With most Tesla->ke1842 fans and owners getting a little bit tired with all the unkept promises that the American EV company has made in the last couple of years, one of Elon Musk's recent Tweets will probably come as a huge surprise. The Tony Stark-like CEO announced that the many-times postponed Tesla Roadster->ke1843 update will finally arrive in the last week of 2014. While his single Tweet about the matter is about as full of suspense as a Hitchcock movie, Musk also revealed that "Several crisis issues w higher priority pushed this out longer than expected," leaving everyone to guess what actually happened.
Since the original news of the update came at the 2014 annual shareholder meeting, quite a lot of media outlets have tried to speculate on what the improvement(s) will consist off. Currently the best bet is on a retrofit kit for the Roadster, which should finally make it compatible with the ever-growing Supercharger network. This would allow even much more usage of the British-born and American-powered sports car,->ke506 especially since most of them were sold in California, where Superchargers are all over the place.
The second bet, which would also be a rather significant update, is the availability of a new and improved battery pack that can allow the Tesla Roadster to drastically improve its EPA range of 244 miles. Naturally, both ideas could be implemented in the update, letting owners choose which one they want, if not both. Either way, Elon Musk promised something "fairly exciting," so it should be something much more than just a new software version. Maybe even more power?
Click past the jump to read more about Tesla Roadster.
Why it matters
Despite having went out of production in 2012, the Tesla Roadster is still deeply rooted in recent memory, especially since it was technically the car that put Tesla Motors on the map. In other words, updating it will not necessarily bring new customers, but it will certainly make older ones more loyal to the brand.
Essentially a reworked Lotus Elise->ke1678 with an electric powertrain, the Tesla Roadster and its subsequent Roadster S variant were pretty much the world's first ever mass-produced electric->ke1030 sports car. Sure, "mass-produced" should be used loosely, as only about 2,600 units were built between 2008 and 2012. On the other hand, thanks to a 4-pole AC induction motor, the Roadster S could hit 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds from a standing start, so nobody can argue about its acceleration capabilities.The new update should bring it back into the public spotlight, whether it brings Supercharger capabilities, a longer range or more power.