TESLA AND EBERHARD

First, Tesla Motors founder Martin Eberhard's titles have quickly downgraded from lofty heights. Co-founder and CEO; to President; to a member of the advisory board. It now appears that Mr. Eberhard was... shall we say, fired? His words at this forum make rather clear the circumstances.

I'm no businessman, nor am I stupid. Did Ford ever fire Henry? Did Chevrolet rid themselves of Louis? Was Mercedes-Benz ridded of Benz? Seriously, these are questions. I understand that partnerships break up and the Don must sometimes be moved to the back room to make way for Michael, but really, folks. Have some tact. You fired the founder?

Tesla's Roadster is, to put it in ultra-simple terms - an electric Lotus Elise. In reality, the vehicle is much more complicated than that and also happens to feature a thorough rebody. The price is high and the production debut has been long awaited. (We're still waiting.) The 47-year old Eberhard developed the concept with co-founder Marc Tarpenning. The car debuted in Santa Monica about midway thru 2006.

NEW TESLA ROADSTER PICTURES

In recent days we've seen the LCC Lightning move about, and even with its higher-than-Tesla pricetag, it surely moves the technology goalposts. Nevertheless, the $100K Tesla Roadster is a Lotus Elise in the electric emperor's new clothes, so one sits up and pays attention.

Selecting the best of the most recent Tesla photos, GoodCarBadCar.net wishes it to be known that the Tesla has some angles on its side and some.... not so much. The first three photos you see are Tesla, the bottom shows its Lotus origins.

TESLA'S TEMP TRANS TROUBLES

Who killed the electric car? Or who couldn't get it started? Tesla's troubles to get their roadster into production will have a serious affect on customers after the purchase - and we know that. Not in a 1980's Hyundai kind of way, but as an acknowledged solution to Tesla's transmission issues.

The Roadster's first day of production is now slated for March 17th.  More problematic than the delays will be the need for owners to refurbish their Tesla Roadster's with the company's DriveTrain 1.5, since the early production models will be fitted with a 2-speed transmission. 

What would the auto world say if Toyota demanded that your purchase of a new Camry came with a temporary engine, and the dealer would refit you with a V6 later on? How would you feel if your new Armani suit came with unsuitable buttons, but Giorgio could reapply classier buttons a few months on?

To read about Tesla's personnel issues on GoodCarBadCar, click here. To visit the company's official site, here's the link.