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Lose your lunch watching Tesla’s new Roadster launch in ‘Maximum Plaid’ mode

Roadster Test Ride
Tesla’s surprise reveal of a brand-new Roadster certainly threw us for a loop, but what really caught us off guard were the car’s performance capabilities.

Revealed as a treat following the Tesla Semi event, the stunning new EV sports car will have supercar performance that’ll shame any gas-powered challengers, according to CEO Elon Musk.

One of the biggest jaw-dropping claims is a mind-bending 0-to-60 launch time of just 1.9 seconds. You’ll believe it when you see it, right? Well, we may have a taste of just how fast we’re talking about thanks to a YouTube video of someone given a ride-along.

From the passenger side of the Roadster that was on hand to give demonstrations at Thursday night’s reveal event, we see the car take off from “maximum plaid” mode. These Tesla guys sure love their Spaceballs.

EVs are known to be quick off the line, and Tesla’s current lineup of Models S and X have certainly proven that they are more than capable of holding their own against existing sports cars. But what the Roadster might be capable of would be putting it well ahead of the pack.

Apart from its insane launch claims, the Roadster will house a s 200kWh batter pack and will be capable of traveling 620 miles on a full charge. Those inclined to continue past 60 mph will be hitting 100 mph in 4.2 seconds, slaying a quarter-mile in 8.9 seconds, and can continue to a top speed of 250 mph, according to the company.

It’s not going to be cheap, though. Those interested will need to drop a $50,000 deposit for the Roadster, which starts at $200,000 dollars. Judging from how Tesla prices things out in the Model 3, it’s safe to assume that the base model Roadster probably won’t do all of the cool stuff it’s said to do unless further upgrades are added.

With a new semi truck in the works and now a new sports car announced to dazzle enthusiasts, we’re keen to see how the maligned Model 3 output is affected. In any case, we need only wait a mere three years for the new Roadster to strut its stuff.

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Alexander Kalogianni
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Alex K is an automotive writer based in New York. When not at his keyboard or behind the wheel of a car, Alex spends a lot of…
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