In honor of Nikola Tesla’s birthday July 10th, here’s a video of me plus friends driving a first-gen Tesla Roadster at the site of the worlds first Alternating Current power plant, Ames Colorado! This is just outside of #Telluride so you will probably recognize some of the landscape. Watch my reaction to the sheriff…

When I organized this event with Tesla’s director of marketing I had already given up on hydrogen as a fuel for all the technical reasons that have remained unsolved today.

But only a few years after a mediocre drive of the Honda FCX Fuel Cell car - which had the best overall specs of any of the available cars at the time - the Tesla Motors first generation Roadster was a complete unexpected kick! That was the first time anyone had built an electric car that had massive acceleration ready to go. And it changed everything.

Our successes at Shandoka Electric Motorcycles are a result of this driving experience - it really sealed the exit of our founder from the Telluride hydrogen co-operative and the patient waiting for a new inspiration.

Just a few years later, and after several months of frustration in the garage, the initial idea for the Shandoka Retrofit adapter for motorcycles was sparked. But that's a story for another post...