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Tesla Roadster performance specs are actual and not theoretical, says test driver
Emile Bouret, the man behind the wheel of the next-gen Roadster during the vehicle’s test drives last November, recently called on all car enthusiasts to support the upcoming all-electric supercar. According to the veteran test driver, vehicles like the next-generation Roadster have the potential to make the automotive world a “better place,” considering that it would likely trigger a race to make cars that are even more impressive.
Bouret has worked with Tesla since the company’s early days. A close friend of Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen and a 28-year veteran of the auto industry, Bouret has been asked to test drive the electric car makers’ vehicles from the original Tesla Roadster and the Model S. During his interview with YouTube’s VINwiki channel, Bouret admitted that he does not really understand the hate being directed towards the next-gen Tesla Roadster.
“I love that I live in a world where all these cars exist. You have Koenigseggs and Paganis and Ferraris and Lamborghinis and McLarens and Porsches and Rimacs and Teslas. So, I know there’s a lot of hate out there, but I just don’t understand it. If you’re a car person, wouldn’t you root for everybody? I’m definitely rooting for them because the world will be a better place if that car does get built and it gets on the road, because other people are gonna build cars to beat it — and we’re gonna win.”
The next-generation Tesla Roadster gave the auto industry a massive surprise when Elon Musk unveiled the vehicle last November. The all-electric supercar’s claimed specs, after all, including its 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds, it’s quarter-mile time of 8.8 seconds, and its range of 620 miles per charge, have caused some controversy among conventional car enthusiasts. Among the most prominent points of skepticism include speed limitations because of the vehicle’s tires, as well as battery technology that is yet to be attained.
Tesla, however, has assured that the specs announced for the next-gen Roadster are actually conservative. According to Bouret, the upcoming all-electric supercar’s figures related by Elon Musk were not theoretical. They were the actual numbers that their tests have shown.
“Those aren’t theoretical. Those aren’t calculations. We’ve done those numbers. And I probably shouldn’t say that those numbers are even conservative, but they are. That thing is going to be a proper weapon,” he said.
The pervading doubts cast on the next-generation Tesla Roadster’s speed and range are understandable, considering that no other vehicle on the road today boasts comparable specs and performance. Over the past few months, however, Tesla has been dropping hints that the company does have all the necessary resources it needs to attain, or even surpass, the vehicle’s specs that were announced last November.
A white next-gen Tesla Roadster makes an appearance during the 2018 annual shareholders meeting. [Credit: Dennis Pascual/Twitter]
Just last month, for example, Elon Musk openly discussed the idea of using some of SpaceX’s technology to augment the performance capabilities of the next-generation Tesla Roadster. According to Musk, the upcoming supercar would use Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPV), which are used by SpaceX’s Falcon rockets during re-entry and landing, to help the car’s acceleration and maneuverability. As we noted in a previous report, the seemingly outlandish idea is actually feasible.
As for the next-gen Roadster’s battery technology, Tesla CTO JB Straubel discussed it best during the company’s Q1 2018 earnings call. While addressing a question about the Tesla Semi’s range, Straubel noted that much of the doubts behind the company’s estimated range for its vehicles comes from a misunderstanding of the company’s battery tech.
“I think the key point is that it doesn’t require a dramatic breakthrough. So there’s a fundamental misunderstanding, I think, of what the current technology in our existing products can actually do. If they’re benchmarking sort of the best battery pack they can buy from a supplier, and then mapping that with what the Semi could do, it doesn’t solve. I think that’s maybe where most of it is coming from, but we basically have what we need in-house, and understand how to do those specs today,” Straubel said.
The next-generation Tesla Roadster is expected to enter production sometime in 2020. Test drives for the vehicle are expected to begin late next year.
Watch Emile Bouret’s discussion of the next-generation Tesla Roadster in the video below.
The Tesla Semi is entering a new Pilot Program with Paper Transport, LLC (PTI), a Wisconsin-based transportation provider. The company will test the Semi’s Long Range configuration through “dedicated operations within the Chicago market.”
Chicago presents an interesting challenge for the Semi, as it will be a colder-weather climate that will test the Semi’s ability to operate in lower temperatures and in potentially large accumulations of snow. This is something Tesla has been testing with the Semi in Alaska and even in Northern California during the colder months, but Chicago will present a truly tough midwestern winter.
Tesla Semi spotted on journey home after winter performance testing
PTI says it is using the Semi to evaluate its strategy of reducing transportation emissions while maintaining performance, reliability, and cost efficiency. These are major arguments for the Semi being introduced into new fleets.
CEO of PTI Tyler Ellison said:
“PTI has been a leader in sustainable transportation solutions for over 15 years. We take a consultative approach to helping customers identify and implement the right transportation solution for their network. Our partnership with Tesla expands our portfolio alongside renewable natural gas and intermodal, giving customers more ways to reduce Scope 3 emissions without compromising service or economics.”
PTI is far from the first company to adopt the Semi within a fleet, as Tesla entered strategic agreements with PepsiCo. and its subsidiary Frito-Lay for a Pilot Program that extended throughout the California region.
Tesla has let companies like those utilize the Semi to determine whether it would be suitable for their operations. Additionally, Tesla gets valuable information regarding the Semi’s performance, knowing what to improve and what is ideal for companies that will utilize the all-electric truck for regional and nationwide logistics.
PTI plans to utilize the Long Range configuration, which is priced at $290,000 and features a range of approximately 500 miles, a three-motor powertrain, up to 800 kW of drive power, and consumption of just 1.7 kWh per mile.
Tesla Semi pricing revealed after company uncovers trim levels
VP of Maintenance at PTI, Bryan Ellen, added:
“We are excited to partner with Tesla, leveraging their ever-evolving technology. We are bullish in our estimation of the parallels available between our dedicated model and the efficiency of their fully electric Class 8 tractor. We anticipate a growing synergy between our businesses as we work to facilitate this sustainable solution for our customers.”
PTI has logged more than 87 million miles using sources like compressed and renewable gas, but now is looking to take it a step further with fully electric operations.
Tesla revealed on Monday that it is building a new autonomous vehicle at Gigafactory Texas, its plant just outside of the City of Austin. This particular vehicle will be geared toward those who are in need of a wheelchair-accessible car that would require no human driver for operation.
According to a new report from Wired, Tesla’s Senior Policy Advisor, India Herdman, told members of the Washington D.C. City Council on Monday:
“We are in development for a purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle. We know that paratransit can be very difficult, and people who are confined to wheelchairs permanently should still be able to move around freely, so that is an active product being built by Tesla in Texas.”
This builds upon what CEO Elon Musk said last year on X, which confirmed the company was working on accessible rides within its Robotaxi platform, which currently is confined to the Model Y.
Absolutely
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 19, 2025
Tesla is also developing the Cybercab, which started employee rides last week. However, this vehicle is not necessarily geared toward wheelchair accessibility.
That leaves a major gap in the autonomous ride-sharing program that Tesla is attempting to build; the company has been pretty clear that it does not want to complicate its manufacturing lines by bringing in a wide array of body styles.
However, it seems necessary to have something larger that could help transport people to appointments when they cannot drive. For wheelchair accessibility, the Robovan, which was unveiled at the “We, Robot” event in October 2024, seems to be the most ideal solution:
Herdman did not indicate whether she was referring to the Robovan or if Tesla is building yet another body style that is geared toward full autonomy but also caters to the handicapped.
Tesla might need to develop something specifically for the handicapped in order to align with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prevents discrimination against people with disabilities in transportation services. Uber was hit with a lawsuit late last year for “refusing to reasonably modify its policies, practices, or procedures where necessary to avoid discriminating against riders with disabilities.”
Tesla would obviously like to avoid this.
It will be interesting to see what Tesla will do with this project, and whether it will introduce something new to the market or just continue with the Robovan.
Tesla weirdly confirmed that its steering wheel-less and pedal-less Cybercab vehicle is now in the process of giving employees rides, a huge milestone for the vehicle program.
But the entire thing was super strange. On Friday, Tesla released a video stating that there was “Cool news from Giga Texas” and that employees were now taking rides in Cybercabs that have no manual controls. The units seen on public roads are engineering vehicles that have manual controls inside, a necessity as Tesla moved through the testing phase.
However, Tesla removed the video and reposted it shortly after with a more vague title. It seems like the employee rides are still going, but the video was adjusted slightly. The initial upload showed employees doing things like watching movies and adjusting the climate, but these snippets were removed in the second upload.
Cool news from Giga Texas pic.twitter.com/gvbG456Tzw
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) July 11, 2026
Both images below were uploaded with the first video, but were removed after Tesla re-uploaded the announcement. These are not available in the second upload
Credit: Tesla
Credit: Tesla
Nevertheless, the announcement from Tesla is that the Cybercab is operating with employees inside who can control the vehicle’s audio, video, climate, and destination settings through their smartphone app.
Tesla has already been testing Cybercab engineering units, but last month, it was able to self-certify for SAE Level 4, which would enable unsupervised self-driving in Texas. The company is moving toward that, and the plans have always been to launch Cybercab rides this year.
The Cybercab is potentially looked at as the next generation of Tesla’s mobility leg. For the past 15 years, the company has been known as somewhat of an automaker, among many other things. However, these passenger vehicles that Tesla has manufactured are now moving into a new realm, as they will eventually drive themselves with no supervision thanks to the Full Self-Driving suite.
The Cybercab is just the next step of that: a true vehicle developed for the sole purpose of ride-hailing. It has no human controls, it has only two seats, and it will get passengers from Point A to Point B with no awkward driver, no need for manual inputs, and with no stress.
Tesla is moving forward with other developments related to the Cybercab project as well. However, the big announcement will come when Tesla finally announces that it is launching Cybercab rides to the general public, something that it plans to launch either late this year or early 2027.
Tesla Semi enters new Pilot Program with interesting challenge
Tesla is building a wheelchair-accessible Robotaxi
