Electric cars are not only better for the environment but can also be very fast. Very, very fast. This is what Tesla set out to showcase with its first car, the Roadster, over 16 years ago.
Now, Teslaās CEO, Elon Musk, has surprised many with a post on X overnight, providing more information on a brand-new Roadster that has been some tie in the making.Ā
In the post, Musk teased the carās performance credentials, going as far as saying that some may not even call it a car: āTonight, we radically increased the design goals for the new Tesla Roadster. There will never be another car like this, if you could even call it a car.
Tonight, we radically increased the design goals for the new Tesla Roadster.
There will never be another car like this, if you could even call it a car.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 28, 2024
āI think it has a shot at being the most mind-blowing product demo of all timeā.
The post prompted a spiral of questions back at Musk, through which some performance specs were further teased.
Tesla enthusiast and news expert, Sawyer Merritt, asked about the straight-line performance figure to which Musk replied: ā0-60mph < 1 sec, And that is the least interesting partā.
That is astonishingly fast for any car, let alone an electric car that can be driven on the road.Ā
Tesla has previously showcased what its tri-motor Plaid powertrain is capable of in the five-door Model S sedan, with a specified time of 0-60 mph in 1.99 seconds.
Based on this, the new two-door Roadster is expected to be twice as fast at sprinting to 60 mph (97 kmh).
In 2017, Musk first flagged the next generation of the Roadster, known as the Roadster 2.0. On Teslaās Australian website, the Roadster 2.0 still has a placeholder website, it currently has the specs listed as 0-100 km/h in 2.1 seconds. This is identical to what the Model S Plaid sedan does today.
The website also lists a top speed of 400 km/h and an estimated range of 1,000 km and 10,000 Nm of torque. The original specs also list a quarter-mile time of 8.8 seconds.
To this day, customers can reserve the Roadster 2.0 in Australia for $66,000.

On timing, Musk hinted at an official product unveiling before the end of 2024 with production possibly in 2025: āProduction design complete and unveil end of year, aiming to ship next yearā.

RizĀ is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.