There is something compelling about a car that doesn’t require gasoline. Even before our current gas prices people were tinkering with solar power, hydrogen and other alternative fuels. Wikipedia even has a picture of Thomas Edison standing with an electric car prototype. To me the biggest problem with these cars was not their limited range or that you had to plug them in each night, it was how they looked. Nothing says dork quite like a three wheeled car with a bubble-shaped cockpit and covered rear wheels. Not surprisingly the idea hasn’t really taken off when people are forced to drive around in the automotive equivalent of knee-high black socks, coke bottle glasses and a pocket protector. The term “love affair” is commonly used to describe the relationship we have with our cars and until Tesla Motors came along, electric car manufacturers had left love completely out of the equation. Heaping on the love – and let’s face it – outright burning passion, Tesla Motors has released an electric roadster which not only looks fantastic, but is a serious high performance sports car.

Growing up I was never into cars, nor did I care about the car I drove as long as it started and got me where I was going. My first car was a 1969 super beetle that had previously been owned by a hippy chick. It was sky blue with hummingbirds and rainbows painted on the sides and whenever I ran the heater it smelled like my older brother’s jean jacket. That car was soon wrecked and replaced with another Volkswagen – this one was a midnight blue Baja bug conversion with balloon tires and a cherry bomb tailpipe. This car was sweet and for the first time I got the concept of just going for a drive. It was great just to be seen in the car, or washing it, however the honeymoon was short-lived. It turned out that it had sludge or something in the gas tank and whenever it got near empty the fuel line would clog and strand me. That car left me high and dry all over town but it hardly dented my love. Like a beautiful but vacuous woman I took all levels of nonsense with a smile because it still looked good. The Tesla Roadster has got the looks to inspire a generation ambivalent about cars, let’s hope it has the brains to back it up.

Tesla claims the roadster will go from 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds with a top speed of around 130 mph. It has an exceptional range of around 250 miles per charge under normal driving conditions.

One look at the beautiful Tesla Roadster and I know even casual car people will be prepared to hand over their hearts and wallets.

Reserve yours now at Tesla Motors.