PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA – Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that the production of the company’s new hypercar has now been delayed until next year.
Tesla first announced the second-generation Roadster for $200,000 (around R3 million) in late 2017, and the car was slated for a 2020 introduction.
However, in a tweet on Thursday, Musk suggested that the car has now been delayed further.
“Finishing engineering this year, production starts next year. Aiming to have release candidate design drivable late summer. Tri-motor drive system and advanced battery work were important precursors,” Musk said in a tweet.
According to claims, the Roadster will be able to hit 998km on a single charge at a top speed in excess of 400km/h.
According to Musk, its triple-motor drive system (which includes one electric motor in the front and two at the rear) will allow the car to accelerate from 0 to 60mph (96km/h) in just 1.9 seconds, and from 0-160km/h in 4.2.
In February 2018, SpaceX launched its reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle Falcon Heavy for the first time along with a cherry-red previous-generation Tesla Roadster with a mannequin called “Starman” behind the wheel.
In October last year, SpaceX tweeted that the vehicle made its first close approach with Mars, coming within five million miles of the planet.
“Starman” and the Roadster circle the sun once every 557 Earth days, according to the tracking site whereisroadster.com.
Earlier, Musk hinted that his company Tesla and SpaceX might once again team up to send the latest ‘Cybertruck’ into space and could be headed to the Red Planet.
IANS & IOL
