Tesla Roadster Prototype Spotted at Supercharger Station - Interesting Engineering

The much anticipated Tesla Roadster Prototype made a rare public appearance last week. The single working prototype pops up in public every now and again, but it hasn’t been seen for a while.

The appearance of the Roadster coincided with the launch of the Tesla Model Y. A Tesla fan spotted the Roadster outside the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, just hours before the big Model Y launch.

So fast so furious

The car was seen close to the Supercharger station at the Design studio. Observers seem to think, that no significant changes have been made to the car since it was first launched.

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, says once it hits the market the car will be capable of 0-60 mph in 1.9 sec, 620-mile of range, and more. Musk says those specs are just the ‘base’ numbers and the final specifications could be even crazier.

Musk went on to say the car will be sold with an optional ‘SpaceX package’ that will include cold air thrusters. These cold air thrusters would be small rocket engines used to “dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking, and cornering,” but he also said that it would “maybe even allow a Tesla to fly.”

SpaceX option package for new Tesla Roadster will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around car. These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking & cornering. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 2018. június 9.

Tesla taking deposits now

Tesla has said they are trying to get the car on the showroom floor by 2020. If you want to own the quickest and fastest production car on the market, that is also all-electric. You can make a reservation for the $200,000 base version with an expensive $50,000 deposit and for the $250,000 Founders Series for an even more insane $250,000 deposit.

The Roadster was dramatically launched back in 2017 when it emerged from the back of a Tesla Semi during the truck's official reveal. European Tesla fans who were lucky enough to be at the Grand Basel Auto Show in Switzerland in September got a glimpse of the Roadster, albeit a non-functioning 1:1 model.

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Students get all-access to Roadster

Painted in white, the model Tesla looked at home among the world's most elite cars. The car has popped up a few other times, most recently at the The Art Center College of Design in California.

The school is the alma mater of many brilliant auto-designers including Tesla’s own Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen. Many other Tesla designers are also graduates of the college including Senior Designer Woo Tak Kim, Senior Manager of Design Andrew Kim, Design Manager Bernard Lee, and many others.

The car appeared as an inspiration event for students under the theme 'car classic'

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