Technology for electric cars is advancing

Malcolm Telloian, North Las Vegas

Tuesday, June 1, 2010 | 2:02 a.m.

I am writing in answer to a letter in Saturday’s Las Vegas Sun by Walter F. Wegst saying electric cars are impractical due to their short range, “100 to 150 miles at best,” and other concerns regarding the inability to recharge via solar panels at night.

Visitors to teslamotors.com, can learn about an auto company that has been producing all-electric sports cars the past couple of years that will travel 240 miles on a charge, and is coming out with a seven-passenger sedan that can go 300 miles and is capable of fully recharging in 45 minutes.

The handmade roadsters cost a little more than $100,000 because only 800 are made annually, but the company is going into mass production on the sedan, which looks similar to many of the larger sedans by other auto makers, and is expected to sell for around $50,000.

Toyota recently announced it has invested in the company and will help get the program going, which may reduce the final price even more.

Regarding Wegst’s concern about batteries, they are continually improving also. Look at cell phones as an example.

Twenty years ago the batteries for cell phones were big, heavy packs with a handle, and were only good for 2 hours. Today, they fit in a pack of cigarettes and can last for 4 days.