The Tesla Roadster took off, drove upside down and hit 60 mph in less than a second
Elon Musk promised a flying car. So the Tesla Roadster did just that. Tesla showed off its next-generation Roadster at an event in Waco, Texas, where the electric supercar drove upside down, briefly flew, and hit 60 mph in less than a second. It was an impressive display of a car that until […]
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The next generation roadster has been in development for nearly a decade. But maybe it was worth the wait.
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Transportation editor with over 10 years of experience covering electric vehicles, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in the New York Daily News and City and State.
Elon Musk promised a flying car. So the Tesla Roadster did just that.
Tesla showed off its next-generation Roadster at an event in Waco, Texas, where the electric supercar drove upside down, briefly flew, and hit 60 mph in less than a second. It was an impressive display of a car that won't go into production until 2028.
The next-generation roadster certainly took a scenic route to get here. An early version was announced as a "one more thing" style surprise during Tesla's 2017 Semi event. The specs seemed ridiculous even then: 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, a top speed of over 250 mph, a 200 kWh battery that offered up to 620 miles of range, and a starting price of $200,000. Musk said deliveries would begin in 2020, which seemed entirely doable at the time.
Early adopters quickly put down deposits of $50,000 (or $250,000 for the limited Founders Series), effectively interest-free loans to help finance Tesla's ambitions. But then Tesla seemed to forget about the Roadster as it cemented its place as the ultimate steam machine. Production deadlines were reduced as Tesla prioritized mass vehicles like the Model Y while also grappling with the highly complex Cybertruck. Sometimes, when Musk remembers that the Roadster exists, he talks about its capabilities. This culminated in the SpaceX package, which equipped the supercar with cold-gas engines, giving it hover power and a sub-second 0-60 time.
Musk has also tried to downplay the importance of the Roadster, calling it a "small potatoes situation" that "doesn't move the needle very much financially." He sees the supercar as more of a joint engineering collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX, and even questions whether the supercar is "just another car" given its experimental nature. Some analysts believe the decision to relaunch the Roadster is an attempt to prepare the ground for a rumored merger between Tesla and SpaceX.
Tesla's failure to market the Roadster has led other automakers to pass the company with their high-powered electric vehicles. Rimac has broken performance records with the Nevera, Porsche has improved electric performance with the Taycan, and Chinese giants like BYD are producing track-ready supercars on the cheap. The Roadster no longer shocks the world as an impossible prototype. It's playing to the industry, which has spent years building what Tesla simply offered.
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