Tesla’s Elon Musk didn’t just reveal his semi-trailer this week, he also revealed his second-generation electric roadster which is slated for a 2020 launch.
THE ALL-NEW TESLA ROADSTER was unloaded from the trailer of the semi that was the ‘main’ reason for the press gathering. Mouths hit the floor. Especially mine… I’ve driven the first two iterations of the Tesla Roadster and the thing sits right at the top of my all-time favourite cars list. This new one would likely accelerate straight to the top of that list.
Details were very thin on the ground, but Tesla is claiming it’ll hit 96km/h in just 1.9 seconds which would possibly make your eyes water… and while its top speed wasn’t announced, Musk suggested it would exceed 400km/h.
It’s powered by a 200-kilowatt-hour battery pack and three electric motors punching out a claimed 10,000Nm. The range is suggested to be around 1000km. Tesla will launch the Roadster in 2020 with 1000 units up for reservation now at a price of US$250,000 each.
And then there was the Tesla Semi which uses four electric motors from the Model 3. It can accelerate to the legal limit in just over five seconds when not hauling its trailer and takes more than 20 seconds when fully loaded. Tesla, claim it can be charged to three-quarters of its range in just 30 minutes and there’s no sleeper cab available just yet.
To ensure uptake of the Tesla Semi, the brand will be rolling out “worldwide” its high-speed DC charging stations which are a lot like the Superchargers the brand already has in place.
It’s all pretty amazing. I wonder when Tesla will become a business and make cars as well as headlines.