Edie Lush

In which I test drive the world's first electric sportscar

Coat by Vivienne Westwood. Car by Tesla.

I first met the Tesla Roadster at the Intelligence Squared Green Festival on Climate Change which I organised in January. However, the test drive proved elusive. Not so in Copenhagen! I’m here covering the event for Hub Culture and finally got my chance to step behind the wheel. The best part is the braking – you rarely actually step on the brake to slow down the car. Instead when you lift your foot off the accelerator something called ‘regenerative braking’ happens. The car turns the kinetic energy of the car’s movement into chemical energy which it stores in the battery so you can drive the car on it later. This transfer of energy also serves to slow the vehicle. So you don’t waste energy, or create extra heat, or burn brake pads which release ‘particulates’ (small dirty particles) into the air. Plus it is super fast – zero to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds.

Watch the test drive here!