Tesla Motors Offers 'Tech Talks' at Newport Beach Showroom

The morning sun streamed through the showroom window and landed on a "fusion red" Roadster. A man, his son and a friend were ogling the machine.

"If you didn't look twice, you'd think it was a Ferrari," said Bryce Dougherty, 12.

But the big difference between a Ferrari and a Tesla is that the latter is completely electric. It goes from 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds without tailpipe emissions, using no gas or oil. 

"I think it's cool because it's electric," said Dougherty's friend Kevin Burns, 13.

Burns attended the Saturday Tech Talk at Newport Beach Tesla to learn more about the electric car for a school project. The showroom is offering Tech Talks on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays through the end of the month. Reservations can be made for 1 p.m. on Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and 11 a.m. on Saturdays. 

The host for Saturday's Tech Talk was Tesla client advisor Benjamin Morse, who spent about an hour discussing the future of automotive technology with nine attendees. 

"The United States sends $2 billion a day to the Middle East for gasoline. Tesla is offering an alternative to this," he said.

The Tesla Roadster is powered by an electric motor and single-speed gear box. The car charges in less than four hours by using a Tesla high-power wall connector and will travel for 245 miles per charge. Two additional mobile connectors may be used for road trips.

The battery pack is made of 6,831 individual lithium ion batteries. Non-toxic Sierra Antifreeze/Coolant around the battery pack allows the car to be driven anywhere from the snow-covered Sierras to sweltering Death Valley.

Hand-built out of carbon fiber, Tesla Roadsters start at $109,000—or about $96,500 after a $5,000 state rebate and a $7,500 federal tax credit—and cost around $165,000 when fully loaded. 

"I have a friend who owns a Roadster," attendee John Burns said. "I'm interested in hearing about the new sedan from Tesla."

Tesla will build machine-made aluminum sedans called the Model S, which should be available by the second quarter of 2012. With a price of about $57,900, the car will hold up to seven passengers. A tax rebate of $7,500 will bring the cost to slightly under $50,000.

Viewings of a prototype will be held March 18-21 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Editor's Note: Due to a reporting error, the cost of the base model Tesla Roadster quoted in the original version of this story, posted March 18, was incorrect. The figure has been corrected in the updated version.