It is possible that during this past week we experienced the fundamental change in the American automotive landscape*.  Tesla, the appropriately named electric car company, announced their second production vehicle, the Model S (white on left).

Tesla was previously in the headlines for their Roadster (red on right), a beautiful 2-seater sports-car that runs on only electricity.  That car would set you back more than $100,000 though and is only a niche vehicle.  Nevertheless, if I could have any five cars I wanted, the roadster would be one of them.  Whatever family sedan is on my list of five would be bumped now in favor of the Model S.

Like the Roadster, the Model S runs entirely on electricity.  Unlike the Roadster it will hold five adults and two children.  The child seats are the old school back of the station wagon style.  I don’t really expect that feature to make it into production, but I could be wrong.  The car is expected to be able to get 300 miles out of a charge, and the charge should only take a few minutes.  That is for a high capacity version.  The basic version will have a range of 180 miles.  This allows for stress free commuting for most people.

What makes the Model S so significant though is the price.  With a federal tax credit, the basic version will set you back less than $50,000!  That isn’t exactly Honda Accord territory, but it is BMW 5 Series territory.  BMW sells the 5 by the thousands here in the US, so there is no shortage of people that will be able to afford this car.  With the battery upgrades for extended range, I expect the higher end versions to cost as much as $80,000.  That is 7 Series territory, but again BMW moves thousands of them too.

I say this is the turning point in automotive production because this car is an all electric car for the masses.  There are still many bugs to be worked out, but those that buy this car will no doubt help the company iron out those kinks.  Since their first car was $100,000 and this one is $50,000, you can probably guess where they’re headed after that.

Don’t assume I’m some hippie green person, I’m far from it (all other cars in my fantasy garage would probably average 15 mpg).  But I do encourage American innovation and the electric car is an inevitable step in the future of transportation.  I want it to be Americans that lead this industry, and I want the cars to be built here too.  The added bonus of not sending oil money to the middle east is nice as well.

There’s no chance I’ll be able to afford this car before something better comes along to replace it.  But it is the things we dream about as we’re working towards wealth that inspire us to work harder.  The Tesla Model S is expected to begin production in 2011.

*No, the Volt is not the future because Chevy will somehow screw it up.  It’s also not fully electric.

By The Weakonomist

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categories: cars, environment, technology, weakend