A 0-60 mph time in 1.1 seconds is insane. It would feel like your face is being pulled back. But that is what Tesla founder Elon Musk claims the Tesla Roadster will do. And that’s not even the craziest part of this. How the Roadster accomplishes this is with cold gas thrusters. We’ll write it again; cold gas thrusters.

Musk compares the Tesla Roadster rocket thrusters to “hardcore roller coaster”

It is called the SpaceX option, and we’re not kidding. Musk tweeted that it would be a safe car with the rocket thrusters, but likened it to a “hardcore roller coaster.” He also mentioned that those with heart conditions should probably not experience the sensation. 

That’s because the SpaceX option is probably comparable to the feel of a rocket launch. Or a Top Fuel dragster. You get the comparisons, right? But Musk dropped more info about the flagship Tesla Roadster. 

He has indicated that the Roadster won’t look like the red one that has been making the rounds lately. Beyond that, Musk isn’t saying much, except that the Roadster will look better than the version we see now. We like what we have seen so far, and can’t wait to see the final version. 

The Roadster rocket thrusters are actually compressed air thrusters

The rocket thruster is framed around a compressed air system since the Roadster won’t have any gas or fuel to burn. You didn’t forget that this is an EV? It will be located behind the rear license plate. 

Gas thrusters on rockets are generally used to stabilize the craft. Obviously, the development work going on at Musk’s SpaceX has been repurposed for use on a car. And so you know, cold gas thrusters are relatively less expensive than using the fuel for the rocket engines. 

There is also a more specific reason the cold gas thruster can migrate to the Tesla Roadster so well. It is because they require very little electrical energy to properly operate. So its use won’t scavenge energy from the batteries.

The thrusters create a g-force of 2.5 G’s from a standing start

Based on what is known about the Roadster and its thrusters, it is expected to weigh around 4,000 lbs. Backing that number into the 0-60 time, you get a g-force of about 2.5 G’s from a standing start. That puts the Roadster in a category no production vehicle has ever been in. It makes the Roadster the fastest production car ever-and by quite a bit.

Recently Musk has said, “We’re going to do things with the new Roadster that are kind of unfair to other cars. It’s crushingly good relative to the next best gasoline sports car.” Yes, leave it to Musk to highlight Tesla’s advantages in uniquely worded hype.

But he is right. If the Tesla Roadster does, indeed, feature rocket thrusters, it would have to be the most unique feature to ever show up on any car or truck.