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2020 Tesla Roadster Delayed Until 2022, Drivable Prototype Coming This Summer

2022 Tesla Roadster 7 photos
Photo: Tesla
Tesla Roadster IITesla Roadster IITesla Roadster IITesla Roadster IITesla Roadster IITesla Roadster II
Tesla gained worldwide acclaim for the first-generation Roadster, an EV unlike any other when it rolled out in 2008. Based on a Lotus chassis but quicker to 60 miles per hour than the Elise and Exige from that era, the open-top sports car will be succeeded in 2022.
That’s a whole decade since the original stopped production, which is a heck of a long time by all accounts. What’s even more peculiar is that Elon Musk took the veils off the Roadster II in 2017, when he promised that deliveries would kick off by the end of 2020. Be that as it may, don’t forget the automotive industry didn’t know that a health crisis would backtrack things.

According to chief executive Musk Man, engineering will be completed by the end of 2021. Production starts next year, and a drivable release candidate is scheduled to arrive this summer in order to keep the hype going strong.

Previously nicknamed Model R, the all-new Roadster is available to reserve for quite a princely sum. Those who express interest in the tri-motor sports have to pony up a $50,000 deposit, representing a fourth of the base price of $200,000 before optional extras, taxes, and whatnot.

Scheduled to hit the Nürburgring for chassis and suspension calibration sometime this year, the Roadster II is described as “the quickest car in the world, with record-setting acceleration, range, and performance.” At the time of writing, Tesla promises 1.9 seconds, 620 miles (998 kilometers) on a charge, and more than 250 miles per hour (402 kilometers per hour).

Capable of crossing the quarter-mile finish line in 8.8 seconds, the most extreme Tesla entitled to wear a license plate is a four-seat targa with a 200-kWh battery and similar bits and bobs to the Model S Plaid+. Speaking of the full-size sedan, the 2021 redesign loses the conventional steering wheel in favor of a stalkless yoke that was previewed by the Roadster in 2017.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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