There has been a continuous history of repeated delays for the new Tesla Roadster. The numerous events unfolding in the world, in the automotive sector, and component supplier shortages seem to have prompted the American carmaker to repeatedly postpone production, which was initially scheduled for 2020. 2023 may be the year we’ll finally see it launched.
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A long wait and strong competition
The original 2011 Tesla Roadster established the brand and made electric sports vehicles accessible to the general public for the first time. So, when Tesla originally introduced the new Roadster in 2017, it had us salivating with promises of performance and range that were unmatched in the industry.
On the automaker’s own track, Tesla’s new flagship may be very quick, but it has been taking a very long time to reach the public streets. The new Tesla Roadster has had a long history of successive delays.
The performance figures for the Tesla Roadster are still impressive five years after its first release. Initially, the firm said that acceleration from 0 to 60 mph occurs in less than two seconds, citing a timing of 1.9 seconds on the company website. Elon Musk later said that the basic model may reach 2.1 seconds.
Does this mean that only the more expensive versions in the range may have access to the sub-two-second time? The time from 0 to 100 mph in 4.2 seconds, while the quarter-mile time is 8.8 seconds, which is under nine seconds. Given that electric vehicles have always failed to reach peak speeds of over 250 mph, with the exception of the Rimac Nevera, this claim is perhaps even more astonishing.
According to Tesla, the potential for aerodynamic performance and economy is maximized by the all-electric powertrain. All of these numbers, according to Tesla, were then production vehicle world records. That applies to both combustion- and electric-powered cars. However, it may not be the case anymore.
The model’s ongoing delays could indicate that Rimac has now outperformed Tesla. Similar but even higher performance figures are promised by the Rimac Nevera. Rimac has successfully snatched the spotlight away from Tesla now that the first Neveras have been delivered to consumers.
Tesla Roadster will come with a serious price tag
The Tesla Roadster price is said to start from $200,000, yet the firm has subsequently taken the pricing off of its website and hasn’t yet provided any new details. The Tesla Roadster’s price may be a bit higher when it goes on sale since it’s likely that Tesla believes the first cost estimate is outdated.
But let’s think about the $200,000 worth for a moment. That amounts to less than a tenth of Rimac’s asking price for the Nevera. The Tesla Roadster will continue to represent outstanding value for money even if the final price ends up being a little more than the starting point. Additionally, you may anticipate that Tesla will ship a lot more Neveras than the 150 that Rimac will make.
In actuality, Tesla will deliver around 1,000 units of the $250,000 Founders Series vehicles (still a pretty decent price). Therefore, even if the performance of the basic model Roadster won’t exactly equal that of the Nevera, it will come very close and cost much less.
Even though the Tesla Roadster costs $200,000, it demonstrates that performance that gives you the willies is possible and need not be reserved for a very small group of people. You may still reserve one for $50,000 so that it will be there for you when manufacturing eventually begins, presumably later next year.
Powertrain previsions and performance
With one electric motor driving the front wheels and two electric motors driving the rear wheels, the next Tesla Roadster will use the Model S Plaid’s tri-motor arrangement. That provides the advantages of torque vectoring as well as all-wheel drive. Although power estimates are not yet available, they should be far higher than the Model S Plaid’s current 1,000 horsepower level.
In actuality, the Roadster needs to have at least over one megawatt of power, or 1,341 horsepower, given that the Rimac Nevera requires 1,940 horsepower for its world-record-breaking antics. Tesla claims a staggering 10,000 newton-meters of torque, which seems absurd until you realize that this is a wheel torque value rather than the motor torque figure that manufacturers typically announce.
13,430 newton-meters of total wheel torque and 2,360 newton-meters of combined motor torque, according to Rimac. If all of the torque originated from a single motor, the ultimate driving ratio would be 5.84 to 1, or 2,360 newton-meters of motor torque to 13,430 newton-meters of wheel torque.
Keep in mind that the Nevera has one electric motor and one gear reduction for each wheel, therefore the fronts and rears are distinct. Given the same end drive value for the Roadster, this would result in a combined motor torque of 1,712-newton meters, or around 1,263 pound-feet.