Boy, these past two weeks have been all about high-speed and high-power action. I barely had time to get over Koenigsegg's new world speed record and Chevrolet launched its monstrous Corvette ZR1 yet. Now, with the weekend upon us, Tesla took the wraps off its new semi truck and the second-generation Roadster. Neither are ready to go into production just yet, but the preliminary data hints at tremendous performance and new benchmarks for the electric car market. The Roadster's 0-to-60 mph sprint only 1.9 seconds probably caused a few heart strokes over at Ferrari quarters. And I have a feeling that the guys working on the next-generation Nissan GT-R Nismo aren't feeling better either. But behind Tesla's new tour de force hides Elon Musk's fear that his automobile brand may not succeed as planned.

It may seem that Tesla is simply pushing the envelope and presenting the world with revolutionary electric cars, but there's more to this showcase. Tesla is actually struggling to keep its promises. The new Model 3, which is supposed to become the affordable electric car everyone is dreaming about, is late to the party. Production isn't going as planned and it seems that the Model X fiasco is happening all over again. On top of that, the Model S isn't getting the best reviews and Consumer Reports isn't very optimistic about the Model 3's reliability. So Tesla needs to find a way to keep all the hype alive, and the upcoming Roadster is the perfect car for this. The strategy is simple, unveiled a cool looking prototype, claim it will hit 60 mph in less than two seconds, set a big preorder price, and wait for the cash to fix ongoing problems.

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From Affordable to $200K

Elon Musk with the Tesla Roadster 2.0
Tesla

Yup, that's all it takes. A couple of incredible but fictional performance figures, and everyone will get excited. And some of them will even agree to pay $50,000 reservations for a car they won't get to drive until 2020. Assuming that Tesla manages to roll the new Roadster out by then. If the Model X and Model 3 are any indication, it won't happen sooner than 2021, or even 2022.

But that's not the only issue. Let's say that I'm wrong and Tesla will get production sorted and everything will be fine and on time. And quality control will improve and Consumer Reports won't upset Elon Musk ever again. In this perfect scenario, the new Roadster is still a meaningless car. Let's not forget that Musk's objective was to deliver an affordable EV for the average Joe. It was supposed to be the Model 3. But it's not. The Model 3 costs some $30,000 before options, and the nice extras will actually push the sticker beyond the $40,000. At this point, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Bolt are the better options.

And while I can understand that expensive, $200,000 supercars like the upcoming Roadster are used to fund affordable vehicles, it seems that Elon Musk is out to prove that Tesla can make the quickest production car before anything else. With this car, Tesla is basically moving farther away form its professed goal and slowly becoming a disappointment for the electric car industry. The fact that Tesla is the leading automaker in this field makes things that much more frustrating.