CHECK OUT: Tesla Semi: 500-mile range, lower running costs than diesel... and it's fast Musk says that the new Tesla Roadster has a top speed greater than 250 mph, which would make it among the fastest road-legal cars ever built. Tesla says the Roadster is capable of running the quarter mile in just 8.8 seconds, which makes it faster than the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. The Roadster has one motor up front and two out back to give it all-wheel drive. Total torque output is a whopping 7,375 pound-feet. Unlike the first two-seat Roadster, the 2020 model is capable of seating four. The original Tesla Roadster—the brand's first car—was built between 2008 and 2012. Like that original model, the new Roadster is more of a targa than a convertible. There's no roof, but there is a rear window. The red car that Musk drove out onto the stage Thursday night in California didn't have side mirrors and its steering wheel rim was not a complete circle.