Hasta La Gadget!

It’s a time-honored formula: a sports sedan in the $50,000 range that can hit 60 mph in less than six seconds is a sweet spot for automakers. The BMW 5 Series, the Mercedes E Class, the Lexus GS430, and the Acura RL all play in this range, for example. But none of them are particularly green vehicles. Usually they struggle to average 20 miles per gallon, especially when a lot of city driving is involved.

If we’re talking about an all-electric car like the Tesla Model S, though, that changes things. And as we found out last night at a private company event held in NYC (pictured), the car really works–even if its scheduled production date, some two and a half years away, seems frustratingly remote.