Tesla
Roadster
Courtesy:
Tesla
Six
years
ago,
Elon
Musk
hyped
a
next-generation
Roadster,
the
name
of
Tesla’s
debut
car
from
2008.
A
refreshed
version
was
never
produced,
but
Musk
is
once
again
promising
a
new
Roadster
is
on
the
way.
“Tonight,
we
radically
increased
the
design
goals
for
the
new
Tesla
Roadster,”
Musk
wrote
on
X
as
part
of
a
series
of
posts
Tuesday
night.
“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
wrote,
adding
that
it
will
reach
60
miles
per
hour
in
less
than
a
second,
“and
that
is
the
least
interesting
part.”
Musk
first
promoted
the
next-generation
Roadster
concept
in
June
2018
in
a
series
of
tweets.
He
said
at
that
time,
“SpaceX
option
package
for
new
Tesla
Roadster
will
include
~10
small
rocket
thrusters
arranged
seamlessly
around
car.”
The
engines
would
improve
speed
and
braking,
and
may
“even
allow
a
Tesla
to
fly,”
he
wrote
at
the
time.
On
Tuesday,
he
replied
to
his
old
tweets
saying,
“You
will
love
the
new
Roadster
more
than
your
house.”
Tesla
didn’t
immediately
respond
to
a
request
for
comment.
Musk’s
renewed
proclamations
followed
news
that
Chinese
rival
BYD
introduced
a
new
electric
supercar,
dubbed
the
U9,
that
can
hit
speeds
similar
to
high-end
models
from
companies
like
Ferrari.
BYD’s
electric
supercar,
which
it
says
will
be
able
to
reach
a
top
speed
around
192
miles
per
hour,
is
slated
for
delivery
to
customers
this
summer.
While
BYD
doesn’t
have
plans
to
sell
its
vehicles
in
the
U.S.,
Tesla
competes
with
BYD
in
mainland
China
and
other
markets.
Tesla’s
market
share
in
China
declined
in
January
to
6.1%,
while
BYD’s
share
stood
at
29.2%,
according
to
data
from
the
China
Passenger
Car
Association
cited
by
Morgan
Stanley
China
Autos
researchers
in
a
note
Wednesday.
watch
now
Grandiose
promises
from
Musk
are
nothing
new.
His
frequent
failures
to
deliver
on
them
are
the
subject
of
an
online
promise-tracking
website
called
ElonMusk.Today.
The
site
noted
on
Wednesday
that
it’s
been,
“1,876
days since
Elon
Musk
said
the
new
Roadster
will
use
rocket
technology
that
will
allow
it
to
fly.”
In
Tesla’s
most
recent
quarterly
shareholder
update,
the
company
said
the
new
Roadster
is
still
“in
development”
with
no
pilot
production
line
built
and
no
chosen
location
for
production.
“Musk
is
the
master
of
selective
disclosure
of
information,”
said
Warren Ahner,
an automotive tech
expert
and
former
competitive
driving
instructor.
Ahner
said
it’s
not
clear
how
a
supercar
would
benefit
Tesla’s
business,
adding
that
it’s
“mostly
for
ego.”
“If
you
have
the
right
credit
score,
you
can
walk
into
a
Tesla
showroom
and
buy
a
Model
S
Plaid
today,”
Ahner
said.
That
“already
has
way
more
power
potential
than
99%
of
drivers
on
the
road
are
capable
of
handling.”
Ross
Gerber,
a
long-time
Tesla
fan
and
recent
Musk
critic
agreed
that
it
would
be
hard
to
“move
the
needle”
for
Tesla
with
a
refreshed
Roadster.
“If
they
make
a
great
car
that
people
will
talk
about,
there
could
be
a
halo
effect”
said
Gerber,
CEO
of
wealth
management
firm
Gerber
Kawasaki.
He
compared
it
to
the
recently
released
Cybertruck.
“Everyone
wants
to
look
at
it
and
stuff,”
Gerber
said.
“But
does
it
mean
that
it
will
help
Tesla
sell
other
cars?”
Gerber
said
Tesla
should
be
focusing
more
on
its
affordable
EV,
which
it
calls
its
“next-generation”
platform.
He
added
that
Musk’s
outspokenness
on
political
matters
“has
been
really
detrimental”
to
the
company
and
shareholders.
“I
don’t
think
he’s
focused,”
Gerber
said.
“And
I
don’t
think
he
tries
at
all
to
sell
cars.
It’s
put
Tesla
in
a
really
tough
position
where
we
had
to
lower
our
investment
in
Tesla
because
we
don’t
feel
the
opportunity
is
as
good
now
that
Elon
has
turned
off
so
many
of
the
company’s
core
customers.”
On
Musk’s
X
account,
which
claims
174.1
million
followers,
Musk
has
recently
denounced
immigrants
and
disparaged
diversity,
equity
and
inclusion
initiatives
in
medicine
and
other
fields.
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