll probably still want a vehicle, and there are several options that pretty green. A Prius with the Hymotion plug-in kit is a good way to go, and you could buy about three of them for the same price of a Tesla. After you get your vehicle, you could use the rest of the money to invest in carbon offsets, green start-ups, or number of other areas that will help more than just your ego.

As for Tesla Motors, much remains to be seen. They claim that the Roadster is a jumping-off point to make more affordable electric vehicles for the masses. That’s what needs to be done. Until they get there, they’re just partners-in-crime with the ego-maniacs who buy the Roadsters. Shame on all of you.