Put the 2017 Roadster next to the one Tesla showed this week and you would not guess they share a name. The first was a smooth red coupe that looked like a lower Model 3. The new one is a flat-faced wedge, and the photos going around show a car shaped by aircraft and rockets, not by the Model S family.
Tesla says its design language "has evolved since the last reveal," moving from the S3XY lineup to Cybertruck, Cybercab and Optimus, with the SR-71 Blackbird and F-35 as inspiration. If you want the full run-down of what we expected going in, our earlier piece is here.
What the photos actually show
The hood is faceted, the headlights hide in pop-down openings, and a slim light bar runs across the nose. There is no Tesla logo up front. At the back is a full-width taillight like the refreshed Model Y's, plus an exposed diffuser that shows off thruster nozzles and suction fans. Yahoo Autos notes that, despite the name, this is very much a coupe, and that the active rear wing hides the charge port door when it sits flush.
Form follows the hardware
The shape is not only styling. Tesla describes a multi-mode fan and ground-sealing system that pulls air from under the car, which it says can hold the car upside down while stationary, plus active wings and cold-gas thrusters for stabilizing it in flight. Those are Tesla's own claims. We have not seen independent verification or comment from an aerospace engineer, and the material we reviewed does not explain what stabilizing a road car "in flight" would actually mean. Treat them as goals that still need development and testing, not as demonstrated features.
The weight-saving choices point the same way: manual controls, a fixed seat position, and magnesium, titanium and carbon fiber throughout. Finishes borrow from spaceflight too. Tesla's description ties the Ano White paint to rocket coatings, and says the gold-tinted glass imitates the copper coating on spacesuit visors. Read those as design inspirations as Tesla presents them; we have seen nothing showing they perform like their spaceflight namesakes. Doors are manual scissor-style.
The read-through
The takeaway is that Tesla is now presenting the car as shared engineering with SpaceX, not a stand-alone design exercise. The sharp-edged look ties the Roadster to the rest of the lineup, which is a design choice, not proof of any production readiness.
That matters because the promises are old. Tesla first showed a Roadster in 2017 with a 1.9-second 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) time and 620 miles (998 km) of range. Now it claims about 0.81 seconds to 60 mph and targets production in 2028, with final capabilities still subject to development. We have seen no price.
Would you rather have kept the 2017 curves with the new thrusters, or is the Cyber look the right call? Tesla's own account of the redesign makes the case for the second, but plenty of people who put down deposits in 2017 may feel differently.
Sources
- 1.Tesla Roadster Old vs. New: How the Design Changed [Photo Comparisons] - Not a Tesla App · Not a Tesla App
- 2.It · Rediff
- 3.View Exterior Photos of the New Tesla Roadster · Yahoo Autos
Reported by the WattsUpNext desk from the sources linked below. Spot an error? Tell us at corrections@wattsupnext.com.
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