0-60 MPH In One Second Is Possible, But With A Catch – Rimac

Tesla's claim of 0–60 MPH in under one second is possible, but it may require some serious work.

Earlier this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a bold claim regarding its long-awaited Roadster EV, saying that the firm is aiming for a sub-one-second finish for a 0-60 MPH (0-96 KM/H) acceleration. In response to this controversial and somewhat baseless claim, Bugatti-Rimac CEO Mate Rimac said such a claim is possible, but with a big catch.

Bugatti-Rimac CEO Mate Rimac has responded to Musk's bold claims on the new Roadster.

When asked on his official Facebook page, the Bugatti-Rimac boss surprisingly responded that Musk’s claim is possible, as evident from some simulations done by the Bugatti-Rimac team. However, Mr. Rimac did give us a catch, saying that "it is possible with thrusters."

"The problem is that you release the air in two to three seconds, and then you have a lot of dead weight that you are carrying around (tanks, compressors, valves, nozzles, etc.)," Rimac continues. "Same with fans—they just give you more grip, but you need something like 30,000 newton-metres on the wheels to accelerate below one sec 0-100 km/h, which means you need massive motors, inverters, gearboxes, driveshafts, etc."

Despite its sheer power output, the manic Rimac Nevera is only capable of hitting 60 MPH in about two seconds, still a whole second behind Musk's claim.

On top of that, Rimac also noted that the car has to be “super light,"  which is quite a rare sight in most production EVs nowadays. For reference, the Rimac Nevera, which is touted as the fastest production EV in the world, weighs in at a whopping 2,300 KG. Despite this, the Nevera is still capable of hitting 60 MPH (96 KM/H) in under two seconds, courtesy of its manic quad-motor powertrain setup rated at 1,914 HP and 2,360 NM.

"So thrusters are really the only way to go," he says. "But they bring a lot of downsides as well."

Musk also said that the new Roadster might come with no less than 10 thrusters for better acceleration.

Back in 2018, Elon Musk suggested that the new Tesla Roadster would have no less than 10 thrusters scattered seamlessly around the car. With these mini rockets in place, the Roadster EV theoretically can reach the targeted sub-one-second 0–60 MPH time, although we’d reckon such additions won’t fare well with a mass-produced car, not to mention the safety hazards it may harbour.

While such acceleration performance is unheard of in production vehicles, a sub-one-second 0-60 MPH is quite doable, especially in purpose-built dragsters like this one. (Photo credit: Speednik.com)

While thrusters in a production car seem like a pipe dream, they are quite common in purpose-built dragsters that are often used in drag races. Besides the additional rocket in its powertrain setup, most dragsters also come in a Formula One-style open wheel form with minimal body panels made of lightweight materials to shed as many weights as possible—something that also won’t fare well in production vehicles.

But nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether the upcoming Tesla Roadster can achieve this ridiculous claim or target set by Musk & Co. The good thing is that we don’t have to wait long to find out, as the new Roadster EV is due for its long-awaited debut some time later this year.