Details are still limited, but Tesla announced quite an achievement late last night: in addition to an all-electric Semi truck, the disruptive electric car company will build the fastest production car in the world, called the Tesla Roadster.
What do we know? Not much, but the few details released…
If that thing does 620 miles at 200 mph I will eat my hat. (and I really like this hat)
In reply to pinchvalve :
I don't think that's what was said.
In reply to Nick Comstock :
Neither will a demon, at 50 mph
It's a good looking thing, that's for sure. Tesla has nailed the "futuristic but still traditionally beautiful" look.
I plan to win the lottery in the not too distant future so I'll let you know how it drives. Actually, I'll bring it to all of your towns so you can have a go and see for yourselves.
In reply to Nick Comstock :
Man, you rock
Curb weight is 2,723 pounds? Is that with the battery?
It reminds me of the Traxxas XO-1 which is pretty much a scaled down version of the same idea:
Anyone else have one of these?
In reply to Nick Comstock :
I believe Tesla said it will do 620 miles at normal highway speeds. The Truck is no slouch either. 500 miles with another 400 miles after half an hour of "hypercharging". Zero to 60 in 20 seconds fully loaded and a cd of .35
years ago, when Tesla was in its relative infancy my company made some bits for them. My take was that their guys were young, very bright and not particularly grounded in reality. Their money burn rate was a wonder to behold. I told my friends that I had little hope for them.
Boy was I wrong. At this point I'd be very hesitant to bet against them - even if they have more formidable foes than ever.
plain92 said:
Anyone else have one of these?
Quick, someone show that to Elon Musk.
Wonder if they'll actually be able to get any built? They can't even get the last great wonder they announced built. This seems to be a company that lives on press releases and not so much on rolling cars out the door.
Disclaimer: I hate electric cars, totally and completely, there is zero interest in them on my part. Yes, I'm an enviro-terrorist. But these things aren't all lily white environmentally as the electric fans want us to believe, particularly WRT the evironmental costs in battery production.
HapDL:
Have you driven in a modern electric car? If you strip all the politics and range-issues from the equation, you are left with a really wonderful, amazingly quiet motor and a low cg. Since this is a car enthusiast publication and not the National Review, you should really try one.
Impressive specs. It would be nice if they could actually deliver their last 'next big thing' before moving on to these newer 'next big things'. At this point, I don't know why they even bother announcing dates for anything. Also, it seems more and more like a pyramid scheme to me. They've been burning through massive amounts of cash for years, so they took a bunch of deposits for the Model 3. The Model 3 is way behind schedule, and the company still isn't profitable, but here's a flashy press conference where we'll ask for $50k deposits for our 'next big thing'.
I actually want Tesla to do well. It's great to see an American company innovate and lead a market segment, but if you look at the state of the company, and don't have serious misgivings about their long term feasibility I'm not sure what you're looking at.
My understanding is that Tesla would be a profitable company if it wasn't spending so much on things like the gigafactory. Given the behemoths that they're up against, my sense is that if they don't invest in innovation and growth, they'll soon be overtaken and done away with.
This is by far THE only effort from Elon that get's my juices flowing.....oh and the lbft's aren't too shabby...7386 can you say chiropractor here I come????
In reply to Kreb :
That's my understanding as well.
I worry less about their ability to produce these aspirational cars and more about their ability to scale up the Model 3.
If they can scale up production on Model 3 while keeping defects and reliability decent, then they're a winner. If they can't, I'm just not interested.
Also, a 200 KWh battery in the roadster?!?! The mk1 Leaf was 24. If the density can scale up tenfold and result in a similar weight car, that's amazing.
The P90 battery pack weighs 1200 lb. The whole car weighs like 4500 lb. So even given some fairly aggressive assumptions for battery tech improvement, it seems like your carting around 2000lb's of batteries in the new roadster.
I dig the looks, and the performance is, well...plaid, but it sounds like it is going to be a heavy mofo. A 300 mile range and 1000lbs less curb weight seems like a good tradeoff to me.
PS- whatever it weighs, I want one.
In reply to Erich:
I know nothing about scaleability battery wise but if EM can reach/supply these numbers (range...over 300 mi) then I might be receptive to this format.
Kreb said:My understanding is that Tesla would be a profitable company if it wasn't spending so much on things like the gigafactory. Given the behemoths that they're up against, my sense is that if they don't invest in innovation and growth, they'll soon be overtaken and done away with.
The issue is, the Model 3 was supposed to be their cash flow savior and it's far behind schedule. The gigafactories might be behind. The production facilities are having their own issues and delays. Every day that goes by, the competition gets closer. GM is already selling Bolts with specs and cost similar to the Model 3. And a larger dealer network to get them in front of people. That tells me that Tesla is already being pushed out of the market they helped legitimize because they can't get their money making product out on time. Announcements like this seem like a desperate cash grab and way to distract from their other glaring issues.
Major car companies entering the EV market only makes it harder for Tesla. In addition to the consumer marketplace, more manufacturers means more competition for raw materials used for battery production. That increases costs. Now GM, or VW, or Toyota should be able to sell EVs at a lower price than Tesla because they have other non-EV products that can offset the profits they need to keep the lights on.
With all due respect Tom, it's not the fastest production car ever. It is the QUICKEST.
The Hennessey Venom F5, Koenikgsegg Agera RS, Hennessey VenomGT, Bugatti Chiron, Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, and the SSC Ultimate Aero are all faster.
A case could also be made for the Saleen S7, Koenikgsegg CCR, and the McLaren F1 (all of which are actually within a couple mph of the Tesla's theoretical top end).
I'd still rather the Tesla. 
Kreb said:My understanding is that Tesla would be a profitable company if it wasn't spending so much on things like the gigafactory. Given the behemoths that they're up against, my sense is that if they don't invest in innovation and growth, they'll soon be overtaken and done away with.
...and when the Gigafactory is the world leader in battery production and technology, GM and the other big boys will be buying batteries from Tesla, and no one will care if Tesla ever builds a car again.
STM317 said:The issue is, the Model 3 was supposed to be their cash flow savior and it's far behind schedule. The gigafactories might be behind. The production facilities are having their own issues and delays. Every day that goes by, the competition gets closer. GM is already selling Bolts with specs and cost similar to the Model 3. And a larger dealer network to get them in front of people. Tesla is already being pushed out of the market they helped legitimize because they can't get their money making product out on time. Announcements like this seem like a desperate cash grab and way to distract from their other glaring issues.
So what if the REAL business plan was to push GM (and others) into high gear in electric vehicle production while cornering the market on battery technology and production?
I think it is presumptive to say the Model 3 was "supposed to be their cash flow savior". I think the Model 3 simply continues the process of opening the floodgates to Elon Musk's brave new world run on electricity, AI technology, and remote continuously upgradeable operating systems and technologies.
My $.02
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