In response, the car took off, pressing me back into the seat. Tesla says the car can go from zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and has a top speed of 130 mph, and while I couldn't test those, its performance and response shone.

Back at base, recharging is as simple as plugging a cable into the power port, which is on the left rear of the car where you'd normally expect the gas nozzle to be. A light around the recharging plug pulses green when it's being recharged, slowing from a fast pulse when the battery is almost empty to a steady green light when charging is complete.

The distance that can be traveled depends on the battery installed and, when driving at 55 miles per hour (88.5 kilometers per hour), ranges from 160 miles (257 kilometers) with a 40 kWh battery to 300 miles with an 85 kWh battery.

"Today, we're just at a tipping point where it's possible for the first time ever to build an electric vehicle that has a range similar to a gasoline vehicle," said JB Straubel, chief technology officer of Tesla. He estimates advances in battery technology are adding between 7 percent and 8 percent to the potential range each year.

"It's a very exciting time, and vehicles we'll build 10 years from now could have almost, potentially, twice the range of today, or a battery pack that weighed half as much as the battery packs we have today," he said.