Tesla showed off the second-generation Roadster on November 16, 2017. It’s now February 28, 2024, and the electric racing car is still not there. But if Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, is right, the wait is almost over. The controversial CEO talked about the long-awaited performance EV on his microblogging site X, which used to be Twitter.
Musk is the only leader in the car business who knows how to get people excited about a product. To promote the new Roadster, he said some pretty strong things, like “There will never be another car like this if you could even call it a car.” In addition, Tesla’s CEO said, “I think it has a shot at being the most mind-blowing product demo of all time.”
It also seems to be able to reach 60 mph in less than one second.
The top people at Tesla then said that the design was complete and that the production model would be coming out near the end of the year. The goal is to start delivering to customers sometime in 2025, but people who know how the company works know that you can never be too sure.
Since the Roadster idea was first shown about six and a half years ago, it’s time to go over the technical details that Tesla promised. It was initially said to go from 0 to 100 mph in 4.2 seconds and a quarter mile in 8.8 seconds. It says it can go over 250 mph and 620 miles on a single charge. The car has four seats and an all-wheel drive.
I think it has a shot at being the most mind-blowing product demo of all time
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 28, 2024
Beyond the Sunroof: Dreams of Rocket-Powered Flight
Future Tesla Roadsters should have removable glass roofs that can be stored in the trunk. Musk wrote in June 2018 that SpaceX could offer a way with “10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around the car.” These rocket engines make speeding up, stopping, turning, and going around corners much better. They may let a Tesla fly. Musk said in May 2021 that the car could go from 0 to 60 mph in 1 second, which was completely unstable.
Musk now says it will do it in less than one second as if that wasn’t unstable enough. We don’t believe this story very much. Even though he isn’t allowed to drive, the unsteady McMurtry Speirling can do it in 1.4 seconds on Avon slick tires. The Roadster, on the other hand, will have a license plate. The Spéirling doesn’t weigh anything either—at 2,200 pounds, it’s got to be a lot less than what the much bigger Roadster will weigh.
0-60mph < 1 sec
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 28, 2024
And that is the least interesting part
Like all of Musk’s other claims, these posts should be taken with a grain of salt. We will believe it when we see it. It would be fine with just the original technology specs that were announced in November 2017.
Musk believes the car will debut in late 2024, but Tesla is taking $50,000 orders now. The price of a Roadster is between $200,000 and $250,000, assuming it hasn’t changed. It’s expensive, but compared to a $2 million Rimac Nevera with no back seats or convertible capability, it’s affordable. The McMurtry Spéirling we talked about earlier costs around $1 million.
FAQs
Elon Musk claims the next-generation Tesla Roadster, equipped with an optional SpaceX rocket thruster package, can achieve this feat. However, it’s important to consider:
– This is with the SpaceX package, not the standard version.
– This statement hasn’t been officially confirmed by Tesla.
There is no official 0-60 mph time for the Roadster yet. Initial estimates mentioned 1.1 seconds, but Musk’s recent statement suggests it might be under 1 second with the SpaceX package.
