Tesla's Roadster may be a few years late, but at least it launched with a bang.
The new Roadster, unveiled late on Thursday in McGregor, Texas, is an electric supercar boasting numbers that seem impossible.
Far more fascinating than the numbers was a demo in which the car was driven upside down on a ramp and then, using boosters on the bottom and the sides, flips itself over mid-air and gently lowers itself to the ground.
"You're gonna see what happens when you have a collaboration between the world's best car company, and the world's best rocket company," said Tesla CEO Elon Musk during the event introduction. The car, as it was explained, has suction fans on the bottom allowing it to stick itself to a surface with an incredible amount of force, so it can actually remain upside down for a while. This is good for stunts, but it will also be good for speedy driving, as the extra downforce makes the car extra nimble in turns. The Roadster also has a retractable rear wing that can dynamically adjust downforce, further helping with the car's behaviour at high speeds.
As for the rocketry that propels the Roadster upwards, that's "borrowed" from SpaceX, and it consists of ten air nozzles that use compressed air from a special tank to push the car up or sideways. The important part: No special fuel is needed; it's all just air, and the tank can be refueled when needed.
In another demo, the Roadster performs a "kickflip" as it lifts itself into the air and does a roll over Tesla's entire fleet of cars, including the Tesla Semi.
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But is it quick, you may ask? Yes, it is. Very quick, in fact; in a live demo happening behind Musk's back on the pad, the car went from 0-60mph in an apparent 0.81 seconds, which would make it a lot faster than anything else out there. For comparison, Rimac Nevera R, the quickest production car out there, does a 0-60mph in 1.66 seconds; a Formula 1 car can do it in 1.6 seconds.
It gets better (crazier?). Musk says the production car will actually be quicker. The limit, apparently, isn't how fast it can go; according to Musk, it's "don't detach the retina" of the human behind the wheel.
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Some of the specs are murky. According to Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy, the Roadster has a top speed of 230 mph, but "it can go a lot faster than that." Musk took over at that point saying that it'll get to halfway the speed of sound or Mach 0.5, which is approximately 370mph. The massive discrepancy is unclear, but everything about this car was unclear for so long, nothing can surprise us at this point.
Inside, the Tesla Roadster is a two-seater with sporty seats, a yoke wheel and a large, centrally placed infotainment display. Specifics about the display were left out; as for the materials used, the seats and interior detailing is all microsuede. The car is apparently only available in white, with the "Iconic Ultrawhite" interior.
Many questions remain unanswered, including battery size and life and the powertrain (beyond the rocketry bit). As for the flying bit, we've seen it go up in the air and perform stunts, but it's unclear just for how long and how far it can fly. And don't even get us started on whether any of this flying business will be road-legal anytime soon.
Of course, there's a pretty big catch to all this. The car you can reserve now is the Performance variant, which is a two-seater with the active rear wing and a multi-mode suction system mentioned above. Just the reservation will cost you $5,000 today and an additional $45,000 due within 10 days.
The Thrust variant has all of the above plus the acceleration thrusters. It's available in a limited fashion (one order per customer) and subject to "each region’s legal requirements and applicable laws." To get that one, you'll have to dish out $5,000 now and an additional $245,000 within 10 days.
Finally, the one that can actually fly is called the Rocket variant. It's a one seater with everything that the Performance and Thrust versions have, "plus a full flight system." But that one's "invite only," and details on availability aren't explained on the company's website.
Those numbers above, however, are just the cost of the reservation. Neither Tesla nor Musk ever shared the final price of any of the variants.
As for when the Roadster can actually get to customers, Musk said it "actually" enters production in 2028 (no word on when in 2028, exactly). It's already nine years too late (it was originally announced in November 2017), and we wouldn't be too surprised if it reached customers in 2029 or later.