Jun 4 2009
Tesla Motors will host a road rally Saturday to commemorate the electric vehicle manufacturer’s 500th Roadster delivery and the one-year anniversary of its first retail store.
Several dozen Tesla owners are expected to participate in event, which will begin at 10 a.m. at Tesla’s showroom in West Los Angeles. Owners and their invited guests will then travel a scenic mountain route to Malibu for a barbecue at a Greener Pasture Ranch, a Tesla customer’s private home.
The 60-mile drive will likely be the largest gathering of Tesla Roadsters on public streets. It’s expected to attract eco-conscious sports car buffs, EV enthusiasts, and the elite Roadster Club members from the region.
It’s also an important customer appreciation event for Tesla, which delivered its 500th Roadster last weekend.
“People who buy Roadsters are getting a superlative sports car that drives more like a performance jet than a car – and they are supporting a new American automaker committed to building well designed, high performance vehicles with a level of efficiency far greater than any other automaker in the world,” said Jeremy Snyder, Tesla’s General Manager for the South Western Territory. “We’re hosting this event to say thank you to our owners and stay engaged with our passionate community of customers.”
In addition to the West Los Angeles store, which opened a year ago, Tesla has a showroom in Menlo Park, Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley. The company is scheduled to open regional sales and service centers this summer in New York, Chicago, London, Seattle, Miami, Washington, Monaco and Munich.
San Carlos, Calif.-based Tesla is the only production automaker selling highway-capable EVs in the United States or Europe. The Roadster beats nearly every other car in acceleration yet is twice as energy efficient as a Toyota Prius. It costs roughly $4 to refuel and can be completely recharged in as little as 3.5 hours.