Electric cars are quickly becoming the staple of the modern car industry. Car companies have began to successfully build and market engines and cars that are electrically powered. While most cars are still a “hybrid” between gas and electric powered, there are cars that are being produced that are completely electrically powered. Many of the major car companies are now producing these fully electric cars, but there is one company that stands out among the rest: Tesla. Tesla’s cars combine the luxury and power from a gas powered car with the environmentally cleanliness of the electric car.

The conventional combustable engines have no been replaced with an electric motor. These motors convert electricity into mechanical power, while simultaneously acting as a generator. These motors have only one moving piece, the rotor, which spins and has little to no mechanical issues in its way. Tesla’s motor is one of the most efficient and powerful motors with an efficiency of about 88%, nearly three times the conventional engine. As the motor simultaneously acts as a generator, the car is able to recharge itself by collecting the energy while the accelerator is pressed.

The Tesla motors are comprised of two components: the rotor and the stator. The rotor is a rotating shaft with copper wiring running through it that, while it rotates, rotates the wheels.The surrounding stator does not actually come into contact with the rotor, but is creates the rotating magnetic field around the rotor and induces the current of electricity. The torque is created from the second magnetic field in the rotor which chases the rotating stator field.

As the accelerator (gas pedal) is pushed by the driver, the “Power Electronics Module” is told how much power and torque are being requested by the pressure put on the accelerator. So, if I floor the accelerator, the module knows I want full torque from the motor put into the wheels. If I remove my foot from the accelerator, the module then knows to begin the re-generation of electricity.

What do you do when you need to recharge? Simple, recharging stations. Just like your phone or laptop, you can plug the Tesla into a charging station and “refill the tank.” These charging stations are much more convenient and take much less time. You also don’t have to breath in all those toxic fumes like at a gas pump. Levels of charging range from plugging your car in at home to on the go at a charging station. Now, because the Tesla has around a 240 mile range when it is fully charged, you do not need to charge it every time you go out and it takes around 3-3.5 hours to fully charge the motor from a completely empty position. Depending on the type of outlet and the amount of electricity conducted from the outlet to the car, the charging times will vary, but you can recharge anywhere you can find an outlet which makes for a very simple process.

http://my.teslamotors.com/roadster/technology/motor

http://www.pluginamerica.org/drivers-seat/understanding-electric-vehicle-charging

http://www.teslamotors.com/models-charging#/highpower