Tesla’s next-gen Roadster was meant to be its shining light. The beacon that told the entire world that Tesla was the mob boss of EVs. Yet seven years after its announcement, Tesla has nothing to show. No test mules, no technology demonstrations, no production line progress, no record attempts. To be honest, we haven’t seen a working prototype of this car in years at this point. And the original prototype looks suspiciously like a Model S performance in a frock. This is after Musk took hundreds of millions of dollars in deposits and pre-orders for this non-existent car. However, don’t worry, although Musk may have failed to fulfil his promise, BYD has succeeded. A Track Edition of their U9 supercar just hit 293.54 mph, making it the fastest EV ever, and the third fastest road-legal car ever. But, there is more to this than speed.
The standard $236,000 Yanwang U9 already buried anything Tesla has to offer. It utilises an 800-volt, 80 kWh BYD Blade battery, the same battery used by Tesla in a 400-volt, 60 kWh configuration in their base-spec European Model Ys. Yet this simple change gives it a charge rate of 500kW, and a 10% to 80% charge time of only 10 minutes. Sure, that only equates to a 280-mile range, but that is because this has four motors, one for each wheel, and a total of 1,290 horsepower. However, those four motors, combined with an active suspension setup, enable this car to take corners at unbelievable speeds and put its power down better than any other EV.
And this plays out in the numbers. A 1,006 hp Tesla Plaid can achieve 0–60 mph in 2.1 seconds (without rollout), while the U9 does it in 2.3 seconds. This base spec can reach 253 mph, while the Model S Plaid lags behind at around 200 mph. However, that isn’t all; the U9 completed the Nürburgring circuit in just 7 minutes and 17.9 seconds. That is faster than dedicated racecars like the Radical SR3 turbo. Meanwhile, the Model S Plaid took 7 minutes and 25.23 seconds.
However, the Track Edition of the U9 takes this a step further.
It adjusts the battery pack to run at 1,200 volts and swaps out the motors for ones with a 555 kW output each. That is more power per wheel than the Porsche 911 GT2 has, for a total power of 2,977 hp! That makes it the most powerful production car ever.
Sadly, this monster hasn’t been taken around the Nürburgring yet. However, it has achieved a top speed of 293.54 mph. That makes this the fastest road-legal EV ever made, the third fastest road-legal car ever (just behind the SSC Tuatara and Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+), and the fastest non-airborne Chinese vehicle to date. That’s right, this is faster than China’s high-speed trains!
But this record hides a little secret. Bugatti’s and SSC’s top speed runs were done on much longer, 12-mile-plus stretches of road. The limitation was the car, not the track. The U9 Track Edition got up to this speed, and back down to safe speeds on a 2.5-mile straight! The track limited its speed record, so put it on a longer straight and it has a decent chance of going much faster.
This insane power and speed, combined with its remarkable torque vectoring powertrain and active suspension, mean the U9 has a serious chance of being the fastest road-legal EV around the Nürburgring.
But that is the spot the next-gen Tesla roadster was meant to fill.
Back in 2017, Musk promised a 0–60 time of 1.9 seconds from a 1,000 hp tri-motor setup, a top speed of over 250 miles per hour, a gargantuan 620-mile range from a massive 200 kWh battery pack, all for just $200,000, and slated to enter production in 2020. This was intended to break records and prove that the EV was the way forward.
Yet, Musk has delayed its production for five years now. And, if you even have a dash of engineering know-how, you know why. A 200 kWh battery would weigh well over 1.1 tonnes, making the next-gen Roadster weigh over 3 tonnes. 1,000 hp isn’t enough to push that bulk up to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds. But that mass would also make handling utterly horrific and high speeds impossible, as the tires simply can’t take the strain. Even modern aids, such as active suspension, can’t negate this. As a concept, the next-gen Roadster is deeply, deeply flawed. That is why the U9 uses a smaller battery, but high-speed charging to make it usable, yet insanely fast.
It’s no wonder the Roadster has been delayed, because it is impossible to deliver what Musk promised. That is why we haven’t seen a single development prototype, technology demonstrations, or even attempts at setting records. After all, a proper Roadster prototype could have set records for EV range, EV top speed, and EV acceleration during its supposed development time.
You can already purchase the U9 and the U9 Track edition in China, and they will be available in Europe next year. This isn’t a hollow one-off prototype that will only sell a handful of units. It is a proper production vehicle.
Yet, despite the total lack of evidence of Tesla even working on the Roadster, Musk has taken hundreds of millions in pre-orders and deposits. At its “unveiling”, Tesla gave test drives in the supposed prototype (that we haven’t seen do any demonstrations since, making me think it was just a Model S Performance in a frock) to attendees who paid a $5,000 deposit for one at the event, followed up by a further $45,000 top-up afterwards! Then, the first 1,000 Roasters could be pre-ordered for $250,000, and once those slots were filled, Tesla sold thousands more of the $50,000 deposits for a standard series production Roadster that would eventually cost $200,000. In total, Tesla likely took well over $350 million in deposits and pre-orders for the next-gen Roadster. Yet we have literally seen no evidence of it for half a decade!
BYD is showing the scam Tesla pulled. They have demonstrated that their budget-oriented battery technology is capable of delivering a car that exceeds the performance figures Tesla once promised. However, above that, by making it hit dealerships so soon after the fact, it reveals the vaporware scam Tesla has pulled. Musk promised the world, took excited customers’ cash, then walked away with it and refused to even attempt to deliver on his promises. And now, Tesla’s biggest competitor is actually delivering on these promises, showing just how unethical, broken, and twisted Tesla’s Roaster is.
Is it really a wonder that BYD is starting to sell way more cars than Tesla?
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel for more from me, or Subscribe. Oh, and don’t forget to hit the share button below to get the word out!
Sources: AutoCar, Top Gear, Web Archive, Business Insider, Car And Driver, EVKX, Fastest Laps, The Independent, Jalopnik, AceTech, Motor1, Mundo Motor, ATP