The Tesla Roadster Could Be the Fastest-Accelerating Production Car Ever
Top-trim Teslas are fast. Real fast. In fact, the Tesla Model S Plaid is one of the few production cars on the planet with a 0 to 60 mph time under 2.0 seconds. Acceleration like that firmly establishes it as one of the fastest cars from 0 to 60 in the world. However, Elon Musk, the EV marque’s eccentric CEO, says the upcoming Tesla Roadster will arrive next year and smash a sprint to 60 mph in under one second. That would make it the world’s fastest-accelerating car.
Elon Musk says the upcoming Tesla Roadster will hit 60 mph in under 1.0 second
According to social media posts from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the company has “radically increased the design goals for the new Tesla Roadster.” Of those ambitious goals, none is more eye-watering than the incipient performance car’s proposed straight-line speed. Specifically, Musk says the upcoming Roadster could dash from 0 to 60 mph in under 1.0 seconds.
Barring some unforeseen rival from a marque like Rimac, anything close to a sub-1.0-second sprint would firmly establish the Roadster as the fastest car from 0 to 60. Currently, the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 holds the record– with a caveat. The SRT Demon 170 will hit that speed on 170-proof fuel, drag slicks, and a prepped surface.
However, the new Tesla Roadster’s claims make the Demon 170’s 1.66-second sprint to 60 mph look relaxed. My colleague at MotorBiscuit lent a bit of perspective on the matter. Accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 1.0 seconds will push you backward with 2.7 Gs of force. As such, if you weigh 250 lbs, it will push you back with the sensation of ten 45-lb plates stacked on your chest! That’s sci-fi speed.
Should Tesla be able to coax the Roadster to 60 in under 1.0 seconds, the driver will get to 60 mph in less than the length of a basketball court. Imagine that. According to Musk, the ballistically fast EV will arrive next year. To get your hands on it, you’ll have to part with $50,000 just to reserve one.
