Hackett orders new Tesla Roadster, to put “stake in heart” of petrol heads

hackett-tesla-storage-2Internet entrepreneur Simon Hackett was the first in Australia to get one of the original Tesla Roadster sports cars. And he followed it up by getting several Model S EVs, when that high performing luxury sedan came onto market, and also bought the Model X electric SUV.

Now, he’s among the first to put his hand up for the new $US250,000 electric Roadster, the surprise package of the Tesla Truck launch last week that promises to be the fastest production car ever built.

“Yes, I’ve ordered one of the new Roadsters,” Hackett, also the director and largest shareholder in flow battery manufacturer Redflow, told RenewEconomy in an email.

“No, I haven’t ordered a truck.” (We asked).
Hackett said he is buying one to demonstrate his support for a clean energy future, and to prove wrong the likes of Jeremy Clarkson, the former front-man for the TV show “Top Gear” who often argued that EVs are no good and the internal combustion engine is the only future.
“I think the truck stands to make a huge positive difference to sustainable goods transport – which is a huge field of endeavour separate to and additional to passenger transport – and it’s excellent that Tesla are expanding into that realm,” Hackett said.
 Tesla Roadster copy
“The Roadster is about something else entirely. (It is ) about putting a stake in the heart of the last vestige of the Jeremy Clarkson anti-EV-only-internal-combustion-can-be-great attitude.
“By releasing a vehicle clearly designed to outdo every single primary metric by which a supercar is judged, they are creating a new example of the future supremacy of electric driven transport over burning fossil fuels.
“They are doing that by making the fastest road car ever made, by any (and all metrics). And – compared to its target market (Ferrari, Porsche, Bugatti, Koenigsegg et al) – it’s dramatically better value for money in doing so.
“I’m buying one because I want to visibly continue to support the innovation that drives change in sustainable transport. The same reason Formula E exists. The same reason the original Roadster existed – to be a signpost for, and a catalyst of, the future.”
Hackett is not the only one relishing the prospect of the Tesla Roadster. Fortune magazine noted how its acceleration from 0-100kms in 1.9 seconds would “smoke the wheels” off internal combustion monsters like the 2017 Bugatti Chiron or the 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder.
But that’s not all. Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk plans some more, noting in some tweets that the 1.9 seconds was just the base model.
tesla roadster tweet
“There will be a special option package that takes it to the next level,” Musk said. And Tesla and its fans will be making sure that the petrol heads, Clarkson included, will know all about it.

Comments

4 responses to “Hackett orders new Tesla Roadster, to put “stake in heart” of petrol heads”

  1. Craig Allen Avatar
    Craig Allen

    To me the best thing about this story is that it indicates that Hacket so confident in Redflow’s viability that he is willing to shell out US$50,000 for a luxury item — manufactured by a company that is one of Redflow’s key competitors no less!

    1. Chris Schneider Avatar
      Chris Schneider

      $250,000 USD.

      Redflow and Tesla don’t really compete. Although Tesla has the SA mega battery Redflow is more about Telco worlds at the moment. They have some properties that make them a LOT better for long term back up, Lithium can’t compete. Redflow could come to Tesla’s market but I can’t see the opposite (unless the decision is pure emotion). Redflow will eventually find a place in Grid level storage but Lithium is too much of a runaway in the small space for Redflow now. I could be wrong but it’s the trend at the moment.

  2. Ian Avatar
    Ian

    I too really support Musks intent, though can’t afford to express it in the same way Hackett can, but good on him.

  3. George Michaelson Avatar
    George Michaelson

    Given the need to ship z-cells around the country, I think a truck will eventuate.

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