Friday - We Went To See The Tesla in Casselberry - Lulu was blown away by this garnet colored beauty.

Lulu was blown away by this garnet colored Tesla with tan leather interior. It would be perfect for her 2 mile commute to campus.

To our surprise - there is a Tesla Dealer in Casselberry FL - not far from the Palma Maria. So we took a little side track and went to see this amazing car. It was only around 1 PM when we got there - so it was out of the question to wait until 4 PM for the Palma Maria to open. 

I had been to the Tesla dealer in Fort Lauderdale last month - but I wanted Lulu to see this beautiful car. 

Elon Musk owns Tesla Motors. The Tesla has been developed from ground up to be all-electric. Not only has the company developed the car - but they are in the process of building a nationwide charging network. In other words - by this time next year - anywhere in the country you will be within one hour of a free quick charge. The car which has a range of almost 300 miles can be charged in 20 minutes. Tesla just announced that they are going to allow all other car builders to use their patents free of charge. What a bold move to share their technology.

Tesla performance is amazing. The car is perfectly silent. The rear wheels are driven by a small electric motor that puts out 400 HP.  It is capable of 130 MPH top speeds - but since an electric motor provides instant torque at all RPM levels - it goes from 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds. It can beat a Corvette at its own game - drag racing. 

They are great statistics for a sports car - but the Tesla can be configured to seat 7 people. It can be as docile as a Rolls Royce limo or as fire breathing as a Shelby Cobra.

With the car - you receive a charging station for your home. But you also get free electricity at any Tesla charging station across the country. 

I would love to park one of these babies in our new garage - but right now it is just not practical The starting price is $70,000 - but most of them sell for $80,000 to $100,000. The 300 mile range is plenty for us except for a long trip to Orlando - Miami - Atlanta - or New Orleans. We could always take a rental car for those trips - but it is silly to let a $100,000 car sit in the garage ever. 

I love this car - but the practical side of me says buy a top of the line Honda Accord or Chevy Volt for $25,000 and put the rest of the money in a CD. Remember what a CD was and when they used to pay 15% a year? 

You have to get a lot of free electricity to pay for a $70,000 car.

That's all there is - my hands are on the 400 horsepower motor.

The car has electric power steering and air conditioning. 

Harry enjoy plugging in this already sold white Tesla.

The blue light shows that the car is charging. This is a 220 volt power cord. They are also working on 440 volt charging stations. 

This white Tesla had the 85 KWH battery which provided 300 miles of range. About a mile down the street was the Palma Maria Restaurant.