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Today’s news that the White House has rejected GM and Chrysler’s proposals for new federal bailout money was certainly a hit to the Detroit auto scene.  However, hope is not all lost within the American automotive industry.  Last week, far from Detroit in LA (via silicon valley) Tesla, the new consumer electric car company unveiled their “Model S” that is supposed to be cheaper and more accessible to the average American consumer.

Checking the Model S out, I was fairly impressed with the look and the initial specs of the machine.  This thing is all electric – no hybrid nonsense, and at full charge it goes 300 miles and 0-60 in under 6 seconds.  Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that it seats 7 people, that’s a bunch for such a little looking car.

Perhaps even cooler is the fact that you can go 300 miles in this thing – then when the battery runs out, just plug it into a normal wall outlet and let it charge for 45 minutes – then unplug it and go another 300.  That’s like driving from Boston to Philly or LA to Vegas.  Not bad for 45 minutes on the grid.

I was a little taken aback by the price however – at $49,900 the car isn’t exactly in the ‘normal’ consumer’s price range.  It prices out at around the same dollars as a BMW 5 Series or a low end Mercedes CLK coupe.  Not exactly Joe Schmo cars.

So while it’s a step closer to a true consumer electric car, Tesla still has some work to do before they’re producing a model that’s competing with the Toyota Corolla.  It will certainly be interesting to see what they come up with next.