If you want to get the bargain price on the Tesla Roadster, the all-electric sports car, act now.
The company is raising the price. The 2007 model sold for $92,000, and the 2008 model will sell for $98,000. Of course, the 2007 model isn't even out yet. It won't hit the streets until November or December of this year, but the company has already booked a couple hundred deposits. You can still get a 2007 model for $92,000 if you book now.
The company didn't say what consumers will get for the extra money. Since there isn't room for a kid's booster seat (and the fact that I am the cheapest person in North America), I'll have to pass.
The company had some price changes on its sedan, code-named Whitestar, earlier this year. Tesla said it would have two versions of Whitestar: a car that can travel 200 miles on a charge that will sell for about $65,000 to $70,000 and a $50,000-ish model that will go about 130 miles between charges and not travel as fast. A year earlier, the company was talking about only one sedan model for $50,000. Whitestar is planned to arrive in 2010.
Of course, if you really want an electric town car now, you can go to Norway. Th!nk will come out with its electric sedans later this year. Tesla and another company will supply batteries to the company. A deal between the two was announced in January.