I think that the 200kwh battery pack is probably important for getting the instantaneous power out of the pack to hit their performance numbers.

More battery cells in parallel = more current draw. The range is probably more of a bonus side effect of having enough battery cells to hit the power and acceleration targets.

Yep, this is why Tesla's current flagship is the P100D, rather than a P75D. The larger battery gives you better performance, even though it's heavier.

Despair not. The new Roadster will likely have some good competition by 2022.

I hope so.

I've been waiting for details on the next Roadster for quite a while now, really on the edge of my seat for the price. My plan was to get a Nissan GT-R in 2021 if the Roadster ended up being too expensive.

But since it was announced and too expensive, I'm still on the fence. I don't want to spend $120k on a GT-R and feel disappointed that I settled. I'm thinking I'll just have to save money for a couple years to make a serious down payment. Maybe I'll pick one up used depending on what kind of warranty Tesla will offer on a used one.

Only problem there is, I expect Tesla won't be making very many of these for at least the first few years, so I doubt they'll depreciate much, if at all, on the used market. Could actually sell at a premium, as you see with other hard to buy supercars.

You can probably get a P150D or whatever it will be at that time. Which will give you Roadster like acceleration, probably 400-500 mile range, and will still be a family sedan.

I don't want a family sedan, I want a small, reasonably agile coupe. My current car is a Subaru BRZ. I want something that still has that kind of handling.

Have you test-driven a Tesla Model S?

No, I haven't. I've been told they handle really well for their size and weight since the center of gravity is so low, but that they still don't handle super tight like a sports car.

Don't be sad. In 4 years, the price will likely be back down near your budget range, once mass market production kicks in.