The Tesla Roadster is ready for its (re)launch. Will this be the one?
On 1 October – though it seems certain the launch will be postponed until the 15th – Elon Musk’s company will unveil the new sports car that was announced in 2017 but has never appeared on the market
Sometimes they come back. Sometimes they come back more than once, and you wonder if this will be the right time. Tesla is preparing to launch – or rather, to relaunch – the new Roadster, which was actually announced back in 2017 but never saw the light of day. Sales were due to begin three years later. But in 2020, the car with its highly ambitious claims (400 km/h, 0–100 km/h in 2.1 seconds and a range of 1,000 km) never materialised. Elon Musk has postponed the project several times, provoking the wrath of those who had ordered it, including high-profile CEOs such as Sam Altman, who had previously clashed with Musk and launched a scathing tirade over the delays.
Now, however, it seems set for the debut of what is the Austin-based manufacturer’s second pure sports car, following the first roadster – which was based on a Lotus chassis and was the very first Tesla. The launch date is set for 1 October, but the event – to which, as usual, motoring journalists are not invited – could be postponed to the 15th in the event of adverse weather conditions. The event will take place outdoors, and the airspace must be clear for a drone display or for the possibility – however remote – that the car might lift a few metres off the ground. It appears that, to ensure extremely high acceleration, Tesla’s engineers have decided to use cold-gas rockets with the help of SpaceX; over the years, there had also been talk of JATO rockets, such as those used in military aircraft.
Compared to the original 2017 concept, the car is expected to feature a movable rear wing, which – as per a recently published patent – should generate up to 700 kg of downforce thanks to the ability to adjust its configuration and geometry. The Testa Roadster’s battery promises to be massive: 200 kWh
It is worth noting that, compared with 2017, the electric supercar landscape looks very different indeed, and the market now features not only Porsches but also Chinese cars such as the Yang Wang U9, the Rimac Nevera, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra and the much-discussed Ferrari Luce.
