The coolest electric car, the Tesla Roadster, has been hit by delays and management changes. This week Tesla updated its customers on the status of their pre-ordered electric Porsche killers.

Apparently the biggest technical issue in the Tesla Roadster is the transmission. Shifting gears with the electric motor on full torque is a hard task for a transmission. The current one does not hold for very long. Tesla Motors built the first production car (for Elon Musk) with a not yet finalized transmission.
The current range of a fully charged Tesla Roadster is stated as 220-230 miles.

Tesla Motors set out to develop something cool that had not been done before. Delays are part of a venture like that. As long as Elon Musk is keeping the company financed the prospects are good that they will succeed. After the expensive electric sports car is selling in numbers the WhiteStar is supposed to bring electric car driving to the rest of us.
More details on AutoGreenBlog.
See also the Tesla Motors site.