With SpaceX thrusters, Tesla Roadster might hit 0-97 kmph in 1.1 seconds

KUALA LUMPUR: Back in 2017, Elon Musk disclosed its plan to upgrade the Tesla Roadster with a special package that "enables it to fly short hops." In 2018, he named the package 'SpaceX Option, ' which will include "10 new small rocket thrusters arranged around the car, which dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking & cornering. Maybe they will even allow a Tesla to fly".

Along with rockets, Musk also stated a 0-60 mph (0-97 kmph) launch time of 1.9 seconds, quarter-mile times of 8 seconds, and a range of 600 miles for the Roadster, originally slated to launch in 2020. And now he has confirmed that a special edition of the Roadster will have rocket thrusters from SpaceX installed. 

In a recent interview, Elon Musk said, "We will use compressed air at extreme pressure. It is a cold gas engine. The main engine will be behind the license plate. So to accelerate the license plate, it will go down, and the rocket engine will start behind it. It's totally James Bond."

However, the actual performance specifications of flying Roadster are still not known. So, Jason Fenske from YouTube channel Engineering Explained decided to decode this, and here's what he got.

Instead of rear seats, Roadster with the 'SpaceX' option would have a large tank filled with high-pressurized air, able to vent pressure to 10 cold-gas thrusters placed on the car's exterior. The host determines the thrusters would need to generate at least 20,000 newtons of thrust to hover above the ground.

Now adding this thrust to the pre-mentioned theoretical sprint time of 1.9 seconds at an average force of 1.44 g, the total acceleration force becomes 2.5 g, which will slash the acceleration time to just 1.1 seconds. Isn't it amazing?

Using the same principles, Jason Fenske also calculates braking figures, the braking distance of the vehicle from 97 kmph to naught would be just 14 metres with the help of jet propulsion.

However, these are just assumptions based on Musk's statements; the real Roadster is yet to be unveiled. But it seems that we won't be able to see that anytime soon as Tesla intends to hold down its production for the Cybertruck deliveries.

Also read: Tesla files patent for the million-mile battery