Tesla: Little electric roadster that could

SAN CARLOS, Calif. -- A little roadster that goes into regular production in two weeks is already electrifying the auto industry.

It's not about promises that the Tesla will deliver pin-you-back-in-your-seat acceleration — 0 to 60 miles per hour in a Ferrari-like 3.9 seconds — or its sexy appearance.

Tesla's groundbreaking distinction is under its carbon-fiber skin. The $98,000 Tesla is the first production high-performance electric car. It is powered entirely by electricity, a plug-in that will never use a drop of gasoline. And it's billed as being able to go 221 miles in mixed city/highway driving on a full battery charge.

The sports car from San Carlos-based Tesla Motors has European sex appeal with power to match that defies the image of electric vehicles as poky carts for golf courses or senior villages.

"It's in the vanguard of the electric car revolution that is coming," proclaims Elon Musk, the digital-age tycoon who is Tesla Motors chairman and largest shareholder of Tesla Motors.

Critics, however, say Tesla's high price, exotic battery technology and lack of onboard backup power mean it will remain a niche vehicle.

Even consumers who can afford one may be spooked by the car's limited range. Unlike hybrids, it has no gas engine as a backup.

"If you run out of juice, you're dead in the water," warns Dick Messer, executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, which ordered a Tesla roadster for display, then canceled.

A lot is riding on the launch: A Tesla flop could short-circuit the electric-car revolution. Fans already have been disquieted by a six-month production delay and internal troubles, including a public spat between Musk and former CEO Martin Eberhard that has played out over Internet blogs.

Yet the fundamental idea remains compelling: to build a car without the compromises usually made with alternative-fuel vehicles. The car is intended to be the top-performing sports car in its pricey bracket — and one which just happens to run on electricity.

"Tesla is out front in timing and in dispelling all the myths, building a car that shatters every stereotype of what an electric car is," says Chelsea Sexton of Plug In America, a Los Angeles-based electric-vehicle advocacy group.