The supra geniuses over at Sili Valley's Tesla motors have been unquick to admit their hot new EV is really a Lotus Elise in drag — or reduced drag, as the case may be. It's not that we're deriding their choice of underpinnings for the electric supercar; the Elise is perfect: light, well balanced and built by a company that's not adverse to doing for others if the price is right. But c'mon, judge from the images above. The Tesla — at least in prototype form — is so Elise on the inside it hurts, from the dash binnacle to the air vents to the steering wheel — right down to the parking brake handle. Sure, the cars have their differences — allowances made for the differing drivetrains and the like, but they're undeniably dopplegangeresque. Oh wait, the Tesla comes with floormats!?
Tesla Roadster [Wired]
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More on the Tesla [internal]