Tesla Roadster's Curved Touch Screen Gets Patent

A recently published patent application suggests that the second-generation Tesla Roadster may actually be nearing production.

The patent application, published March 12 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), shows a portrait-style curved display in the center of the dashboard.

During this time, several automakers have introduced horizontal curved displays that are placed on top of the dashboard. However, Tesla's vertical display still stands out, as does the automaker's performance claim for the Roadster.

When the electric sports car was first announced, Tesla claimed a 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds, a 0-100 mph time of 4.2 seconds, and a top speed of 250 mph; a 200 kwh battery pack would provide a range of 620 miles, Tesla said at the time. Just a year later, CEO Elon Musk said that the 0-60 mph time could be reduced to 1.1 seconds with the "SpaceX Rocket Thruster Option Package."

At the time of the 2017 reveal, Tesla announced pricing with the standard Roadster starting at $200,000 and the limited edition Founder Series starting at $250,000. Tesla began accepting reservations after the reveal and required an upfront payment of $50,000 for the standard Roadster and the full $250,000 for the Founder Series. The company announced at the time that deliveries would begin in 2020, but this did not happen.

In February, Musk said that a production-spec Roadster is ready to be unveiled later this year, with deliveries targeted to begin in 2025. He also said the Roadster will be even faster than previously discussed, with a 0-60 mph time of less than 1.0 second. It remains to be seen if Tesla can meet this goal, or if it can actually begin shipping the Roadster next year, given that Tesla has met its deadlines so far.