Blog Musk Says Roadster Acceleration Will Be Like a ‘Hardcore Roller Coaster’

The upcoming Tesla Roadster may be able to go 0-60 mph in 1.1 seconds.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk replied to a question on Twitter asking if the electric sports car would be able to achieve such incredible acceleration. Musk said yes, but only if the car is equipped with a rocket thruster option. 

Musk added that such a launch would “not be wise for those with a medical condition,” comparing the ride to a “hardcore roller coaster.”

https://twitter.com/x/status/1395474465794838528

Musk has been talking up a potential feature on the Roadster that would leverage SpaceX rocket thruster technology that uses compressed air to help accelerate the car.

Speaking on the Joe Rogan podcast in February, Musk said he wants the Roadster to hover.

“I’m trying to figure out how to make this thing hover, without, you know, killing people,” Musk said. “Ithought, maybe we could make it hover, but not too high. So maybe it could hover, like, a meter above the ground, or something. So, if you plummet, you blow out the suspension, but you’re not going to die. Maybe, I don’t know, six feet. If we put a height limit on it, it will probably be fine.”

Musk told Rogan that Roadsters with the SpaceX package will not have a back seat, making room for the thruster system.

Musk said he expects the thruster to come out of a James Bond-style flip-down license plate.

A rocket-powered car seems like it could be too much to handle on normal streets. It will be interesting to see if Tesla will build in additional safety features for the SpaceX version of the Roadster. 

Tesla originally planned to deliver the updated Roadster in 2020, but Musk has said the company has prioritized effort like the construction of new factories and production of its first electric pickup. The Roadster is now expected to go to production in 2022. 

 

[Drax]

I’m a bit of a roller coaster fan and in my 20’s I traveled most of the world in search of the most interesting roller coasters.

Kingda Ka at Great Adventure and Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point are likely the most comparable roller coasters to roadster in the US. Both do roughly 0-120ish in ~3.5sec.

Off the top of my head though, the quickest accelerating launch coaster existing today is Dodonpa in Japan. Dodonpa launches 0-112mph in ~1.6sec, and while I haven’t had a chance to ride it yet, I did have a chance to ride it’s “little brother” proof of concept called Hypersonic XLC a park called Kings Dominion years and years ago. That did 0-80mph in ~1.8sec and was genuinely violent.

There was also a ride called G Force in Kissimmee, FL that was even faster though. It was only open for a couple years in the early 2000’s and was basically just a simulated actual drag race that’d regularly hit 0-115mph in under 2 seconds. It used a similar launch system as Hypersonic and Dodonpa but was super unreliable so the park too it out, IIRC. All of these rides were incredible experiences, but they were also so fast that you don’t have time to think or react. There’s no way I’d be comfortable putting some random jackhole behind the wheel of a car that’s even remotely comparable to these rides.

 

[Haxster]

Elon was just kidding about putting a rocket engine where the back seat was.

According to my imaginary sources, it will actually be an industrial strength rubber band on a spool/slingshot wound up by the drive motors.

After a ten second, five KWH "stretch"....

 

[thesmokingman]

That's getting s bit insane.

 

[ScoobyDoo82]

I suspect that the rockets will more provide downforce than direct thrust. You get more acceleration that way (if you have enough torque), and it works in any direction not just the way the rocket is pushing. If that's true, then pretty much all the acceleration will come from the tires.

Lol, the rocket boosters will never make it to mass production. I can get behind the polarizing CyberTruck, the new Yoke wheel on S/X, and FSD. But cold fusion boosters on a street car? It will never happen. If by some way it does, it will never be on a car that only costs $250,000. We are talking about something that costs too much money for simple mass production.
Not trying to be a pessimist, just tired of all the hype over a tweet.