Tesla Roadster Rated at 119 MPGe by U.S. EPA

Image: Tesla

But That Number is of Limited Use...

The EPA has finally released its rating of the Tesla Roadster electric car. With a combined 119 MPGe, it beats the Nissan LEAF's 99 MPGe and the Chevy Volt's 93 MPGe, but these numbers don't mean as much as with a gasoline car. After all, if you charge an EV with wind power or hydro, the impact is different from natural gas or coal...

The version 2.5 should be rated at 119 MPGe:

The sticker for the Roadster 2.5 shows 119 miles per gallon equivalent: 112 MPGe on the highway and 124 MPGe in the city. In addition, it shows the Tesla Roadster will go 245 miles on an eight-hour charge. The EPA's 245-mile figure is what Tesla uses for its own range claims.

Tesla Roadster Sport. Photo: Michael Graham Richard

But as I mentioned above, what will matter most with electric cars is where the electricity that they use comes from. As the grid gets progressively cleaner, as solar panels drop in price, and as more and more utilities offer a 'Green Power' option, getting clean power should become easier and easier.

Of course, this doesn't remove all problems caused by cars (which is why we need to have better designed cities, better mass transit, more bike paths, etc), but as long as there are cars on the road, it's better to have models that are powered by the sun or wind than by burning hundreds of gallons of fossil fuel every year..

Source: Treehugger