If you owned a $100,000 sports car, would you let more than 1,000 people --Â including strangers -- drive it?
It’s safe to say most people would not.
Don Cox isn’t most people.
“The car pretty well takes care of itself and the driver,†he said. “Nobody’s crashed it.â€
Among those he’s given a chance to drive his “radiant red†Tesla Roadster are the 23 students in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln class he teaches about electric cars. This is the first time the university has offered the one-credit course, which introduces students to the electric car’s history and benefits.
Cox retired in September from Stanford University, where he worked for 19 years as an electrical engineering professor and director of the Center for Telecommunications. Before that, he worked in mobile communications, including doing radio research for Bellcore and as a manager for Bell Laboratories.
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Cox said one of his sons opened his eyes to the advantages of electric cars when he leased a General Motors EV1, one of the first mass-produced electric cars.
GM later repossessed the vehicles and smashed them, a controversial decision for those who had leased them and to environmentalists, who raised concerns about the oil industry’s involvement in the decision.
Before he lost the car, Cox’s son let his mom and dad drive it.
“We both really liked the car,†Cox said. “My wife fell in love with it.â€
They decided to buy their own, eventually settling on the Roadster after checking out Tesla’s financial and engineering capabilities.
Cox co-taught a class on electric cars for two years at Stanford before moving home to Nebraska and the Electrical Engineering Department chairman at UNL.
He has invited guest speakers to talk about electric car batteries and about Tesla, including the company’s co-founder, Martin Eberhard, who spoke to nearly 140 people Nov. 14 about the company and the Roadster.
Cox’s Roadster was No. 60 off the production line in 2008. It has a 244-mile range and can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds.
Electric cars are known for responding almost immediately when a driver pushes down on the accelerator pedal and slowing quickly as a driver lets up on the pedal.
But the car’s greatest benefit, Cox said, is its lack of emissions. And that’s really why he’s let so many people drive it -- to try to persuade them to buy an electric car and reduce emissions.
Some have kept his car for a few hours, some for a few days.
"Invariably, they have a big smile on their face," he said.
Among the 18 students who took Cox up on his offer to drive the Roadster was Bo Yang, a graduate student in electrical engineering. He kept the car for a day and noticed several drivers giving him thumbs up. He even gave a ride to a stranger.
Alexandra Toftul, a graduate student in electrical engineering, said driving the Roadster cemented her decision to buy a hybrid.
“Once you hit that accelerator pedal, everybody just falls in love with it,†she said.
Driving the Roadster inspired mechanical engineering graduate student Michael Head, too, and he's considering buying a Tesla Model S, which hit markets in 2009.
“It’s definitely one of the most remarkable experiences I’ve had,†he said. “He allows anyone to drive his $100,000 car.â€