 life reputation. In the episode, host Jeremy Clarkson is shown racing the Roadster against a similar gas-powered sports car when the battery is purported to have died, a claim that was eventually shown to be false.
At the time, officials at Tesla noted that the battery never dropped below 20 percent capacity while filming that particular sequence, despite what viewers were led to believe.
Clarkson, who initially praised the car, said in the episode, “If it does run out, it’s not a quick job to charge it up again. To fill the tank on a normal car, it takes a couple of minutes. To fully recharge the batteries on this from a normal 13-amp socket like this takes 16 hours. So to get from here to the top of Scotland would take more than three days.”
Ricketts noted that Tesla’s customers are often less concerned with the car’s battery life. She said, “With a range of 245 miles, the Roadster doesn’t worry many people. In fact, the range is often cited as a reason for buying the car.”
This has not stopped the company from employing some higher-profile strategies to emphasize that Tesla drivers have similar capabilities to drivers of gas powered vehicles. Ricketts said, “We have also made high-profile roadtrips in the Roadster — from California to Detroit for the International Auto Show, for example — to show that distance driving is possible in an EV.”
Tesla is hopeful that its technology will further the popularity of electric vehicles. “With longer ranges being achieved by EVs, and more successful distance tests being run, the public is starting to see how practical driving electric can be,” Ricketts said.
Centered on Palo Alto, the radii of the circles on the following maps show an approximate range for several different vehicles in the electric category. The Lotus Elise, a gas-powered sports car, is included for comparison.