Elon Musk Teases Higher-Performance Version of Tesla Roadster on Twitter
Y’know, in case a 1.9-second 0-60 mile-per-hour run isn’t quick enough for you.
When Elon Musk pulled a Steve Jobs at last week's Tesla Semi tractor-trailer truck reveal by dropping a brand-new second-generation Tesla Roadster in the world's lap, he had to know it would, like Kim Kardashian's ass with a champagne glass resting on it, break the Internet. With claimed acceleration times that leave everything from the Bugatti Chiron to the Dodge Demon chasing its tail and a reputed 600 miles of range on a charge, the new Roadster's specs are exactly the sort of larger-than-life figures sure to fire up armchair enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes.
Still, Musk is nothing if not a master of keeping people talking about what his companies have coming down the pike. (Especially when there are other things he'd probably rather the world not be talking about, but I digress.) So how do you top the reveal of what seems likely to be the world's quickest electric vehicle—if not the world's quickest production car, period? Tell everyone that there's even more where that came from.
On Sunday, Musk hopped on his favorite social medium to casually mention that the 1.9-second 0-62 mile-per-hour time quoted for the new Roadster was actually just for the base model. There would, he added, eventually be a package to take the car "to the next level."
But shortly after planting the seed of 1.5-second 0-60 times in every car nut's head, Musk proceeded to pour doubt over everyone's parade—or at least suggest that he might be pulling everyone's leg about this whole faster Tesla Roadster bit. In a second tweet about 14 hours after the first, Musk made a seemingly tongue-in-cheek suggestion that said "special option package" might include rocket technology borrowed from SpaceX that would allow the car to...well, if not fly, at least make short hops, a la
So is Tesla actually planning an even-quicker version of its new sports car, or was this all just a gag? The Drive has reached out to Tesla for clarification, and we'll update this post if we hear back—but as with most future vehicle plans, odds are good nothing has been locked down definitely yet. With the new Roadster not expected to arrive until 2020, there's plenty of time for Ol' Musky to try and cram even more power and performance into the new electric speed machine. And if Tesla can't...well, there's always more parts of the Master Plan to promote.