Tesla Roadster

Roadster Quarter-Mile Lab

By Dellon S.October 21, 20264 min read

Tesla says the new Roadster hits 60 mph in 0.81 seconds, a figure from its own timer, with nobody aboard, at the October 15, 2026 reveal. Nobody has tested it independently yet. This lab puts that claim on a quarter-mile strip against 19 other cars, from a Ford Mustang GT to an NHRA Top Fuel dragster. On these numbers the Roadster runs an estimated 7.40 seconds at 175 mph, ahead of the Rimac Nevera R’s verified 7.90 seconds and behind only the dragster. Every figure carries its label (claimed, recorded, converted, derived, estimate or the U9’s borrowed standard-U9 figure), so you can see exactly how much of the result is proven.

Race it in the quarter-mile simulator

Drag strip beneath a sunset sky, the setting of the Roadster quarter-mile race

Start here

The quarter-mile racePick up to four challengers and watch them run 1,320 feet in 3D, with live timing, five camera views and slow-motion replay.How the simulation worksThe numbers we used, what each label means, the math that moves every car and what the race leaves out.

The 20-car lineup

Quickest first by quarter-mile time. The label after each number says how it was established. Average pull is the steady acceleration needed to reach 60 mph in the listed time, worked out by the race’s own math.

Swipe sideways to see every column.

Quarter-mile lineup with 0-60 times, quarter-mile times, trap speeds and the label for each figure
#	Car	0-60 mph	Average pull	Quarter mile
1	NHRA Top Fuel dragster	0.50 s derived	5.47 g	4.42 s at 328 mph recorded
2	Tesla Roadster	0.81 s claimed	3.38 g	7.40 s at 175 mph estimate
3	Rimac Nevera R	1.66 s recorded	1.65 g	7.90 s at 186 mph recorded, trap estimate
4	McMurtry Spéirling Pure	1.55 s claimed	1.76 g	7.97 s at 150 mph recorded, 2022 prototype
5	Yangwang U9 Xtreme	2.28 s standard U9 figure, converted	1.20 g	8.40 s at 190 mph estimate
6	F1 car	2.60 s estimate	1.05 g	8.60 s at 176 mph estimate
7	Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X	1.68 s claimed	1.63 g	8.68 s at 159 mph recorded
8	Bugatti Tourbillon	1.93 s converted	1.42 g	8.80 s at 176 mph estimate
9	Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170	1.66 s claimed	1.65 g	8.91 s at 151 mph recorded
10	Formula E Gen3 Evo	1.82 s claimed	1.50 g	9.00 s at 150 mph estimate
11	Ferrari F80	2.08 s converted	1.31 g	9.00 s at 157 mph estimate
12	McLaren W1	2.61 s converted	1.05 g	9.00 s at 160 mph estimate
13	Lucid Air Sapphire	1.89 s claimed	1.45 g	9.03 s at 155 mph recorded
14	Xiaomi SU7 Ultra	1.91 s converted	1.43 g	9.20 s at 157 mph estimate
15	Tesla Model S Plaid	1.99 s claimed	1.37 g	9.23 s at 155 mph claimed
16	Porsche 911 Turbo S	2.40 s claimed	1.14 g	9.70 s at 142 mph recorded
17	Lamborghini Revuelto	2.41 s converted	1.13 g	9.90 s at 144 mph recorded
18	Tesla Model 3 Performance	2.90 s claimed	0.94 g	11.00 s at 125 mph recorded
19	Nissan GT-R Nismo (R35)	2.90 s recorded	0.94 g	11.20 s at 125 mph recorded
20	Ford Mustang GT	3.70 s recorded	0.74 g	12.20 s at 118 mph recorded

The Top Fuel time is Tony Schumacher’s 4.428-second quarter-mile record from November 2006, shown as 4.42, set before NHRA moved its fastest classes to 1,000 feet in 2008. The McMurtry’s 7.97 seconds was run by the 2022 Spéirling prototype over 400 meters, not the Pure. The race’s fine print lists a source for every row.

How fast is the new Tesla Roadster?

Tesla’s own timer read 0.81 seconds to 60 mph during the reveal, as The Drive reported. Electrek reports that a recorded Tesla test shown earlier in the event read 1.0 seconds, and lists Tesla’s per-version claims as 1.6 seconds for Performance, 0.85 seconds for Thrust and 0.55 seconds for the top version with the first foot of travel left out. Tesla hasn’t published a quarter-mile time, so the race uses an estimate built from the roughly 1 MW of power and 1,700 kg target weight that MotorTrend reported.

The reason a road car could beat one second at all is the Thrust version’s cold-gas thrusters, which push the car directly instead of relying on tire grip. Tesla engineering executive Lars Moravy said the boost lasts about five seconds, according to TorqueNews. Production is targeted for 2028, so for now every Roadster number on this site is a claim or an estimate, and it’s labeled that way.

FAQs

What is the Roadster Quarter-Mile Lab?

It's the home for the Tesla Roadster quarter-mile race on dellons.com and the guides that explain it. The race puts the Roadster against 19 other cars, and the guides show where each number comes from and how the race turns those numbers into motion.

Which numbers in the lineup are measured runs?

Eleven of the 20 quarter-mile times are recorded runs on a timing system. Some are independent, such as Car and Driver’s instrumented tests and the Rimac Nevera R’s 7.90 seconds, which Dewesoft verified. Others are a maker’s own timed pass, such as Chevrolet’s 8.675 seconds for the ZR1X. Only three of the 0-60 times are recorded. The rest are manufacturer claims, conversions from 0-100 km/h, one derived figure, one estimate and the U9 Xtreme’s borrowed standard-U9 figure, and every one is labeled.

Is the Tesla Roadster really the quickest car here?

Among the cars on these numbers, only the Top Fuel dragster is quicker. But the Roadster’s 0.81-second 0-60 is a Tesla demo claim and its 7.40-second quarter mile is our estimate, so it hasn’t beaten anything on a timed strip yet. The Rimac Nevera R holds the quickest verified production figures in the lineup.

How often is this updated?

The hub and its guides show the date they were last updated, and the methodology guide’s changelog dates every change to the race’s numbers. A figure changes when a better primary source, such as an independent test, replaces an older one, or when a review finds a labeling error.

Sources

Twenty cars, one strip, every number labeled.

Race the Roadster now