Tesla Roadster II 1.1-Sec Acceleration CGI Clip Has Vaporware Vibes

In most cases, it has to be said they were right to call them that. Out of the many that have tried, it's only Lucid Motors that seems to be somewhat ready to begin production, and even with them, there is still a tiny question mark hanging in the air. However, one would have to be blind not to see how blatantly Tesla itself has been using this strategy of throwing some numbers into the public's eyes way before it can ever deliver the product.

The Roadster's second coming is probably the best example. The four-seat hypercar was first presented three-and-a-half years ago, and unless Tesla magically pulls it out of its behind tomorrow, we're not likely to see it sooner than one year. The company has made it very clear that it prioritizes the Semi and the Cybertruck, presumably because they bring a larger profit margin and could potentially sell in higher volumes as well.

Meanwhile, Rimac Automobili has just unveiled the Nevera, an all-electric hypercar that uses four motors for a combined output of 1,914 hp and a ridiculous amount of torque—not 7,374 lb-ft (10,000 Nm), though, like the Roadster promised because unlike other companies, Rimac doesn't play dirty by advertising wheel torque and forgetting to mention it.

We've seen the Nevera go head-to-head against the Ferrari SF90 Stradale hypercar in a quarter-mile drag race and absolutely destroy the hybrid Italian model. Not only that, but it also set an unofficial new record for a production car with a time of 8.62 seconds, and that was on an old Croatian airfield with no prep whatsoever. Who knows how fast it can go in ideal conditions?

Back to the Tesla Roadster, the only thing we see these days is the car exhibited at the Petersen Automotive Museum and CGI videos like the one below simulating what the vehicle's acceleration will look like once it hits the streets. These things looked cool a few years ago when the promise was still fresh, but now, they simply highlight the fact Tesla seems to have forgotten about the Roadster.

This particular clip shows a standard Roadster next to one equipped with the SpaceX package, which is rumored to boost the car's 0-60 mph acceleration time to just 1.1 seconds via a set of cold air thrusters. The video, which uses real physics to simulate the result as accurate as possible, shows only a few car lengths between the two cars over the quarter-mile distance. Obviously, given the performance level we're at, that will make an important difference for the actual time. How important? Sadly, the author of the video doesn't say, even though we're pretty sure he has the answer. One that's just as virtual as the entire video, of course.