Tesla is, in large part, responsible for popularizing and mainstreaming electric vehicles (EVs). This is a big deal, as it is absolutely vital that we move past traditional gas-powered cars, which produce massive amounts of planet-warming gases.
Tesla has now set its sights on a goal that is less vital to our planet but still very exciting for car enthusiasts: creating an EV that can go 250 miles per hour.
The second-generation Tesla Roadster (a follow-up to the company's original 2008 model) is still in development. There's no word of when it will hit the market, but it is expected sometime in 2024.
According to one Tesla fan blog, the specs are pretty impressive. As stated in the report, Tesla said the new Roadster will be able to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 1.9 seconds, with a quarter-mile time of around 8.8 seconds and a top speed of 250 miles per hour.
It will also reportedly offer an optional package that uses Tesla's SpaceX rocket technology to equip the car with cold-air rocket thrusters, which could bring the 0 to 60 miles per hour time down to an astonishing 1.1 seconds.
Of course, for a company often under scrutiny for safety and manufacturing issues, the news of a Tesla that travels at such extreme speeds could be taken as cause for concern more than celebration. Tesla had delivered about 2,450 of its first-generation Roadsters by 2012, but the company recalled many of those for safety issues.
The second-generation Roadster will come with a starting price tag of $200,000, according to Car and Driver magazine.
The Roadster is far from the only Tesla making news, as the company already has more than 1.5 million preorders reported for its highly anticipated "Cybertruck" and was recently forced to slash prices for two of its most expensive models that are currently on the market.
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