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Is that why these sleek sedans are showing up in ever-increasing num- bers on Peninsula streets? Well, yes. But there are other reasons, including the fact that the Tesla plug-in electric vehicle (EV) puts out zero emissions. "I've always had an interest in green tech," says local Ron Eastman, who owns a Model S with his wife Pat. "Our home is green. When we built it, we assumed we would have an electric car at some point and installed the infrastructure in our garage." The Eastman's Santa Lucia Preserve home is fitted with solar panels, "so it really costs nothing to power our vehicle." However, owning a Tesla isn't entirely about being green. "In some ways, our carbon footprint isn't as admirable as you'd think," Eastman confess- es. "There's an upscale Italian car in our garage as well. Its brand name starts with an 'M.' That car is perhaps more well-appointed. But by every performance measure, the Tesla beats it—handling, acceleration, com- fort…it's just a really fun car to drive. And it's safer, which is a big plus." Then there's the technology. George Jetson would feel at home in a Model S cockpit. No buttons, knobs or levers clutter up the dashboard, just an integral 17-inch touch screen that controls nearly all its systems. "Everything you need is right there on the screen," says Pebble Beach Tesla owner Clint Jones. "It's like driving an iPad." Well, maybe, if your iPad hap- pens to go from 0-60 MPH in 4.2 seconds, as does the P85. "You really should be driving a Tesla." Those words were spoken to Rich Pèpe more than a half-dozen times before he sat up and took notice. Known around town as a Ferrari man, Pèpe came under the Tesla spell when a friend arrived for last year's Pebble Beach Concours Carmel resident Maya Kakis Pechak, with twin sons Johannis Jack and Andreas Wolfgang Pechak and Labradoodle Poseidon, stands in front of her 2013 Tesla Model S. The babies came home from the hospital in the top-rated for safety car. 126 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 Tesla's charger is built into the powertrain system, allowing the use (with adapters) of many types of power outlets for charging. The roadster has a range of 245 miles. Photo: Kelli Uldall 124-128 Tesla Cars_152-161 Garcia story 1/26/14 12:34 PM Page 3