Motoring

Tesla Roadster will give petrol cars a hardcore smackdown, says Elon Musk

26 November 2017 - 00:00 By Chris Graham

Elon Musk, South African-born CEO of Tesla, unveiled a surprise new vehicle this month - a roadster that he said would be the "fastest production car ever".
Capable of 0-100km/h in 1.9 seconds, the Tesla Roadster would be the first such car ever to break the two-second mark, the entrepreneur said at a launch near Los Angeles.
He also said it would accelerate from 0-160km/h in 4.2 seconds and clear a quarter mile (400m) in 8.9 seconds. "This will the first time that any production car has broken nine seconds in the quarter mile," he said.With a 200kW hour battery pack, the Tesla Roadster will have a range of 1,000km on a single charge - another new record.The truck can go up to 800km at maximum weight at highway speed, Musk said. Diesel trucks are capable of travelling up to 1,600km on a single tank of fuel.
The Tesla Semi can also go from 0-100km/h in five seconds without cargo or reach 100km/h in 20 seconds at the maximum weight allowed on US highways, 36,300kg."I can drive this thing and I have no idea how to drive a semi," Musk joked.
Ahead of the unveiling, Tesla executives showed the Class 8 truck to journalists, describing it as "trailer agnostic", capable of hauling any type of freight. Class 8 is the heaviest weight classification on trucks.
The battery is built into the chassis. It has four motors, one for each rear wheel. Tesla designed the cab with a roomy feel and a centre seat for better visibility, executives said. Two touch screens flank the driver.
The truck has Tesla's semi-autonomous driving system, designed to keep a vehicle in its lane without drifting, change lanes on command, and transition from one freeway to another with no human intervention.
Musk tweeted that the truck would "blow your mind clear out of your skull",  joking: "It can transform into a robot, fight aliens and make one hell of a latte." - Reuters..

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