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Eberhard's aim was to develop a car that ran on sustainable energy while, unlike all its competitors, being practical enough to use every day. The difficulty was developing the technology and putting it in a car everybody could afford. The answer was simple; they decided that their first venture would have to start out like the high tech gadgets, hyped-up, over priced and rare, becoming cheaper with time and volume. This would mean that the first line of consumers would fund the development of the company.

The Tesla Roadster provides 100 percent of its available torque all of the time, from 0 to 14,000 rpm, allowing it to accelerate from standstill to 60 mph at break-neck speed. What's more, it can travel up to 220 miles without a recharge, maxes out at 125 mph, and doesn't require a single drop of gas. Sports performance aside, the environmental benefits alone are astounding.

2011 The Tesla Roadster Sport cars