Tesla-inspired electric boat unveiled: X Shore Eelex 8000

Konrad Bergstrom, the Swedish tech millionaire behind the new electric boat startup X Shore, says that he was inspired by Tesla to create its lineup of electric boats.

The company recently unveiled its latest creation: the X Shore Eelex 8000.

When Bergstrom says that he was inspired by Tesla, he means that he followed a few principals that served Tesla well:

• Create an electric boat that is better than fossil fuel-powered boats
  • focusing on long-range and high-performance
• Starting low volume and high-end before making your way down market with higher volume

You could replace the word ‘boat’ by ‘car’ here and it would indeed be very similar to Tesla’s early approach.

However, X Shore found that electric boats have a more difficult energy problem than electric cars due to the density of water versus density of air.

Bergstrom told Motorboat magazine:

“Water is 784 times denser than air and takes a lot more energy than rolling a car along a flat road. “It’s like a car driving up a 45 degree hill all the time,” points out Konrad.”

They had to develop a more efficient hull, drivetrain, and then pack enough batteries to make sure it would have a decent range.

X Shore claims that the Eelex 8000 has a range of about 100 nautical miles:

“Each X Shore craft features a modular interior and hull optimized for efficient passage through water. Outstanding acceleration, coupled with speed and performance over distance are essential for the modern seafarer. The boats are equipped with a battery and magnetic gearbox ensuring silence and zero air friction, a top speed of 40 knots while a consistent speed of 25 knots can be achieved when cruising for more than 2 hours.”

While the water offers its difficulties, it also highlights the advantages of an electric powertrain.

For example, the only sound you hear is the water displacement:

Bergstrom also notes that due to the open-air design of most boats, you will notice fumes more than in a car — resulting in another advantage of not burning fossil fuels on the boat.

The startup has been working on this since 2012 and they have recently unveiled the first boats: the Eelex 6500 and the Eelex 8000.

Here are the specs of te Eelex 8000:

LOA: 26ft 3in (8.0m)
Beam: 8ft 6in (2.6m)
Draught: 2ft 7in (0.8m)
Motor: 220kW (299hp)
Top speed: 40 knots
Cruising speed: 25 knots
Range: 100nm @ 10 knots

The price starts at €300,000 (~$337,000 USD), but as we previously mentioned, X Shore hopes to eventually be able to release less expensive and higher-volume electric boats.

For now, they are planning the first deliveries for later this summer.