Tesla`s story is not such a long one, as it is a perplexing one, with a motto at its beginnings in 2003 to “accelerate the advent of electric vehicles“.
In spite the fact it all started with the Roadster, the brand`s portfolio has after 14 years expanded, not only to include electric cars and semi trucks, but also home and commercial energy storage systems, solar panels, and roof tiles.
The first Roadster came alive in 2005, after Tesla stroke a deal with English Lotus automaker. This deal brought a modified Elise Lotus chassis into Tesla’s assembly line to be fitted with lithium-ion battery cells and electric motors into them. Henceforth, the first electric vehicle was born, capable of traveling more than 200 miles on between charges and reaching a speed of 60 mph in less than 4 seconds.
It has been a while since those days and Tesla is now a main player in the EV industry, with further diversification into related products, and with greater resources at its disposal. Therefore the new Roadster comes to deepen the company expansion towards bigger boundaries.
Launching of second-generation Roadster at Tesla Semi event
The all-wheel-drive Roadster, which was launched at the end of the recent Tesla Semi event, prides itself on being faster than the fastest motorcycles, with a 200 kWh battery pack, 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds. Additionally, Musk himself reported it is capable of reaching 250 mph, over which Tesla’s CEO sentenced at the event, “The point of all this is just to give a hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars.”
As per Range, which is an all too common issue for EVs, there is little reason to worry since, as claimed, the second generation Roadster can travel an outstanding 620 miles on a single charge, thus exceeding some diesel powered units’ fuel autonomy.
“These numbers sound nutty, but they’re real,” Musk said at the event.
Of course, all these nutty figures come at a cost, which brings us to the Roadster’s price. The base model will start at $200,000 with a $50,000 deposit required up front, however, the first 1,000 units will be named the Founder’s Series and will require the full $250,000 up front. That may sound like a lot (and it is), but if you consider how much faster the Roadster is than, say, the $1.15 million McLaren P1, it’s actually quite the bargain.
Tesla’s cars can have some of the largest plug-in electric car ranges before needing to recharge surpassing some of its counterparts.
The new Tesla Roadster is due in 2020.
LOL one wiper blade…..
That did not work on my VW Scirocco at 60 mph no matter how fast it flopped around.