Tesla Roadster vs. Rimac Nevera vs. Model S Plaid
On paper, the new Tesla Roadster is the quickest of the three, but every Roadster number is Tesla's own claim and nobody else has tested the car. The Rimac Nevera's record times were checked by independent data loggers, and the Model S Plaid was tested by MotorTrend. The Plaid is also no longer built: Tesla ended Model S production in May 2026.
The three cars in one table
| Tesla Roadster (2026 reveal) | Rimac Nevera | Tesla Model S Plaid | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Shown Oct. 2026; production planned for 2028 | Limited to 150 cars | Production ended May 2026 |
| Seats | 2 (Performance, Thrust) or 1 (Rocket) | 2 | 5 |
| 0-60 mph | Tesla claims: under 1.6 s, 0.9 s or 0.59 s by version | 1.74 s (logged, 1-foot rollout) | 1.98 s (MotorTrend, prepped strip) |
| Quarter mile | Not announced | 8.25 s (logged) | 9.25 s (MotorTrend, prepped strip) |
| Top speed | Over 230 mph (Tesla claim) | 412 km/h, about 256 mph | 149 mph to 200 mph (sources differ) |
| Power | Not announced | 1,914 hp | 1,020 hp |
| Battery | Not announced | 120 kWh | 100 kWh |
| Range | Over 300 miles (Tesla claim) | 489 km (304 miles), European WLTP test | 368 miles (EPA) |
| Weight | Not announced | 2,300 kg (5,071 lb) | 4,776 lb |
| Price | Not announced | About $2 million to $2.5 million (reported) | $124,990 (last listed) |
| Leaves the ground? | Rocket version, in short hops | No | No |
Sources for each row are in the sections below.
Tesla Roadster: big claims, no outside tests
Tesla showed the new Roadster on October 15, 2026, at SpaceX's test site in McGregor, Texas (TechCrunch). It comes in three versions. Performance has fans that suck it to the road and a moving wing. Thrust adds air thrusters at the rear to push it forward. Rocket, a one-seater, adds thrusters all around the car so it can hop, flip and land (Electrek, Teslarati).
Tesla claims 0-60 mph in under 1.6 seconds for Performance, under 0.9 seconds for Thrust and under 0.59 seconds for Rocket (Electrek, Tesla North). On stage, Tesla announced a live run of 0.81 seconds. Jalopnik saw no timer on screen (Jalopnik). Engadget wrote that no one appeared to be timing it (Engadget).
Tesla also claims a top speed over 230 mph and a range over 300 miles (TechCrunch, Tesla North). Outlets disagree on which versions those apply to. TechCrunch implies all three. Tesla North and Drive Tesla Canada tie the top speed to the Rocket (Tesla North, Drive Tesla Canada). Musk said he wants to reach half the speed of sound, which is a goal, not a spec (Jalopnik).
What Tesla has not announced: price, battery size, motors, horsepower, torque and weight (CarBuzz, Paultan). TechCrunch reports that Marques Brownlee quoted Tesla as calling it a "4000+ pound car" (TechCrunch). Production is set for 2028, according to Musk (Reuters).
The Roadster's one clear difference is the thrusters. Neither rival can leave the ground on purpose. Tesla says the thrusters make "4–5x the force the tires can" (Fox Business). We check that number ourselves in the thruster math.
Rimac Nevera: the measured benchmark
The Nevera is a two-seat electric hypercar from Croatia's Rimac. These are Rimac's published figures (Rimac):
- 1,408 kW, or 1,914 hp
- 120 kWh battery
- 0-60 mph in 1.74 seconds, measured with one foot of rollout
- 0-100 km/h in 1.81 seconds
- Quarter mile in 8.25 seconds
- Top speed of 412 km/h. Rimac's page lists that as 258 mph; a direct conversion gives about 256 mph.
- 489 km (about 304 miles) on the European WLTP test, which is not the same as the US EPA test
- 2,300 kg (about 5,071 lb)
- Production limited to 150 cars
What "one foot of rollout" means. The clock starts after the car has already rolled one foot, a common drag-strip practice. A time from a dead stop would be slightly slower (Motor Authority).
Who measured it. In 2023, Rimac ran the 1.74-second time at the Automotive Testing Papenburg track in Germany. Data loggers from Dewesoft and RaceLogic recorded it, on asphalt that was not specially prepared (Motor Authority). That is the main difference from the Roadster. Outside equipment timed the Nevera. In 2022 it also recorded 256 mph, at the time the top speed for a production electric car (Motor Authority).
Price. Rimac does not publish a US price (InsideEVs). Fox News reported it at just over $2 million (Fox News). Carscoops reported $2.5 million (Carscoops).
Rimac also sells a stronger Nevera R. Rimac lists it at 2,107 hp, 430 km/h and 0-100 km/h in 1.72 seconds (Rimac).