Shortly after debuting the Tesla Semi (an over-the-road tractor, not another reference to his “D”), Elon Musk debuted a second, unexpected product: the second-generation Roadster. The first generation car, a Lotus Elise that had been electrified, was Tesla’s version of dipping it’s toe into the pool water…it was a beta test, a proof that the technology could work, and for the most part it did. Now that the success of the Model S has boosted Tesla’s standing in the automotive marketplace as a serious player and not just a random one-and-done boutique manufacturer, the company felt that the Roadster deserved a second shot as an in-house development, and if the numbers are even remotely believable, holy crap did they put their hearts and souls into it. The numbers almost seem like a ten-year-old screaming dream facts: 0-60 in 1.9 seconds, 0-100 in 4.2 seconds, an 8.9 second quarter-mile, a top speed in excess of 250 miles an hour, a range of 620 miles and a base price of $250,000. Not pocket change, but if those numbers are legit, that’s Bugatti Chiron territory for less than a quarter of the cost. Considering that Musk is determined to be the man that kills the internal-combustion engine, he’s on the right path IF he can deliver the promises.
But Musk is also a bit like P.T. Barnum in his methods, especially his tweets…remember that whole “Unveiling the D” punchline before the Model S’s twin-motor psychotic version debuted? Yeah…here’s the actual tweet:
Not saying the next gen Roadster special upgrade package *will* definitely enable it to fly short hops, but maybe …
Certainly possible. Just a question of safety. Rocket tech applied to a car opens up revolutionary possibilities.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2017
To be fair, you should probably look at this with skepticism. Electric car, hyper car, whatever…putting rocket boosters on a road-going vehicle will only serve two functions: scaring your buying customers so badly that the only Roadster interior color available should be “HOLY HELL Brown”, and to keep Copart in business with the balled-up remains of what was a $250,000 electric hot rod. And that “fly short hops” quip…that’s a whole new level of concerning. Picture Roadsters pogo-hopping over rush hour traffic on I-10 in Los Angeles for a second, or a Roadster with a “donuts-on-a-rope” smoke trail following behind it on some lonely road in Utah.
No good can come from this. Even if that old Darwin Award thing isn’t true, and even if Mythbusters proved it wasn’t…a car with rocket boosters is just begging for trouble. And buyers will figure that out the second they try to insure the little beast.
There’s a big difference between applying rockets and applying “rocket technology” to a car.
Doubt fills my mind. But at $250K, it is way out of my league so I guess that is irrelevant!
The big heavy Model S is certainly fast and had the range. Taking out a couple thousand pounds would make those numbers believable.
Seeing all that he’s accomplished in space and on the ground, it would be tough to bet against him.
I hope the rocket explodes in Elon Musk’s face and the world is free of the curse of electric cars!
As the line goes from ‘GRUMPY OLD MEN’,
“You can wish in one hand and crap in the other.”
At the current state of things, (like burning through $8000 per minute trying to get the Model 3 off life support), I put the odds of this ever becoming true somewhere between 10,689,421 to 1, and “Are you kidding me?”
The PT Barnum reference is quite good, but let’s give credit where credit is due….at least PT made no illusions of it being a show. The boys over at the Tesla factory have only managed to put on a real @$&/ show.