Keen to ensure that it doesn’t forget its roots, Tesla CEO Elon Musk yesterday announced that the company’s first car, the Roadster, will be receiving quite the upgrade package. Improving upon the original model in numerous ways and most notably allowing drivers to go longer between recharges, the Raodster 3.0 doesn’t yet have a price but does look rather appealing.
The stats don’t always do these things justice, but according to information coming out of Tesla the new batteries used here should see around a 50% increase in range when coupled with other tweaks that are being made. Those include a new drag reduction package that will see a 15% improvement over yesteryear’s model as well as new tires and associated bits and pieces.
Tesla hopes to showcase the new 400-mile range by driving a Roadster 3.0 non-stop from San Francisco to Los Angeles some time early next year. Dragging the now ageing Roadster into the current world of electric vehicle technology, especially batteries, is something that will have fans of the original jumping with joy. It also shows just how much automobile battery technology has changed since Tesla’s early days, Tesla says that its new battery cells now hold 31% more energy than their older siblings while taking up the same amount of physical space. That’s key when you’re trying to pack these things into a car that needs to be small and light.
Tesla already has plenty of plates to spin with its work on the Model X and Model 3, but we’re pleased to see it found time for an old favorite.
Again, we don’t have any pricing as yet but we don’t expect the Roadster 3.0 to come cheap. If you’re playing in the Tesla Roadster game though, we suspect the expectation of a budget EV isn’t something you’re overly familiar with.
And we’re not jealous at all. Nope. Not one bit.
Maybe a little bit.
(Source: Tesla)
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