Introducing: the game changing Tesla Roadster

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Introducing: the game changing Tesla Roadster

Introducing: the game changing Tesla Roadster

Just when we thought we'd recovered from the announcement of Lamborghini's all-electric hypercar concept last week, Telsa Founder and CEO Elon Musk revealed the Roadster, the latest addition to his arsenal in the electric vehicle arms race in California last night.

Alongside the planned launch of the Semi - Tesla's new commercial vehicle - Musk caught the audience (and most of the automotive industry) off guard by literally rolling the latest edition of the Roadster out the back of the Semi live on stage.

"People have been asking us for a long time, when are you going to make a new Roadster?" said Musk. "We're making it now," he simply replied, followed by cheers, applause and even a whoop and whistle - well, this is California, remember.

"This will be the fastest production car ever made, period," declared Musk - cue more cheers, applause and even a scream this time. “The point of this is just to give a hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars,” said the auto-entrepreneur in true Musk fashion. Not pulling any punches, he went on say that "driving a gasoline sports car is going to feel like a steam engine with a side of quiche.” While it may not be the most orthodox automotive comparison, you certainly get the idea.

So, we know Musk can talk a big game but let's look at the numbers behind the new Roadster. With a 0-96kph (0-62mph) of 1.9-seconds, a 0-160kph (0-100mph) time of just 4.2-seconds, a range of nearly 1000km (621miles) and - wait for it - a top speed of over 400kph (250mph), the Roadster could be nothing short of a game changer for the EV market when it reaches production in 2020. To put things in perspective, the Roadster is a whole second faster to 96kph (62mph) and delivers a colossal 9,030Nm of torque more than Ferrari's hybrid-powered LaFerrari. In Musk's own words - that's a "stupid" amount of torque. Delivering all that power to the road is the job of three motors - one at the front and two at the rear, making the car all-wheel drive.

In terms of styling, the new Roaster is a significant departure from the original Lotus-designed car launched in 2008 but sports similar design language to the rest of the range made up of the Model S and Model X.

The waiting list for the Roadster is already open, with £34,000 ($45,000) securing you a place on it, in advance of the full £151,000 ($200,000) asking price when the car reaches production in three years' time. For those looking for something a little more special, Musk announced that the first 1000 cars made will make up the Founders Series and command a significant £189,000 ($250,000) price tag. Pocket change, hey?

That said, performance figures like that of the Roadster's promise something far beyond the capabilities of current road cars. With a track record of bringing revolutionary electric cars to market, it seems Musk is just three years away from another EV breakthrough. Until then, you'd best get saving.