This morning I told you a bit about my sit down a few months back with PayPal billionaire, SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. We were in his private rocket ship factory checking out the prototype Model S Sedan. And after his introduction and very slow and silent drive around the campus, for the next several he did nothing but answer questions about the Model S. Mostly on camera under glaring lights. When I (finally) sat down with Elon, he was dazed and confused. I really didn’t have anything to ask about a concept car that might show up in 2011, so instead I inquired about the next Roadster. Elon seemed relieved, and here’s what he had to say (jump).

It’s well known that Musk isn’t 100% thrilled with the current Tesla Roadster — after all, it’s a gutted Lotus with lotso batteries crammed inside. And cramped, and unless you do nothing with your car but pound it at 11/10s, kinda useless. However, the next Roadster (like all future Teslas) will ride on a variation of the Model S platform. In fact, it may not be a Roadster (i.e. convertible) at all. Turns out Musk’s daily driver (aside from his Tesla) is a Porsche Turbo. He loves the fact that even with all that German performance he can chuck his small kids in back. He told me that the next Tesla sports car would be a 2+2, a “roomier Porsche” It would have 10% bigger rear seats and 50% more trunk space. The next Tesla sports car will also come with AWD (just like the Porker Turbo). Now, there still could be a Roadster, as Musk said there will be a, “Full range of sports cars, from a base model to a GT version.” Perhaps a ragtop fits into that full range? Musk also pointed out that the flat Model S platform will allow the design of the new car to be “More unique — more [flexible]” while offering “Greater functionality with avant garde, aggressive” styling. Sounds good. And if it sounds like Musk is benchmarking the 911 lineup, you have good listening skills. No word on when, but 2012, 2013 isn’t a bad guess.