While everyone knows the model S, the first Tesla was based on the Lotus Elise. In the gear head world, Lotus is a brand that has decades of proper racing heritage, and is considered a true great. The Elise was a small two seater that encompassed all things perfect about a true track car. Light weight, efficient power plant, purely amazing handling characteristics, etc. It was a cultist’s car. A car that only true car lovers would appreciate. Tesla started with that. That, right there shows they were after the pursuit of changing the automotive world within the constraints and guidelines of current and learned greatness.

If you want to please the general public, you have to start by pleasing the well obsessed. How do you change all the things stated above about how bad electric cars were to the true automotive aficionado? Lets go piece by piece and dissect:

Lack of freedom & Inefficient. You can recharge a Tesla to 50% of its power within 20 minutes on their supercharger. Yes, its not 3 minutes like fueling up to get to full, but its doable. And it will only get better. So now people don’t have to feel like they can’t continue to travel. All you need is a power outlet. As well, many places are adopting charging stations. Tesla has a program that will guide you on a trip and include all stations for charging needed based on your mapping.

Heavy. The battery packs are put along the floor and comprise a decent amount of weight. But, the full aluminium chassis construction makes the car light. A model S weighs in at 4600lbs. A new BMW 5 series also can come in at 4600lbs. So weight is no longer the issue in todays world. Sure, its not a 2300lb sports car, but in the times we live in today, all cars are heavier as chassis performance and suspension geometry has massively improved.

No noise and slow. Well, no noise is still there. To the true gear head, a proper sounding exhaust like on an aston martin v8 vantage or the growl of a flat planned crank on a Ferrari, will always be a pursuit and passion. The true gear head cannot just have a Tesla. But you would be surprised how many have them as their daily commuters in campanion to their loud and fun sports cars. Why? Enter speed. The p85D has the equivalent amount of Torque as a Mercedes SL65, around 700ft lbs of torque. And the best part, its all available at the instant mash of the throttle. The P85D and S are fast – truly and scarishly fast. If you’re a gear head, its nearly impossible not to appreciate the fierce power these things put out.

Ugly. The Model S is sexy (can’t say the same about the model X). Why? Because it was designed by the old lead designer of Aston Martin. The exterior is elegant with swooping lines connecting at the right points. It has low and muscular looking bulges around its wheel arches. Is it the prettiest car: no. But it looks great. Match up the bigger wheels that fill the space well, a great looking front bonnet and facia, and you just can’t go wrong. The interior is great too. Sure, it doesnt feel $100k expensive, as the Mercedes S class blows it out of the water, but its unique. Its a modern tech look. You have infotainment on two giant monitors fully touch screened. They work like you want them to. The whole car works really well together.

Aside from all of those points, society caught up to technology. We are more open now. We went through a fuel price hike that left many unhappy with the world of using fuel to power our transport. People became more open minded. They were ready to see the world in a new light. Elon Musk was a great catalyst to change our trajectory and how we see electric cars. It put faith into the common man looking to travel from point A to point B as well as the gear head who doesn’t just consider driving a task.

My hat goes off to Elon and the team at Tesla. It is the first company to change history for electric cars. All the rest built cars that they thought were great. Tesla built a car that we think is great. Thats the main difference.