Rimac/Bugatti CEO explains problems with Tesla Roadster’s under 1 sec 0 to 60 mph
Mate Rimac, CEO of supercar makers Rimac and Bugatti, has commented on Elon Musk’s claim that the new Tesla Roadster is going to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than 1 second with thrusters.
He sees some problems with it.
Tesla’s next-generation Roadster was first unveiled back in 2017. It was first supposed to come in 2020, but it has been delayed every year since.
Last year, Elon Musk said that it would come in 2024.
Last month, the CEO said that he had a design meeting about the new Roadster, and they decided to “radically increase the design goals for the new Tesla Roadster.” Musk said that the vehicle is delayed again until next year, but he said that Tesla plans to unveil an updated version later this year.
Musk again claimed that the vehicle would achieve sub-1-second 0 to 60 mph acceleration with cold air thrusters built by his rocket company, SpaceX.
Rimac has been keeping close track of the Roadster program as its Neverra electric hypercar is achieving similar performance that Tesla has been originally claiming for the Roadster.
After Tesla unveiled the prototype of the new Roadster, Rimac unveiled a new version of its supercar with similar specs.
The Croatian electric supercar manufacturer is also now in a better than position than ever to compete with Tesla after Porsche invested in the company and had its founder and CEO, Mate Rimac, takeover legendary supercar maker Bugatti.
Recently, Rimac was asked on Facebook about Tesla’s claim of sub-1-second 0 to 60 mph acceleration in the new Roadster.
He said that Rimac did the simulation. He thinks it’s possible, but it creates some weight issues:
It is possible with thrusters. We did the simulation. The problem is that you release the air in 2-3 seconds, and then you have a lot of dead weight that you are carrying around (tanks, compressors, valves, nozzles, etc.). Same with fans – they just give you more grip, but you need something like 30.000 Nm on the wheels to accelerate below 1 sec 0-100 km/h, which means you need massive motors, inverters, gearboxes, driveshafts, etc. Plus, the car has to be super light as otherwise you can’t create a lot of excess downforce with the fans as the tires would be overloaded very fast with any kind of car with “normal supercar” weight, especially electric. And then again you are carrying the weight with you when you are not doing 0-100 km/h. So thrusters are really the only way to go. But it brings a lot of downsides as well.
It sounds like Rimac is not sold on the idea of putting cold air trusters in its supercars.
Can Tesla prove them wrong?
Electrek’s Take
It sounds like a fair assessment. There is a lot of hardware in the car, almost entirely just to accelerate faster, which you will likely not be able to do on public roads with the thrusters.
The rest of the time, it will make your car’s performance worse with the added weight.
Originally, Tesla talked about the new Roadster having over 600 miles (965 km) of range. That was one of the things I was most excited about with the Roadster.
However, since then, Musk has said that Tesla is not interested in making cars with more than 400 miles of range and interestingly, it’s for a similar reason as the problem highlighted by Rimac. People rarely drive more than 400 miles in one go and the rest of the time, you are carrying a super large and heavy battery pack for no reason.
With his recent update on the new Roadster, Musk didn’t mention the range. It will be interesting to see if 600 miles of range is still in the plans for the new Roadster.
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Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.
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OpenAI is distancing itself from Robinhood‘s latest crypto push after the trading platform began offering tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX to users in Europe.
“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity,” OpenAI wrote on X. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”
The company said that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer,” and warned users to “please be careful.”
Robinhood announced the launch Monday from Cannes, France, as part of a broader product showcase focused on tokenized equities, staking, and a new blockchain infrastructure play. The company’s stock surged above $100 to hit a new all-time high following the news.
“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in response to the OpenAI post.
Robinhood offered 5 euros worth of OpenAI and SpaceX tokens to eligible EU users who signed up to trade stock tokens by July 7. The assets are issued under the EU’s looser investor restrictions via Robinhood’s crypto platform.
“This is about expanding access,” said Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s SVP and GM of crypto. “The goal with tokenization is to let anyone participate in this economy.”
The episode highlights the dynamic between crypto platforms seeking to democratize access to financial products and the companies whose names and equity are being represented on-chain
U.S. users cannot access these tokens due to regulatory restrictions.
Despite the warnings, BYD continues introducing new discounts. On Wednesday, BYD’s luxury off-road brand began offering over 50% Huawei’s smart driving tech.
BYD introduces new discounts on smart driving tech
After BYD cut prices again in May, the China Automobile Manufacturers Association (CAMA) warned that the ultra-low prices are “triggering a new round of price war panic.”
Although they didn’t single out BYD, it was pretty obvious. BYD slashed prices across 22 of its vehicles by up to 34%, triggering several automakers to follow suit in China.
BYD’s cheapest EV, the Seagull, typically starts at about $10,000 (66,800 yuan). After the price cuts, the Seagull is listed at under $8,000 (55,800 yuan).
It doesn’t look like China’s EV leader plans to slow down anytime soon. Fang Cheng Bao, BYD’s luxury off-road brand, introduced new discounts on Huawei’s smart driving tech on Wednesday.
The limited-time offer cuts the price of Huawei’s Qiankun Intelligent Driving High-end Function Package to just 12,000 yuan ($1,700).
Buyers who order the smart driving tech in July will save over 50% compared to its typical price of 32,000 yuan ($4,500).
Earlier this year, Fang Chang Bao launched the Tai 3, its most affordable vehicle, starting at 139,800 yuan ($19,300). The Tai 3 is about the size of the Tesla Model Y, but costs about half as much.
The Tai 3 will spearhead a new sub-brand of electric SUVs following the more premium Bao 8 and Bao 5 hybrid SUVs.
BYD’s luxury off-road brand sold 18,903 vehicles last month, up 50% from May and 605% compared to last year. Fang Cheng Bao has now sold over 10,000 vehicles for three consecutive months.
The Chinese EV giant sold 382,585 vehicles in total in June, an increase of 12% from last year. In the first half of the year, BYD’s cumulative sales reached over 2.1 million, a YOY increase of 33%.
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