Tesla Debuts 2026 Roadster, an EV Sports Car at Least $200,000

Sales of electric vehicles are booming in much of the world as people look for ways to avoid gyrating fuel prices at the mercy of geopolitics.But automakers are aiming a new fleet of electric cars at people who are not worried about prices at the pump and normally have garages full of vehicles with brawny, gas guzzling engines.On Thursday, Tesla is scheduled to unveil the Roadster, an incarnation of the company’s first car, which will sell for at least $200,000.Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, has said the Roadster will be able to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in a second, acceleration usually found only on drag strips.The debut of the Roadster at an event late on Thursday will come a week after Jaguar, once famous for powerful 12-cylinder engines, showed off a 1,000-horsepower battery-powered beast it calls the Type 01, which starts at $130,000.

The vehicle is the first new model by the British luxury brand, a unit of Tata Motors, after it decided to focus exclusively on electric vehicles.The Type 01 and Roadster are bets that well-heeled aficionados will buy electric vehicles for their silent, fast acceleration and road handling, rather than gas savings.Electric motors and batteries use energy more efficiently than internal combustion engines.They accelerate more quickly, require less maintenance and vibrate less.

Heavy batteries give the cars a low center of gravity and improve handling.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....