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Tesla Roadster: Elon Musk confirms race car-like centerlock wheels

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed the smallest little detail about the new Roadster: it will have race car-like one-nut wheels.

We are kind of starving for information when it comes to Tesla’s new Roadster.

The electric supercar is supposed to come deliver the “ultimate smackdown” to gasoline-powered cars by outperforming all other supercars and becoming the new ‘halo’ car when it comes to performance.

Originally, it was supposed to come to market this year, but it has been delayed and the timeline to production is now unclear.

In the meantime, CEO Elon Musk gradually reveals more information about the electric supercar and he has now confirmed that the Tesla Roadster’s wheels will have just one nut.

He wrote on Twitter yesterday:

But it will be a “huge” one:

What they are talking about here is centerlock wheels, which are primarilly used in race cars and some high-performance sports cars.

Instead of using the traditional 4 or 5-nut configuration to lock the wheel, a centerlock wheel only uses a single large hex nut.

For race cars, the main advantage is how fast you can remove it at the pit stop, but it also offers more room in the hub for larger brake pads and callipers.

It is still used in Formula One and other race series today, but there are also a few proudction sports cars and supercars still using centerlock wheels.

It would put the new Tesla Roadster amongst a select few:

  • Porsche Carrera GT
  • Porsche 918 Spyder
  • Porsche 997 (optional)
  • Porsche 991
  • Koenigsegg One:1
  • Koenigsegg Regera
  • Lamborghini Aventador SV
  • Lamborghini Huracán (optional)

When first unveiling the vehicle, Musk claimed a list of insanely impressive specs for the new Roadster, including 0-60 mph in 1.9 sec, 620-mile of range, and more.

At the time, the CEO said that those were the specs for the “base version” of the Roadster, and the CEO reiterated that during the new interview — without confirming the specs of the higher-end version.

Furthermore, Musk confirmed that the “SpaceX package” is still in the plans for the new Tesla Roadster. Based on his previous comments, the “SpaceX package” consists of a bunch of cold air thrusters around the car to improve performance.

Earlier this year, the CEO said that Tesla might give an update on the new Roadster and the Tesla Semi later this year. 

During the release of Tesla’s Q2 earnings last month, Musk hinted at Tesla Roadster production starting in California within 12 to 18 months.

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Avatar for Fred Lambert Fred Lambert

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