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Tesla’s Elon Musk highlights that wait for next-gen Roadster ‘will be worth it’

(Credit: HyperChange)

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Elon Musk teased that the long wait for Tesla’s next-gen Roadster “will be worth it.” The CEO’s update came as a response to tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee’s tweet about the vehicle, which has seen delays in its deliveries.

Musk and Design Chief Franz von Holzhausen remain tight-lipped about the new Roadster’s improvements, but there is no doubt that it will be astonishing. Since the next-gen Roadster’s unveiling, there have been staggering improvements in Tesla’s other vehicles and the company’s technology, especially in the battery development front. 

For instance, the Model S passed the 400 mile EPA range earlier this year and Tesla finally unveiled its own 4680 cell during Battery Day in September. Currently, some specs of the Model S Plaid almost overlap with the base next-gen Roadster.

The base Roadster has a 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds, while the Plaid Model S can do it under 2.0 seconds. The numbers speak for themselves. The base Roadster still beats the Plaid Model S in top speed and range, but not by a league. The all-electric supercar has a top speed of +250 mph and a range of 620 miles, while the Plaid Model S has a top speed of 200 mph and an estimated range of 520+ miles. 

Then there is the Roadster with the SpaceX Package which will be another variant altogether. The host of YouTube channel Engineering Explained ran the numbers on the Roadster SpaceX Package using Issac Newton’s basic physics principles. He determined that the Roadster could hit 0-60mph in 1.1 seconds with SpaceX thrusters. Without a doubt, that much power will need sufficient energy and may rely heavily on the success of Tesla’s homegrown battery cell. 

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Elon Musk and Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen have dropped some vague hints about the next Roadster over the last two years. In October 2019, Holzhausen teased that Tesla had already made improvements to the Roadster since its unveiling. 

“It’s evolving deservedly so; it needs more time. It will be even better than what we’ve unveiled. In every way,” he said during an appearance in Ryan McCaffrey’s Ride the Lightning podcast. Unfortunately, Franz didn’t dive into specific details about the improvements that could be expected in the production version of the all-electric supercar.

Elon Musk said that the Cybertruck production and deliveries may start before the Roadster during an appearance at The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Gigafactory Texas is expected to start Cybertruck production next year, though Model Y production will likely commence in the complex first. Tesla has been making great progress with the construction of Giga Texas so far.

After Tesla successfully ramps Cybertruck production, it may start working on manufacturing the next-gen Roadster and the Semi. Whether the Roadster’s production will precede the Semi’s remains unclear. Either way, Tesla has a lot of work left before its next-gen Roadster hits the road. 

Since its unveiling in November 2017, the Tesla Roadster has been a long-awaited vehicle in the electric car community. Tesla’s next-gen Roadster is quite symbolic for the EV automaker. After all, it was the original Tesla Roadster that really kicked the company into gear so many years ago.

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The EV automaker removing the Roadster from the main page of tesla.com may have worried some people, especially considering its historic position at Tesla. The noted tech YouTuber’s tweet about the change probably reflected most of the community’s feelings on the matter. “The Roadster being gone from tesla.com scares me,” Brownlee tweeted, tagging Elon Musk. 

The Roadster has been removed from the front page of Tesla’s website, but can still be found using the hamburger menu. Elon Musk’s short reply to Brownlee’s tweet revealed that Tesla has not forgotten about the next-gen Roadster at all. Tesla may simply be waiting for all the pieces to come together before it produces the next iteration of its historic vehicle.

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Tesla investors will be shocked by Jim Cramer’s latest assessment

Jim Cramer is now speaking positively about Tesla, especially in terms of its Robotaxi performance and its perception as a company.

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Credit: CNBC Television/YouTube

Tesla investors will be shocked by analyst Jim Cramer’s latest assessment of the company.

When it comes to Tesla analysts, many of them are consistent. The bulls usually stay the bulls, and the bears usually stay the bears. The notable analysts on each side are Dan Ives and Adam Jonas for the bulls, and Gordon Johnson for the bears.

Jim Cramer is one analyst who does not necessarily fit this mold. Cramer, who hosts CNBC’s Mad Money, has switched his opinion on Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) many times.

He has been bullish, like he was when he said the stock was a “sleeping giant” two years ago, and he has been bearish, like he was when he said there was “nothing magnificent” about the company just a few months ago.

Now, he is back to being a bull.

Cramer’s comments were related to two key points: how NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang describes Tesla after working closely with the Company through their transactions, and how it is not a car company, as well as the recent launch of the Robotaxi fleet.

Jensen Huang’s Tesla Narrative

Cramer says that the narrative on quarterly and annual deliveries is overblown, and those who continue to worry about Tesla’s performance on that metric are misled.

“It’s not a car company,” he said.

He went on to say that people like Huang speak highly of Tesla, and that should be enough to deter any true skepticism:

“I believe what Musk says cause Musk is working with Jensen and Jensen’s telling me what’s happening on the other side is pretty amazing.”

Tesla self-driving development gets huge compliment from NVIDIA CEO

Robotaxi Launch

Many media outlets are being extremely negative regarding the early rollout of Tesla’s Robotaxi platform in Austin, Texas.

There have been a handful of small issues, but nothing significant. Cramer says that humans make mistakes in vehicles too, yet, when Tesla’s test phase of the Robotaxi does it, it’s front page news and needs to be magnified.

He said:

“Look, I mean, drivers make mistakes all the time. Why should we hold Tesla to a standard where there can be no mistakes?”

It’s refreshing to hear Cramer speak logically about the Robotaxi fleet, as Tesla has taken every measure to ensure there are no mishaps. There are safety monitors in the passenger seat, and the area of travel is limited, confined to a small number of people.

Tesla is still improving and hopes to remove teleoperators and safety monitors slowly, as CEO Elon Musk said more freedom could be granted within one or two months.

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Tesla launches ultra-fast V4 Superchargers in China for the first time

Tesla has V4 Superchargers rolling out in China for the first time.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla already has nearly 12,000 Supercharger piles across mainland China. However, the company just initiated the rollout of the ultra-fast V4 Superchargers in China for the first time, bringing its quick-charging piles to the country for the first time since their launch last year.

The first batch of V4 Superchargers is now officially up and running in China, the company announced in a post on Chinese social media outlet Weibo today.

Tesla China teases arrival of V4 Superchargers in 2025

The company said in the post:

“The first batch of Tesla V4 Superchargers are online. Covering more service areas, high-speed charging is more convenient, and six-layer powerful protection such as rain and waterproof makes charging very safe. Simultaneously open to non-Tesla vehicles, and other brands of vehicles can also be charged. There are more than 70,000 Tesla Superchargers worldwide. The charging network layout covers 100% of the provincial capitals and municipalities in mainland China. More V4 Superchargers will be put into use across the country. Optimize the charging experience and improve energy replenishment efficiency. Tesla will accompany you to the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas with pure electricity!”

The first V4 Superchargers Tesla installed in China are available in four cities across the country: Shanghai, Zhejiang, Gansu, and Chongqing.

Credit: Tesla China

Tesla has over 70,000 Superchargers worldwide. It is the most expansive and robust EV charging network in the world. It’s the main reason why so many companies have chosen to adopt Tesla’s charging connector in North America and Europe.

In China, some EVs can use Tesla Superchargers as well.

The V4 Supercharger is capable of charging vehicles at speeds of up to 325kW for vehicles in North America. This equates to over 1,000 miles per hour of charging.

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Elon Musk hints at when Tesla could reduce Safety Monitors from Robotaxi

Tesla could be reducing Safety Monitors from Robotaxi within ‘a month or two,’ CEO Elon Musk says.

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Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Elon Musk hinted at when Tesla could begin reducing Safety Monitors from its Robotaxis. Safety Monitors are Tesla employees who sit in the front passenger seat during the driverless rides, and are there to ensure safety for occupants during the earliest rides.

Tesla launched its Robotaxi fleet in Austin last Sunday, and after eight days, videos and reviews from those who have ridden in the driverless vehicles have shown that the suite is safe, accurate, and well coordinated. However, there have been a few hiccups, but nothing that has put anyone’s safety in danger.

A vast majority — close to all of the rides — at least according to those who have ridden in the Robotaxi, have been performed without any real need for human intervention. We reported on what was the first intervention last week, as a Safety Monitor had to step in and stop the vehicle in a strange interaction with a UPS truck.

Watch the first true Tesla Robotaxi intervention by safety monitor

The Tesla and UPS delivery truck were going for the same street parking space, and the Tesla began to turn into it. The UPS driver parallel parked into the spot, which was much smaller than his truck. It seemed to be more of an instance of human error instead of the Robotaxi making the wrong move. This is something that the driverless cars will have to deal with because humans are aggressive and sometimes make moves they should not.

The Safety Monitors have not been too active in the vehicles. After all, we’ve only seen that single instance of an intervention. There was also an issue with the sun, when the Tesla braked abnormally due to the glare, but this was an instance where the car handled the scenario and proceeded normally.

With the Robotaxi fleet operating impressively, some are wondering when Tesla will begin scaling back both the Safety Monitors and Teleoperators that it is using to ensure safety with these early rides.

CEO Elon Musk answered the inquiry by stating, “As soon as we feel it is safe to do so. Probably within a month or two.”

Musk’s response seems to confirm that there will be fewer Teleoperators and Safety Monitors in the coming months, but there will still be some within the fleet to ensure safety. Eventually, that number will get to zero.

Reaching a point where Tesla’s Robotaxi is driverless will be another significant milestone for the company and its path to fully autonomous ride-sharing.

Eventually, Tesla will roll out these capabilities to consumer-owned vehicles, offering them a path to generate revenue as their car operates autonomously and completes rides.

For now, Tesla is focusing on perfecting the area of Austin where it is currently offering driverless rides for just $4.20 to a small group of people.

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