Elon Musk has announced Tesla’s new Roadster was built with a special mode that lets the 250 mph (400 kph) electric car go even faster.
Tesla unveiled its brand new $200,000 (£151,000) sports car – the fastest production car ever made – at an event in Los Angeles last week, claiming it will go from 0 to 6 mph (0 to 100kph) in 1.9 seconds.
Just two days later, Musk hinted that the vehicle, which is set for release in 2020, would come with a special upgrade package that ‘takes it to the next level’.
He joked that the car will feature ‘rocket tech’ that will accelerate the vehicle at such speeds it may be able to ‘fly short hops’.
Referring to the car’s reveal last Friday, the billionaire wrote on Twitter: ‘Should clarify that this is the base model performance. There will be a special option package that takes it to the next level.
‘Not saying the next gen Roadster special upgrade package *will* definitely enable it to fly short hops, but maybe…
‘Certainly possible. Just a question of safety. Rocket tech applied to a car opens up revolutionary possibilities.’
Tesla has not yet released official details of the package, and is yet to respond to MailOnline’s request for comment.
The firm is known for releasing over-the-air software updates that raise the performance of its cars.
The Tesla Model S received a ‘P85D’ update in late 2014 with an ‘insane mode’ that let it go 0-60 mph (0-100 kph) in 3.2 seconds.
The following year, Tesla released the Model S P90D upgrade, which came with a ‘ludicrous mode’ that cut this time down to 2.8 seconds.
Since then the firm has shaved this down even further, with the current Model SP100D making the distance in just 2.3 seconds, Tesla claims.
When Tesla unveiled its new Roadster last week, Musk bragged that he wanted to ‘give a hardcore smackdown’ to gasoline vehicles.
A shiny red Roadster surprised everyone when it emerged from the trailer of the company’s other big reveal – an electric truck named the Tesla Semi – during a presentation at an airport in Los Angeles last week.
The sports car – an updated version of Tesla’s first production vehicle – can seat four and travel 620 miles (1000 km) on a single charge, a new record for an electric vehicle.
The car – which also features a removable glass roof – can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour (0 to 100 km/h) in 1.9 seconds and has a top speed over 250mph (400 kph).
This would make it the quickest electric car ever sold to the public, beating the Chinese-made NIO EP9 all-electric hypercar, which has a top speed of 194 mph (310 kph).
It also makes the vehicle the fastest production car ever, with a 0 to 60 miles per hour acceleration quicker than any non-electric vehicles, including the record-breaking Bugatti Chiron, released this year.
The Chiron manages the distance in 2.3 seconds, 0.4 seconds slower than the Roadster, largely because combustion engines cannot produce immediate torque, while electric engines can.
The vehicle has three motors, one in the front and two in the rear, all-wheel drive and torque steering.
The showmanship wowed the crowd although some analysts´ heads started throbbing at the variety of new projects launched as the company is struggling to produce the more affordable sedan upon which its future depends.
‘You’ll be able to travel from LA to San Francisco, and back, at highway speed without recharging,’ Musk said.
‘The point of doing this is to just give a hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars.
‘Driving a gasoline sports car is going to feel like a steam engine with a side of quiche.’
The first 1,000 cars will cost $250,000 (£190,000) each, paid in full up front, with later models starting at $200,000 (£150,000).
It will be available to buy in 2020.
Powering the car is a 200 kilowatt hour battery pack.
The Tesla Semi truck, however, attracted the most attention last week.
Musk has described electric trucks as Tesla’s next effort to move the economy away from fossil fuels through projects including electric cars, solar roofs and power storage.
But some analysts fear the truck will be an expensive distraction for Tesla, which is burning cash, has never posted an annual profit, and is in self-described ‘manufacturing hell’ starting up production of the $35,000 (£26,000) Model 3 sedan.
‘Elon’s showmanship remains intact, even as his customers’ patience for Model 3 delivery wanes,’ Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, said by email.
‘The specs on the new semi truck and sports car would put both vehicles at the top of their segments…assuming they can be produced and sold as part of a sustainable business plan. So far that final element has eluded Tesla Motors, which makes it difficult to see these vehicles as more than ‘what if’ concept cars,’ he added.
Tesla also has to convince the trucking community that it can build an affordable electric big rig with the range and cargo capacity to compete with relatively low-cost, time-tested diesel trucks. The heavy batteries eat into the weight of cargo an electric truck can haul.
The truck can go up to 500 miles at maximum weight at highway speed, Musk said, without giving the size of the payload.
Musk said the Class 8 vehicle, the heaviest weight classification for trucks, in 30 minutes can recharge the battery enough to go 400 miles, and that Tesla would build a global, solar-powered network of ‘megachargers.’
Diesel trucks are capable of travelling up to 1,000 miles on a single tank of fuel. Musk said diesel trucks were 20 per cent more expensive per mile to operate than his electric truck.
Self-driving technology would allow the trucks to travel in convoys, where only the front truck would need a driver, making trucks cheaper than rail, Musk added.
That vision, however, faces an uncertain regulatory future, since Congress is considering exempting heavy duty trucks from looser self-driving rules in the works, after truckers lobbied that safety and millions of jobs could be at risk.
The day cab – which is not a sleeper – has a less prominent nose than on a classic truck, and the battery is built into the chassis. Tesla designed the cab for good visibility, with a center seat flanked by two touch screens.
Tesla showed off the semi on a webcast which offered reservations for the truck at $5,000 each, but Musk did not discuss reservation volume.
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc, the fourth-largest U.S. less-than-truckload carrier, which consolidates smaller freight loads onto a single truck, said it was not signing on.
‘We met with Tesla and at this time we do not see a fit with their product and our fleet,’ Dave Bates, senior vice president of operations, said in an email, without elaborating.
Tesla faces a much more crowded field for electric trucks than it did when it introduced its electric cars.
Manufacturers such as Daimler AG, Navistar International Corp and Volkswagen AG are joining a host of start-ups racing to overcome the challenges of substituting batteries for diesel engines as regulators crack down on carbon dioxide and soot pollution.
Still, manufacturers are mostly focused on medium-duty trucks, not the heavy big rig market Tesla is after.
Tesla would need to invest substantially to create a factory for those trucks.
The company is currently spending about $1 billion per quarter, largely to set up the Model 3 factory, and is contemplating a factory in China to build cars.
Charging and maintaining electric trucks that crisscross the country could be expensive and complex.
Shares of Tesla have risen 46 percent this year to make the company the No. 2 U.S. automaker by market value.
