Cars —

Tesla promises a new wicked-fast $200,000 Roadster

The car is expected to have a 620-mile range.

HAWTHORNE, CALIF.—At tonight's Tesla Semi event we got a lot more than a vague truck design. After a short presentation of the Semi's intended specs, one of the trucks backed onto the stage and a new red Roadster rolled out.

"The foundation of the whole company was the Roadster," Musk told the crowd of employees. "People kept asking 'When are you gonna make a new roadster?'"

"We are making it now" he told the crowd.

The car is meant to go fast. "There’s only one thing that’s beyond ludicrous," Musk said, referencing the super-fast feature that can be purchased as an extra for the Model S and Model X, which Musk named after speeds in the movie Spaceballs. "Plaid."

"The new Tesla Roaster will be the fastest production car ever made, period," Musk went on. "And this is the base model." The sports car will apparently hit 0-60 in 1.9 seconds, and finish a quarter mile in 8.9 seconds. The top speed will be above 250mph. (We should note that both Bugatti and Koenigsegg sell sports cars with top speeds well in excess of 250mph.)

But the most excitement came from the size of the battery pack: the car will have a 200 kWh battery pack and will get 620 miles of range.

"The point of doing this is just to give a hardcore smackdown on gasoline cars," Musk said to a roaring crowd.

The car will also apparently have three motors, 10,000Nm of torque, four seats, and a removable roof. The Roadster will start at $200,000, with a $50,000 reservation deposit. And a Founders Series car will cost $250,000.

Update: Some new photos of a gray Roadster below.

Listing image by Tesla

Channel Ars Technica