Issaquah resident Mark Mullet was the first Washington state resident to get a Tesla Roadster. (Photo by Scott McCredie )
Mark Mullet says he was 12 years old when electric cars first blipped onto his radar screen. That was back in the early 1980s, when rallies were held at Greenlake to promote electric vehicles.
One car that caught his eye was a home-built, electric-powered Volkswagen Beetle with a top speed of 35 mph and a range of 35 miles per charge.
What a difference two decades makes.
In January, Mullet, a former Bank of America executive who lives in Issaquah, became the first person in Washington state to take delivery of a Tesla Roadster, the world's most advanced electric car. Its top speed, limited by a governor, is 120 miles per hour, and the car can travel up to 220 miles on a charge.
How to get a Tesla
- How did Mark Mullet manage to snag one of the most sought-after cars in the world? In 2006, after reading about the car in a Seattle Times article, Mullet was so excited that within a week he sent Tesla a check for $100,000 to secure his place in line. He then had to wait two-and-a-half years for the car to be delivered. Washington has the second-longest waiting list for the car of any state in the U.S. (behind California), according to James Morrison, an electric vehicle enthusiast who runs the blog peakoilgarage.com and who is expecting his own Tesla in May. Around the world, more than 1,000 people are in line for the car. Mullet's Tesla was number 68. To reserve one, go to teslamotors.com and click the "buy" tab.
The two-seat convertible is built using the chassis and sinuous carbon-fiber body of the British-made Lotus. It not only "blows the doors" off his old Porsche Boxer, Mullet says, but trumps almost every car on the road in performance -- all while emitting zero emissions and costing just a few dollars to "fill" its 7,000 lithium ion batteries with electricity.
The car has been dazzling the media for the past year and boasts such owners as George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
Mullet, 37, delights in demonstrating the Tesla's already legendary acceleration (it goes from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds). He guides the car silently down the driveway of his solar-panel-topped home, and then gooses the accelerator. We rocket down the deserted street, the scenery blurring, every neuron screaming, "Slow down!"
Mullet just looks at me and smiles. It's a typical reaction for first-timers, he says. What also impresses people is the quietness of the motor. All you hear is the rush of wind and the hum of tires on pavement.
Mullet says he's been pleased with the car's utility as a day-to-day vehicle: "The (220-mile) range lets you do anything you want to do. It doesn't cross your mind that you're driving an electric car."
Though Mullet describes himself as a bit of a technophobe, he thinks the Tesla's technology is "really cool." It has only 12 moving parts, vs. more than 100 for a gasoline-powered car; a motor that's about the size of a watermelon; and only two shifting positions on the stick: forward and reverse.
For him, though, the car's best quality is its million-watt signal to the world that the technology is here, right now, to wean car buyers from gas and diesel. And the costs (the Roadster stickers out at $110,000 before nearly $15,000 in tax credits and exemptions) are bound to drop as mass-production kicks in.
Tesla has already debuted a more practical four-door sedan. Asked if he'll order one of those, too, Mullet laughs.
"If my wife and I decide to have our fourth child," he says, "I'm going to be waiting for the Tesla minivan."
16 Comments
By Andy on April 17, 2009 8:19 PM
You had to figure it would be an east sider. Good for him. 12 moving parts is pretty cool.
By Andy on April 17, 2009 8:22 PM
Cute baby too!
By Danny on April 18, 2009 7:34 AM
No sour grapes here... But did he buy the car with bailout money?
By Mark Mullet on April 18, 2009 9:53 AM
I left Bank of America in 2007 to move back to my hometown of Seattle - so the Tesla is all non-bailout money (haha). I'm opening a Zeek's Pizza in Issaquah in June. Order a large pie and I'll deliver it in the electric car this summer.
By Jon on April 18, 2009 1:37 PM
That would be a pretty fancy way to deliver pizzas. Hopefully, Tesla will get some lower priced sedans out there too. Good luck.
By Paul Scott on April 18, 2009 8:09 PM
Fantastic that this fellow has solar PV on his house. Here in California, our rates are very high compared to Seattle, so solar makes great economic sense. Seattle's rates are about half our, so the fact you got solar speaks to your enviro cred.
Running an EV on PV is as patriotic as it gets. Mark will never go to a gas station again, none of his money will go out of the country for foreign oil, nor will any of his money go to buy the bombs and bullets that are killing out soldiers.
Lots more EVs are coming soon. 500 Mini Es from BMW are about to be delivered, then there's Aptera this fall, and even better, Nissan has an EV coming next fall that'll be a market killer. After tax credits this 5 passenger, 100 mile range sedan will sell for about $20K. That's cheap!
By Dale on April 19, 2009 9:05 AM
Seattle Light includes in my bill information on how to use *less* electricity.
So which is it, am I supposed to reduce my use of electricity or increase it by using plug-in transportation?
By Judah on April 19, 2009 11:56 AM
You forgot to mention how the Tesla navigated through the moat around that castle!
Yeah, either I hit the lottery ( do you have to buy a ticket?) or the price drops about 90 grand.
Still cool though, but we (us workin folk) are way off until you can bring down those "mafia like" big oil Kings...good luck there...
By pilotmom on April 19, 2009 8:11 PM
I am really hoping for an EV that is family friendly, affordable and stylish. I love everything about the Tesla except the price. Congrats to Mark. Do you let your wife drive it? ;)
By iphlogger on April 20, 2009 12:59 AM
Wow...I guess I know where all of my banking fees from Bank of America have been going all these years. One can only hope Telsa gets bought up by one of our lamn American Car companies and they mass produce it so us "real people" can afford them. Stick it to the oil making countries.
By Matt Mullet on April 20, 2009 6:25 PM
Nice work getting my niece in the photo. Next time you need to mention your hometown of Tukwila....let them know the true roots. And he actually drives this car around town...rain or snow.
By Barry on April 22, 2009 4:35 AM
The Tesla's PR machine is better than the car itself. The landslide of media coverage for a $100,000 product that has barely trickled off the production line is absurdly lopsided. Will the media give equal time to, say, the upcoming Chevy Volt -- a car that will be considerably more affordable and usable by families?
By jared smith on April 28, 2009 6:49 AM
tesla's the true pioneer here. the more people that line up to pay $100K for the roadster, the more $$ Tesla can pump into economic firendly options like the Model S...detroit car magnates should have been on the front line of this technology/revolution years ago...dont tell me they didnt have the money.
http://www.teslamotors.com/buy/buyshowroom.php
my equilibrium was shot for 20 min after mark's first demonstration of the 0-60 power...it's ridiculous
and either way, if i can ever afford an EV, of course i'm buying it from a company named after one of the rockinist 80s hair bands ever...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eu_mDN6KYI&feature=related
By Eparga on April 28, 2009 10:08 AM
This is a great idea, how long does it take to recharge the system? How long before the average american can afford such a car?
By EVCarlover on August 21, 2009 6:03 PM
Gorgeous car, Matt. first one I ever saw in Seattle was several months ago, license number ‘PLGIN’, which I thought was truly fitting. Don't know if that was yours, but WOW!! Still driving my Porsche 911, but things may change now that I saw this car.
By Tony Rusi on December 3, 2009 10:38 PM
Mark! Have you ever looked at the "garbage warrior" DVD and Earthships?