Elon Musk doesn’t want to just kill the fossil-fueled car. He wants to destroy it, shred it, rip it apart, and then bury its miserable carcass deep beneath a flaming volcano to spend all eternity in a fiery hell. At least, that seems to be the message behind his latest statements and tweets about the upcoming Tesla Roadster, Part Deux.
How serious is he about this? “Very serious,” would be the correct answer. He told Tesla shareholders last week, “It’s important for us to show with the Roadster that an electric vehicle can outperform a gasoline car in every way. Because gasoline cars still have sort of a halo effect, and I think if we can show an electric car can outperform a gasoline car in every way, then we sort of get rid of that halo effect of gasoline cars.”
It began with some remarks Elon made last November when he said, “There will be a special option package that takes it to the next level.” Then came the tweets. “Not saying the next gen Roadster special upgrade package *will* definitely enable it to fly short hops, but maybe ….” To that he added, “Certainly possible. Just a question of safety. Rocket tech applied to a car opens up revolutionary possibilities.” Yeah, one would think so.
On June 7, Musk tweeted about the upcoming super duper car again: “Will also have Augmented Mode that will massively enhance human driving ability. Like a flying metal suit, but in car form.” Now he has expanded on that a bit as well:
SpaceX option package for new Tesla Roadster will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around car. These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking & cornering. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018
Things are getting crazy in a hurry here. Musk claims the base model Roadster will hit 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, do the quarter mile in 8 seconds, have a top speed in excess of 250 miles per hour, and have a range of 600 miles or more. Now, apparently, where other cars have torque vectoring and electronic stability control to help them negotiate the twisty bits, Roadster drivers will be able to utilize tiny rockets arrayed around the exterior of the car to make it go, turn, and stop faster than any automobile ever made.
And all this for $250,000? There are cars out there that sell for a million dollars or more that will be embarrassed by the Roadster if everything Musk promises is true. But is it? Is there any chance cars with rocket engines will be street legal? What sort of fuel will they use and how many times will they fire before that fuel supply is exhausted? Will the Roadster have an onboard storage tank for liquid oxygen just like the Falcon 9 rockets? Apparently not. Here’s Elon’s latest tweet on that subject:
Using the config you describe, plus an electric pump to replenish air in COPV, when car power draw drops below max pack power output, makes sense. But we are going to go a lot further.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018
Musk has used the word “crazy” to describe the SpaceX option package and that certainly seems to be the right description for this madness. Is it possible there is a touch of hyperbole in all this? Musk certainly knows how to get headlines and keep the world’s attention focused on Tesla. Those other car companies? Pffft. Who cares about them? “Watch me, folks, my cars will fly!”
To round things out on this episode of “Roadster Insanity,” Musk has provided some insight into his fascination with ultra-high-performance cars:
19 years ago, when my 1st company got bought, I had to decide between buying a house in Palo Alto or a McLaren F1 (best car ever imo). Was no contest. I bought F1 & a small condo that was much cheaper than the car. New Tesla Roadster will exceed all gas sports cars in every way…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018
The McLaren F1 is considered by those in the know to be the finest automobile ever made. It sold for $1 million 25 years ago when it was new. Today, one of these cars can fetch up to $15 million — if you can find someone who is willing to part with one. If you want to know more about the car and its history, Road & Track did an excellent story on the McLaren F1 last August.
If the Tesla Roadster indeed surpasses the McLaren F1, it will be the greatest automobile ever made and put an end to the gasoline engine halo effect, bringing the curtain down on the era of the internal combustion engine era.
Update: “Roadster Insanity” continues. Here are three new tweets on the topic:
Intent of new Tesla Roadster is to beat gas sports cars on every performance metric by far, no exceptions, thus transferring the “halo crown” effect gas cars have as the top speed leaders over to pure electric.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2018
Note, gas contained would be ultra high pressure air in a SpaceX rocket COPV bottle. The air exiting the thrusters would immediately be replenished whenever vehicle pack power draw allowed operation of the air pump, which is most of the time.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2018
You have my word, Marques. Next gen Roadster will be absolutely out of this world. For those who love to drive, there is no finer car in history and we don’t think there will be another.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2018
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