Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti, says the carmaker he runs has run a simulation of one of the specifications promised by Elon Musk for the new Tesla Roadster model, but tests have shown it is only possible if there are serious flaws, Business Insider reports.

Tesla Roadster of the first generationPhoto: Kirby Lee / Alamy / Profimedia Images

Musk announced last week on X, the social media platform he owns, that Tesla has “radically raised the design goals for the new Tesla Roadster,” saying, among other things, that the electric sports car will be able to accelerate from 0 to 65 miles per hour. an hour in less than one second, which would be a world record.

“Tonight, we radically increased the design goals for the Tesla Roadster. There won’t be another such car, if it can be called a car at all,” he said.

The South African billionaire was referring to the second generation of the Tesla Roadster, the electric sports car announced by Musk nearly a decade ago. However, the specifications presented by Tesla for it still said that it would be able to accelerate to 97 km/h in 1.9 seconds.

The current 0-97 km/h record of 1.71 seconds is held by the Nevera, an electric sports car by Bugatti Rimac, a joint venture between the Croatian company Rimac and Porsche.

Bugatti’s CEO says the Tesla Roadster will need engines to achieve Musk’s promised acceleration

Asked on Facebook about Musk’s promise to accelerate the Tesla Roadster, Rimac said “it’s possible with engines.”

“I did the modeling. The problem is that you blow air out in 2-3 seconds, and then you have a lot of your own weight that you’re carrying around (tanks, compressor, valves, nozzles, etc.), he explained, stressing that the engines “really are The only way” to achieve the kind of acceleration that Tesla’s CEO promised.

He also stated that while alternative technologies have been used for some sports cars, in the case of the Tesla Roadster they would not be possible due to its weight and the “massive” hardware it would require.

Tesla released the first generation of its Roadster sports car between 2008 and 2012, and this model could accelerate from 0 to 97 kilometers per hour in 3.7-3.9 seconds.

Of course, Elon Musk is known for his promises, which are often not fulfilled due to the overly bold goals proposed by Tesla. For example, in 2015, he announced that the second-generation roadster would go on sale in 2019.