The heart of the new Tesla Roadster: a 1 MW battery and drive unit, a third more powerful than Model S Plaid at half the mass
Tesla says the Roadster's new battery and drive unit deliver 1 MW, a third more than Model S Plaid, with only half the mass.
After the flight and thruster demos, Tesla also showed what sits under the new Roadster's floor. "Sawyer Merritt", who attended the event, shared footage of the battery and drive unit together with Tesla's official description: 1 megawatt, a third more than Model S Plaid, at half the mass. The full reveal is in our launch article.
What Tesla showed
Screenshot from Tesla's livestream
According to the Tesla text Merritt quoted, the new high-voltage battery and drive unit technology made possible the company's most powerful and most compact rear drive unit ever. The promised payoff: game-changing acceleration, superb cornering and precise braking.
One megawatt at half the mass
One megawatt is roughly 1,340 hp. Model S Plaid makes about 1,020 hp (around 760 kW) from three motors, according to "InsideEVs", so Tesla's one-third claim adds up. And all that power comes from a package with half the mass of the Plaid's. "Not a Tesla App" also reports the 1 MW figure from the presentation.
Screenshot from Tesla's livestream
0–60 mph in 0.81 seconds
The power shows up in the numbers too. Tesla posted a 0–60 mph run in 0.81 seconds on X, adding that with the first foot of rollout subtracted it drops to 0.67 seconds.
Watch the video: the 0.81-second run on Tesla's X account and the Roadster's flight on Tesla's X account.
What it means for drivers
A lighter powertrain means a more agile car that brakes and corners better, not just one that launches hard. For Tesla fans it is good news in the long run too: battery and motor tech developed for the Roadster could eventually find its way into other models. For the bespoke 4680 cells and 15–80% charging in about 10 minutes, see this article. For versions and reservation details, see our tour of the official page.
