Would you want one?

Just let me ask you this question.

If someone gave you a £40,000 cheque to spend on a four-door car which could carry four adults in comfort and accelerate from 0-60 at a speed rivaling the best of supercars, would you spend it on this beauty?

Tesla S

Yeah. I think perhaps you would too. Isn’t it a beauty? Oh, and by the way. It’s electric. It’s Telsa’s latest offering. The Tesla Model S

Yes. E L E C T R I C.

Styling wise, it’s evocative of much louder, more expensive vehicles such as some of Aston martin’s latest offerings. But this is a Tesla. You charge it up. You never have to pay road tax (certainly for the UK), and you never have to worry about gas prices.

Range? Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. A small range, right? I mean, traditionally you’re always told you can’t have range, acceleration and speed. You have to choose two out of the three for an EV. Erm. No. Certainly not in this case. While the sub £40,000 model won’t have an enormous range (estimates are for somewhere around 130 miles a charge – more than enough for a drive from Bristol-London) you will be able to buy a version in a few year’s time with a range of 300 miles on a charge. Yes, 300 miles. That’s enough for a trip from my home in Bristol to the Scottish Border. Or a trip to see my mum in Norfolk. Or a trip to France. Put differently, it’s even enough to drive from the center of New York City to Washington DC, and then a third of the way back again.

I’ll leave you on that, shall I?

Now, if only you could give me that cheque, and maybe get one yourself. What? You don’t have a spare £80k? Shame. I don’t, either.