The new Tesla Roadster may be the quickest car in the world

Emerging from one of Tesla's newly-announced electric trucks Thursday night (16 November), in an aircraft hangar in California, the company's founder Elon Musk shocked attendees of a much-anticipated press conference with what he claimed will be the quickest car in the world – the Roadster.

The stats speak for themselves. Zero to 60mph in 1.9 seconds, and zero to 100 mph in 4.2. Musk said it will have a max speed of over 250 mph and a range of 620 miles. For gearheads, it will have a wheel torque of 10,000 Nm and – crucially – will cost between $200,000 and $250,000 (£151,000 to £189,000).

"The point of doing this is to give a hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars," Musk said.

"Driving any other turbo-charged sports car is going to feel like a steam engine with a side of quiche."

"It'll be faster than that jet over there," he added, pointing to a plane that soared above.

The design of the car – unlike some of Tesla's other consumer models – is firmly in the realm of the sports car.

Reports from those at the gathering said Tesla was offering rides in the Roadster to anyone who coughed up a $50,000 deposit as a reservation for the car – due out in 2020. According to Musk, the cutting-edge electric car will be able to drive for 400 miles on a 30-minute charge.

Prior to the conference, which was set up to demonstrate Tesla's semi-truck, Musk claimed the new big rig would "blow your mind clear out of your skull and into an alternate dimension".

At the unveiling in Hawthorne, the Tesla chief claimed the futuristic truck can travel for 500 miles on a single charge and carry 80,000lbs (36,287kg) of load. It will do zero to 60mph in 20 seconds.

The new Semi – which comes with an autopilot function – will go into production in 2019. "We're confident this is a product that's better in every way from a feature standpoint," Musk said.

But in the end, it was the 'one more thing' announcement of the Roadster that excited most.

Reactions on social media were positive, for the most part. "HOW IS THIS EVEN REAL?! I need one. BRB, selling my house," one commenter stated jubilantly.

But other car journalists – including former IBTimes UK in-house expert Alistair Charlton – took a more nuanced approach to the announcement. He tweeted: "Has anyone described the new Tesla Roadster as a distraction technique yet? Those Model 3 delays need reining in."

Charlton added: "And another thing...the Tesla Roadster could be the world's 'quickest' production car. Not the fastest. Former generally refers to acceleration, the latter to top speed."