A Review of “Tesla’s New Roadster and How It

Will Quite Possibly Hover”

 Tesla is an American automotive delight ran by tech wiz Elon Musk

(see fig 1.) and is vastly known across the world for innovating

technology and manufacturing quality electric-based vehicles such

as the Tesla Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, and several other

promising upcoming projects. Tesla was founded on July 1st, 2003

by American entrepreneurs Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning

Fig. 1 FRS. Musk at the Royal Society
admissions day in London (2018).
and was ironically named after the Serbian American inventor
Printout 480 x 720”. Wikipedia,
London, England.

Nikola Tesla (known for his invention of the induction motor which is used in electric vehicles).

Tesla’s are fully electric and do not contain a physical engine, meaning they produce no

Fig. 3 Tesla. Tesla Roadster Production Photo (2017). Printout

emissions, thus they are eco-friendly. These vehicles utilize the latest software technology such
2250 x 1375”. Tesla.com, California, United States.

as an advanced autopilot system which is solely computer controlled to give the driver a sporty

yet comfortable experience. Though Tesla’s are electric they produce just as much if not more

power than gasoline-based vehicles which

keeps consumers engaged. These vehicles

are sold in a range of prices ranging from

$91, 190 for the Model X to $35, 000 for

the Model 3 making them affordable for a

variety of different consumers. The Fig. 2 Tesla, Inc. Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5 (2008). Printout 2647 x 1600”.
Wikipedia, California, United States.

companies earliest mass vehicle production was the 2008 Tesla Roadster (see fig 2.) which

featured a silhouette inspired by the body frame of a Lotus. The 2008 Roadster was fully

electric; however, the lithium-ion battery was very under designed as it was expensive to

manufacture, and only produced 248 horsepower with 180-lb-ft of torque. When asked in an
interview Musk stated, “I have to admit, the Roadster 1.0 was a disaster, and we plan to

reconquer its reputation in the Roadster 2.0” (Musk). Over the years through research and

development Tesla is now one of the biggest and most popular automotive companies today.

On route to release the 2021 Roadster, it is expected to be the world’s fastest production

vehicle doing a 0-60mph in 1.9 seconds with a top

speed of 250mph. It will start at $200, 000

providing a range of 620 miles on a single charge.

Musk has very high expectations for this vehicle

and will not settle for just the specifications listed

above, in fact he plans to make the Roadster

“hover” to increase the already ludicrous speed it is on road to produce, “I want it to hover, and

I was trying to figure out how to make this thing hover without, you know, killing people”

(Musk) he states in an interview with Joe Rogan. The Roadster is set to hit the mainstream

market in 2022, leaving Musk with roughly 10 months to create something the worlds never

witnessed before.
By examining the Tesla’s electric motor system for the 2022 Tesla Roadster, it is evident that

the input of the system is the charge port (see fig 4.)

where battery power makes its way into the traction

battery pack through an external power connection

such as an outlet. This inputted power is stored in the

Fig. 4 Tesla. Tesla Model S On-Board Charging
(2012). Printout 1200 x 773”. Tesla, California, traction battery pack (see fig 5.) which stores energy
United States.

for use of the electric traction motor, this motor transfers this energy to generate power to

drive the vehicles wheels

instantly as the power in the

battery is already there, and

all that has to be done is for

the vehicle to know when the

driver wants power to be

delivered to the wheels

through the throttle. Yet, this Fig. 5. AFDC. How Do All-Electric Cars Work (2015). Printout 2701 x 1688”. US Department of
Energy, New York, United States.

particular inputted power is in the form of AC current, but the traction battery pack can only

store energy in the form of DC current which could pose a problem in the system. Thankfully

there is something called an onboard charger which takes the AC current from the charge port

and converts it into DC current for the traction battery pack. It can also monitor battery

characteristics to allow the driver to view battery health, temperature, range, and various other

electrical components. Some of this power from the electric traction motor is given to the

auxiliary battery which provides electricity to produce power for the vehicle’s accessories.
However, this auxiliary battery can only sustain low voltage power whereas the electric traction

motor takes high voltage power to power the vehicles wheels, this is where the DC/DC

converter comes into play, the purpose of it is to convert higher voltage DC current from the

traction battery pack into lower-voltage DC current to run the accessories of the vehicle and

constantly recharge the auxiliary battery. With all this going on the Electric traction motor is

bound to overheat frequently, hence a component called Thermal system cooling is

implemented in the electric motor system. Its purpose is to maintain a proper operating

temperature for the electrical motor as well as other electrical components. The power

electronics controller manages the flow of electrical power delivered by the traction battery, it

can control the speed of the electric traction motor and its torque production. An electric

vehicle has no transmission because the power is stored directly in the battery meaning it is

instant, unlike an internal combustion engine the process of building up torque through revving

the engine up and shifting through gears is unnecessary.

Elon Musk is known to be one of the most driven and innovative individuals the worlds ever

known and for him to state that he is working on a technology of making a production hyper car

to be a metre or so in the air is a big deal. Not too long ago, many have thought that flying cars

and skyscrapers above the clouds was going to be a thing of 2050, meaning, Musk stating that

he may be able to make the Tesla Roadster 2.0 float in the air is going to impact the future of

the automotive industry like never before with a small step into hovering vehicles slowly but

surely more and more vehicles are going to have hovering capabilities. This could possibly
impact the environment immensely because knowing Musk the impossible is possible, and if he

were to make a way for the vehicle to hover that is fully electric may permanently replace

modern aircrafts as they produce a significant amount of greenhouse gases such as carbon

dioxide which is seriously harmful to the earth’s atmosphere. Economically speaking, this

project may make hovering vehicles more expensive than say regular vehicles which ride on

pavement, as Porsche announced that they are partnering up with Boeing to release a hovering

vehicle by 2025 with an estimated price range of anywhere from $400, 000 to $1.6 million

meaning not everyone is going to be riding around in one of these. There is still not much

known about if Tesla will include hovering technology in their latest Roadster, as Musk merely

stated in one podcast with Joe Rogan that he wants it to hover without killing people; serious or

not, Musk could be onto something revolutionary. Personally speaking, I believe hovering

vehicles are a very interesting concept, yet very little is known about the technology, other than

that It is not going to be inexpensive to say the least. However, if Musk were to take a leap of

faith and construct a working hover system for the Tesla Roadster, this would make more

engineers and individuals interested in growing this concept, myself included, to develop this

technology and possibly make the future of vehicles “hover” in the years to come.
 Works Cited

Charging: Tesla Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tesla.com/en_CA/charging

Elon Musk. (2021, March 01). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk

Evatran. (n.d.). The complete guide to Tesla charging at home, on the go and autonomously.
Retrieved from https://www.pluglesspower.com/learn/tesla-model-s-charging-home-public-
autonomously/

How Do All-Electric Cars Work? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-

do-all-electric-cars-work

Tesla logo. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tesla.com/en_CA/roadster

Tesla Roadster (first generation). (2021, February 23). Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Roadster_(first_generation)