Tesla Roadster Specs: 1,341 HP, 310-320 Miles of Range, and a 200-Liter Air Tank

Tesla‘s engineering and design leadership — chief engineer Lars Moravy and design head Franz von Holzhausen — finally laid out the new Roadster’s specifications in a nearly hour-long video published by Top Gear, following a debut show that revealed little concrete data. The verdict: the car will enter production in Texas in 2028, and the 2017 concept is no longer viable.

The Roadster rides on a completely new bespoke chassis combining aluminum and carbon fiber, with steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire using carbon ceramic rotors. Its high-voltage battery pack is rated between 800 and 1,000 volts and uses nickel-based lithium-ion cells developed specifically for this car. Tesla did not disclose energy capacity, but said normal driving yields roughly 310 to 320 miles of range on a full charge — a sharp drop from the 620 miles promised when the second-generation Roadster was first revealed in 2017. The car is clearly aimed at track use rather than long-distance touring.

Charging is where the Roadster makes its boldest claim: it is the fastest-charging Tesla battery ever, accepting up to 500 kW from a V4 Supercharger and delivering a maximum output of 1,000 kW. A 15% to 85% charge should take about 10 minutes, with the charging port hidden behind the rear wing.

Four versions will be offered, all rear-wheel-drive only, with a pair of electric motors enabling torque vectoring. The lightest variant weighs around 3,700 pounds (1,700 kilograms). The base model produces over 1,073 horsepower (800+ kW) and 885 lb-ft of torque, while the more powerful versions are claimed to exceed 1,341 HP (1,000 kW) and 1,032 lb-ft. Top speed is currently 214 miles per hour, with a target of 330 mph.

Despite the name, the Roadster is not a traditional roadster. The upper glass portion of its butterfly doors can be removed to create a T-top, similar to the third-generation Chevrolet Corvette. Active aero is everywhere: dual-mode active fans in the rear can suck the car down to increase downforce or create a venturi effect by pulling air from the front through the back. The fans are deployable and can move up and down to clear road debris.

The Roadster is a two-seater with a trunk, but on the Thrust version the trunk houses a 200-liter pressurized air tank that shoots compressed air through equal-length pipes. Currently, filling the tank takes two to six hours via a high-pressure nitrogen system, though Tesla is developing an improved setup that could cut fill time to under 30 minutes. A single charge lasts roughly five to six seconds and enables acceleration from zero to 60 mph in less than a second.

No price was specified in the source material.