Elon Musk makes wild claims surrounding Tesla Roadster

The team behind Tesla’s new supercar say ‘there will never be another car like this’ and it will smash legendary machines from Ferrari and Porsche.

The Tesla Roadster promises other-worldly performance.

Tesla looks set to shift the goalposts of supercar performance into territory beyond the world of Formula 1.

Elon Musk lit up social media this week with wild claims surrounding the capability of the upcoming Tesla Roadster, a car that promises to be faster than any Ferrari for a fraction of the price.

Tesla Roadster.

And when we say any Ferrari, that includes the Formula 1 machines piloted by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Musk posted on X.com that Tesla “radically increased the design goals for the new Tesla Roadster”, adding that “there will never be another car like this, if you could even call it a car”.

“I think it has a shot at being the most mind-blowing product demo of all time,” he said.

The billionaire executive said “the least interesting part” of the Roadster is its ability to reach 60 miles per hour – almost 100km/h – in less than one second.

Tesla Roadster.

Which is very interesting, as that level of acceleration is impossible to find in any road car.

It’s also tough to find in the world of motorsport.

British racing website Autosport.com states that the latest F1cars need about 2.6 seconds to reach 60mph before hitting a top speed of about 370km/h.

The Tesla promises to better both of those benchmarks, thanks to a maximum velocity in excess of 400km/h.

Few people have experienced the sort of acceleration claimed by Tesla.

Tesla Roadster.

Astronauts and professional drag racers might claim membership to the exclusive club, along with fighter pilots who have been catapulted off an aircraft carrier with jet afterburners engaged.

Musk tweeted in 2018 that a special SpaceX option package for the Roadster “will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around car”.

“These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking and cornering. “Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly …”

Tesla Roadster.

The new Tesla has been in development for several years. Tesla initially announced that it would go into production in 2020, but the current word is that it will be unveiled in production form in late 2024 before reaching customers in 2025.