Tesla Roadster Has Four 0 to 60 Numbers and No Price

Tesla Roadster 0 to 60 claims have dropped four times since 2017: 1.9 seconds, then 1.1, then 0.81 on stage on October 15, then under 0.59 for the Rocket trim. The figure Tesla has not moved is the one that decides who can buy one. It has still not said what the car costs, and Musk puts production in 2028.

1.9, 1.1, 0.81, 0.59

The 2017 pitch was 1.9 seconds to 60 mph, a top speed above 250 mph and 620 miles of range, per Electrek's coverage at the time. Before this month's reveal Musk floated 1.1 seconds for an optional SpaceX thruster package. Tesla then claimed 0.81 seconds at the October 15 event outside Waco, Texas, and says the top Rocket trim will run under 0.59. Post reveal coverage lists under 1.6 seconds for the Performance trim and under 0.9 for the Thrust trim.

Two caveats sit on that ladder. Reports differ on how the 0.81 was measured and nobody has verified it independently. And the top speed moved the other way: more than 230 mph now, against more than 250 mph promised in 2017. The car is quicker to 60 and slower at the top.

Six Beats, None of Them a Spec

Count the beats in the coverage of the October 15 demo and you reach six. The Roadster drove up a curved ramp and held itself upside down on a fan driven suction system that Tesla says can pull up to 2 Gs. It launched off the end, rolled 180 degrees in midair and landed on its wheels, then cleared a lineup of a Model 3, a Model Y, a Cybertruck, a Cybercab and a Semi in a move engineering vice president Lars Moravy called "the kickflip," per Motor1. It finished with a corkscrew over the same row.

The hardware behind it is 10 cold gas thrusters fed by 600 liters of compressed air, per Moravy as quoted by TechCrunch. "Well, it worked," Musk said afterward, per TechCrunch. None of the six beats is a figure a buyer can compare against another car. Electrek reported before the event that the demo car was remote operated and not street legal, so the footage shows a cold gas thruster demo on a purpose built prototype.

What Tesla Has Said Since

Tesla's own rundown after the event is a materials and aero list. The exterior has concealed headlights, a full length taillight and Ano White paint with an aerospace derived finish that resists UV, cryogenic temperatures and corrosion. The glass is gold glazed to mimic the copper coating on spacesuit visors. Inside, Tesla lists an ultrawhite cabin with gray microsuede, manual controls and a fixed seat position to save mass, and magnesium, titanium and carbon fiber throughout.

A multi mode fan and ground sealing system pulls air from under the car, enough suction to hold it upside down while stationary, and Tesla says powered fans and active wings give massive downforce at zero speed. For Track Mode it claims "the best passive downforce package of any road car," approaching F1 levels, with the wing driven by the same actuator system as Optimus. That is a claim, and no one has tested it.

The rundown carries no horsepower figure, no battery capacity and no price. InsideEVS reported that Tesla representatives gave no number for energy capacity, and post reveal outlets have filled the gap with conflicting power estimates. Tesla has not confirmed any of them. The one number close to a price is the $50,000 refundable deposit reported when reservations reopened ahead of the event.

2028 Would Be 11 Years After the Unveil

The Roadster was first shown in 2017 and promised for 2020. Musk now says production starts in 2028, which would put the first deliveries 11 years after the unveil. The fair counterpoint is that nobody has disputed that the car flew. The dispute is over the car that would be sold, whose power, battery, range and price are still unpublished.

Tesla is showing a different tempo with the Cybercab, the car that sat in the Roadster's jump lineup. By its own count it had scaled to more than 300 Cybercabs serving Austin one month after launch, an 8x increase in 30 days, while Cybercabs tested in New York with drivers on standby. That is what a product on a delivery schedule looks like.

Verdict: watch, and do not read the 0.59 as a purchase spec. A $50,000 refundable deposit buys a place in line for a car with four published 0 to 60 times, no published price and a 2028 start date.