Tesla Reveals The Roadster 2 For 2020 Release, $250,000 Founders Edition Sports Car Reportedly Sold Out
Tesla just finished its Semi reveal event, and while the heavy-duty long hauler was impressive, what truly took everyone’s breath away was the unveiling of the upstart EV maker’s new halo car, the Tesla Roadster 2. That’s right, apart from dealing with the Model 3’s production bottlenecks and the rollout of the Semi, Tesla has apparently been busy developing its next-generation Roadster.
In a lot of ways, the Tesla Roadster 2 is a fitting successor to the company’s first vehicle — the first-generation Roadster — which was launched in 2008. The first Roadster was, after all, the car that made Tesla what it is today. Thus, it seems like Tesla is doing its brand some good by ensuring that the Roadster 2 would be everything that its direct predecessor was, only much, much better.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk outlined the raw specs of the Roadster 2, and they are beyond impressive. While the vehicle is not production-ready, Tesla did debut a couple of prototypes for the event, as noted in an Electrek article. These vehicles, which are still under development, already boast insane specs. How insane, exactly? Think 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, 0-100 mph in 4.2 seconds, a 1/4 mile in 8.9 seconds, and a top speed of more than 250 mph.
Oh, and it can run for 620 miles on a single charge. That’s 1,000 km after one charging session.
All these specs already border on hypercar territory. In fact, the Roadster 2’s 0-60 and 1/4 mile times, at its prototype stage, already exceeds that of some of the most powerful ICE cars in the world, such as the Dodge Demon and the Bugatti Chiron.
0 to 100 km/h in 1.9 sec pic.twitter.com/xTOTDGuwQj
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 17, 2017
Several noted auto YouTubers were present at the Tesla Semi reveal event, and some of them were able to sample the power of the Roadster 2. The owner of DragTimes, a popular YouTube channel, was able to film himself as he took a test drive in Tesla’s newest, most powerful vehicle. During the video clip, the YouTuber was greatly impressed by the new EV, stating that the car’s acceleration was simply unreal.
The Tesla Roadster 2 is currently available for reservation, with interested buyers required to put in $50,000 for a unit that would be delivered sometime around 2020. A Founders Edition of the EV is also available, though buyers of the special edition EV would need to shell out the full price of the vehicle, which is priced at $250,000. The Founders Edition’s release is limited to only 1,000 units as well.
While the special edition Roadster 2 is undoubtedly interesting, several commenters on Electrek have remarked that the entire lineup of the Founders Edition variants has already been sold out.
“1,000 Founders Edition versions at $250K supposedly already sold out,” wrote one commenter.
Considering the performance and specs of the Roadster 2, its asking price is actually quite reasonable. The vehicle, after all, outperforms cars like the Bugatti Chiron in raw acceleration, and it is quite literally just a fraction of the ICE car’s price.
Overall, the Tesla Roadster 2 seems to be a true game-changer for the auto industry. With ridiculous amounts of power and insane range, Tesla’s latest halo car looks like a vehicle that is designed to take down the best ICE cars with authority.
[Featured Image by Tesla]
