I accuse them of failing to deliver because the company has full price deposits from over 350 customers. They expected to be driving off in their new roadsters this year, and now they have to wait another year. I also find it troubling that they're still taking deposits on a vehicle that is already a year behind on production.
Crash testing is important because when the innards of a Lithium Ion battery are exposed to oxygen, they explode. Until NHTSA runs a few roadsters into a wall at 30 mph and verifies that you won't die a firery death, it's not safe.
As far as I know, no outside source has verified the company's claim of 200 miles per charge (250 was too optimistic, so they sent a letter to those who paid for the cars to expect a
range closer to 200). This is important because any car that can only run 100 miles (my realistic estimation) and require 3-6 hours (3 on a 90-amp charger, 6 on a 60-amp charger) pretty much handcuffs you to how far you can go while worrying about where you're going to find a 110-volt outlet to plug into if you go a bit too far.
Keep in mind, it requires 746 watts of energy to generate 1 horsepower. Multiply that by 248 hp, and you have a car that requires over 180 kW of juice to spin that motor. The EV1 required only 102kW, and was only 300 lbs heavier than the estimated weight of the roadster, but only managed 120 miles on a good day. Does 200 miles still seem like a stretch?
If it works out, then great, but until I see a vehicle on the street and a satisfied customer, I'm not buying into the notion that this is the wave of the future.