Straight Outta Nowhere: The New Tesla Roaster is Here

You'll have to forgive me for my recent post history for being so Tesla-centric. The thing is, though I knew there was a Tesla event yesterday, everyone was expecting them to unveil an electric semi truck. And sure enough, they did. But what came out of the truck came as a surprise to the world. Just like childbirth, it was a beautiful sight to behold - if not quite as natural.

The world suddenly had a brand new Tesla Roadster shown off to them, all shiny and showroomy. Let's start with the most conventional part of the car, because the rest of it sure as hell ain't 'conventional'. The design is gorgeous and bang up to date for 2017, but it's not radical and daring. It looks like a typical purpose-built sports car, with its aggressive silhouette and non-discreet rear diffuser. To my eyes, it's a good mix of sporty without being too obnoxiously in-your-face about it. It isn't trying to be different to other sports car though, and that's a good thing. As I explained in this post, for electric cars to be accepted by average consumers, they need to work and look seamless with the mainstream.

So the design is appealing but not industry-changing. Electric cars are fairly established now. Why is there so much hype over this car, then? Well, let's throw out some key figures:

0-60mph in 1.9 seconds
0-100mph in 4.2 seconds
250mph top speed
8.9 second quarter mile
600 mile range

And no, none of those are typos. This 200KWh machine has landed on Earth, and if Mr. Musk's claims do hold true, many records are going to be shattered. A sub-2 second 0-60 time is something only a Formula 1 car can challenge, and even then only on a good day. Even beyond the initial sprint, the Roadster will be able to hold off even the most beastly of hypercars all the way past the 200mph point; we're talking Chrions and Agera Rs here. They may just pip the Roadster at top speed, but who does 270mph on the daily anyway?

Blink and you'll miss it

It's not a one-trick pony, either. Musk claimed the Roadster will be able to do 600 miles on a single charge, which is just absurd. Everyone continues to hype over the fact that the Model S can do 400 miles on a single charge, but this sudden 50% improvement means for the first time, electric cars are beginning to equal traditional combustion engine cars on range. That in itself is groundbreaking, and a huge step forward to the mass-adoption of electric.

The $200,000+ price tag means this isn't going to be a mainstream electric sports car for middle class people with a bit of disposable income. No, this car is up against the Ferraris and the Lamborghinis of this world, and it's boldly doing things its own unique way. If we look back at the old Roadster from 2008, it's amazing to see how far Tesla have come in such a short space of time. They've gone from quirky, Lotus-based alternative cars to in-house custom designed industry-shaking machines. The new Roadster won't be out for a few years yet, which will allow some competition to be developed, but any competition is good competition for this new, green age of our future vehicles.