Timeline 347
- July. Almost no-one knew that Tesla ex-
isted, until now when Tesla showed EP 1
and EP 2 in Santa Monica, California - August. 100 employees. Why did they
make 10 EPs? So they could test-crash a
few of them. Tesla had earlier crashed
a few virtual cars, but they needed to
know if the computers models were ac-
curate. They also began to show the Road-
ster at events to market it - September. 120 employees. They made
more tests, including radiated emissions
and susceptibility testing - October. They made a durability test,
which consists of driving the Roadster
on a cobblestone racetrack. The idea is
to simulate 100,000 miles in 6 months.
It would have taken much longer time
to drive the same distance on a smooth
road. Tesla realized that their computer
models were inaccurate - the Roadster’s
transmission didn’t survive the durabil-
ity test - November. 144 employees, and more tests,
including driving through a saltwater
bath - December. They showed the EP 2 at the
Los Angeles Auto Show
2007