Our schedule for today brought us to the Bergen dealership for Tesla Motors, an American company that exclusively manufactures and sells cars that run soley on electricity. Electric cars are much more popular in Norway than in the U.S., largely due to the many federal incentives that have been put in place in recent years. Some such incentives include no sales tax, exemption from having to pay highway tolls, and free rides on the numerous ferry services that exist throughout the fjords and all along the coast of Norway.
When we first arrived in the Bergen Tesla dealership, we were immediately greeted in the lobby by the naked chasis of the Model S, their sophomore car which debuted in 2012. Jor Tenfjord, the representative who spoke to our group, explained to us that the chasis is a large part of what makes the Model S the safest car ever made (as ranked by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). The battery, which weighs a whopping 800 kg (about 1,700 lbs) takes up the entire floor of the car and prevents the frame from crumpling if hit from the side. Also largely apparent when viewing the empty chasis is the lack of an engine, which means that if you were to crash into something head on the front of the car has more room to crumple under the force of the impact.
Eventually, we were allowed to see the entire put together Model S, which did not disappoint. The car is as beautifully designed as it is intelligently engineered. Mr. Tenfjord explained to us that Tesla does not compete with other electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt. Instead, it competes with other luxry sedan companies such as BMW and Audi. Take a seat behind the wheel of the Model S and you’ll instantly understand.
Elise Van Gelder ’15 behind the wheel of the Model S.
…Which is exactly what we got to do. Well, we got one better: the people of Bergen Tesla generously allowed us to take the Model S out for a spin. It was quite a blast; the car accelerates smoothly and very quickly (0-60 in less than 5 seconds) and is incredibly quiet.
One worry that many people have when it comes to buying electric cars is how far they can go in a single charge. Tesla knocks all other electric cars out of the water with this one: the Model S can travel 500 km (310 mi) in a single charge. And for the times when you need to go further, there is a network of charging stations across the world that Tesla has created especially for their customers to charge their batteries quickly and completely free of charge. At these particular stations, aptly named SuperCharge stations, it takes only 5 minutes to get the battery up to an 80% charge. Just enough time to go inside and get a cup of coffee.
If you’d like to find out more about Tesla Motors, you can check out their website. Or, if you’d like something a bit more personal, I highly recommend this comic created by a cartoonist at The Oatmeal who recently purchased a Model S magical space car for himself.
