Tesla Roadster 3.0 road trip manages 340 miles on single charge

We still don’t know when, exactly, it’s coming, or how much it will cost, but we now confirm this:
the 3.0 package for the
Tesla Roadster will allow the electric sportscar to make the long-distance drive from San Jose to Los Angeles without stopping to charge. And, it could have a additional 20 miles with of range after it arrives.

We know this because
the California automaker has, on the anniversary of its
Cross Country Rally, sent a Roadster equipped with the prototype version of the 3.0 package from
its Santana Row store in San Jose all the way down to the Santa Monica Pier. In all, the two-seater clocked the voyage at
340 miles and indicated another twenty left in the «tank.»

According to an
account of the trip on the
Tesla website, the driver used cruise control to keep close to the speed limit and engaged the heater, at one point, for a 40-minute stretch. The total time is given as under six hours, with no mention of whether any stops were made for maintenance of the pilot.

While the
electric car company still won’t say when the package will be available – we asked – it seems like the wait will probably extend for a couple more months, at least. The prototype may have been ready for its maiden voyage, but the consumer version will get more development work using data derived from this early venturing forth.