When the interview was completed, I looked for a company where I could see some of this technology, and that is thinking about how the technology should be in the future. My topic is Future Transportation, so in that case, where I went was an actual Tesla store in Brooklyn. It’s not a dealership, but is owned by the Tesla company itself.  It was a one hour drive from Scarsdale,  on 5/27/17, but it was worth it! We got to learn about a new technology which allows it to drive on automatic pilot, which allows the car to drive itself for a while. Also, it will be able to upgrade to be fully self-driving in a few years. For instance, that will allow the car to drive someone to work and drive back home by itself.

The employee I interviewed was named David Rozins. He taught us about different green cars (like electric cars, not the color) and what they can do. The Tesla drives on pure electric power. For instance, one model has  7,160 battery cells, which together equal one third of the body weight of the car. This one is heavier than most cars, weighing about 4,800 pounds. Most cars this size weigh about 4,000 pounds. Rozins said this makes the Tesla safer than other cars. Here’s some more information. Tesla’s have an electric motor on each axle of the chassis. That’s the frame of the car. It’s made of something called aluminum composite so it doesn’t rust. It also has no gears. It can speed up from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds. There are other electric cars that are sold but this can go further without recharging.

But what was REALLY, SUPER FASCINATING was that he even allowed us to ride in it! The one we rode in had eight cameras and radar to sense what was around the car. On the inside, it was fascinating because instead of there being A LOT OF BUTTONS, there was a touch screen, even bigger than an ipad! And another thing is, instead of going to the gas station, your own home is like a gas station. You charge your car with some called superchargers, which is kind of like the fuel or gas. Rozins said one of the problems in developing electric car technology is having enough places around the country to charge it up. Tesla has built hundreds of places around the country, and around the world, to charge their cars.  And guess how long it takes to charge? To charge it fully, it takes eight hours and go 350 miles without recharging.

Anyway, back to riding the car. It was so cool! You know when you ride your regular car, there’s a small window at the roof of the car? Well, in this car, the window took up the WHOLE ENTIRE ROOF OF THE CAR! So it was awesome when you looked up at the roof and what you saw was a big, clear window leading you looking into the sky. And finally, when he actually drove it, there is an option to put the car into launch mode. Launch mode is a button where the car goes super fast! So fast that when he drives it, your head is pushed back, pressing the back seat of the car. It’s basically like a rollercoaster! Well, it feels like it.

Here are some pictures of the Chassis:

Here are some pictures of the car we rode:

Here are some pictures of the touch-screen inside of the car:

And finally, here is a picture of the camera located on the side of a car:

Overall, my site visit was so fun. But we also got info on my topic. I’m so glad we came!