The production version of the Tesla Roadster will be unveiled later this year, company CEO Elon Musk has said, claiming the electric model will arrive with bombastic performance statistics – including a sub-1.0sec 0-60mph time.
Posting to X (formerly Twitter), Musk said the brief for the car had been “radically increased” and promised “there will never be another car like this”.
The specification set out at the car’s 2017 unveiling entailed a 0-60mph time of 1.9sec, hitting 100mph 2.3sec later and reaching a top speed north of 250mph. Range was claimed to be 620 miles.
Musk has now said the production version of the Roadster will crack 60mph in less than 1.0sec. He previously said an optional rocket-thruster package, developed with SpaceX, would propel it to 60mph in 1.1sec.
This is significantly quicker than the 1.95sec 0-62mph time claimed for the Rimac Nevera, which is currently the world’s fastest-accelerating production car.
Musk added that the company is “aiming” to begin deliveries in 2025, having previously touted launch dates of 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024, following its unveiling in 2017.
The previous delays were attributed to supply chain disruption, as well as the extended development of a tri-motor powertrain and advanced battery technologies.
Given the lofty specification of the Roadster, it seems unlikely that it will be delivered at the originally quoted price of around $250,000 (then £190,000) for ‘Founders Edition’ models. Reservations for these cars were charged at the full $250,000.
For reference, a Nevera costs more than £2 million, as does the closely related Pininfarina Battista.
