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Tesla Unveils World's Fastest Production Car In Surprise Announcement

Tesla Unveils World's Fastest Production Car In Surprise Announcement

Tesla on Thursday night unveiled its electric semi truck, but the massive new vehicle was overshadowed by what it was hauling inside.

When the truck’s tailgate came down, out rolled a new and previously unannounced Tesla Roadster, which CEO Elon Musk called the fastest production car in the world.

“The point of doing this is just to give a hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars,” Musk said. “Driving a gasoline sports car is going to feel like a steam engine with a side of quiche.”

The base model will go from zero to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, making it the first to hit that mark in under 2 seconds, and will go from zero to 100 mph in 4.2 seconds, making it the fastest in that category as well, Musk said.

The four-seat convertible will do the quarter-mile in 8.9 seconds, another record for a production car.

Musk didn’t give the top speed, but said it would be above 250 mph. The 200 kilowatt-hour battery pack would give it a range of 620 miles on a single charge, he said.

The car will be available in 2020 with a starting price of $200,000, which The Verge notes might be a bargain, as the only currently comparable cars on the market start at around $1 million.

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