Tesla unveils Roadster after nine years of delays
Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 15 Oct, 20:21 · Archive
Tesla will show off its redesigned Roadster on Thursday, nearly nine years after first previewing the electric sports car in 2017.
Tesla will unveil its redesigned Roadster on Thursday evening at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, nearly nine years after the prototype was first revealed in 2017. The event is scheduled to begin at 8:55 p.m. EDT and will be livestreamed. The electric sports car was originally promised for delivery in 2020 but has since missed every targeted delivery date.
The $200,000 vehicle carries significant symbolic weight for Tesla. A Morningstar analyst noted that 'Tesla does not currently have a halo car, or high-performance luxury vehicle designed to showcase an automaker's best engineering and technology. The Roadster will be Tesla's new halo car.' However, Elon Musk has downplayed the car's financial importance, describing it in 2023 as a 'small potato situation' that would not 'move the needle in a major way financially.' An analyst expects Tesla to sell around 2,000 Roadsters a year, compared with the 1.6 million vehicles Tesla sold last year.
Reservations for the Roadster remain at $50,000 each, with the price unchanged since 2017. Tesla reopened reservations in recent weeks, accepting deposits from prospective buyers in the United States, Canada and China. Musk previously stated the car would travel 620 miles on a single charge and would accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than a second. In 2024, he posted that the car had been redesigned and represented a collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX, adding that acceleration performance was 'the least interesting part.'
The event comes as the EV market has shifted significantly since the Roadster's 2017 preview. Wired reports that when Tesla first announced the car, electric vehicles were considered 'toys for early adopters,' but today's market has nearly 90 EV options available in the US, compared with 15 in 2017. Potential buyers now prioritise range, performance, charging ability and resale value.
The Roadster will be Tesla's last vehicle unveiling event for a human-driven car, according to Wired. The original Roadster, released in 2008 and produced until 2012, was Tesla's first electric vehicle and used a Lotus Elise chassis. Tesla is expected to announce specific pricing, details and production targets at Thursday's event.
How it is being reported
- Tesla unveils redesigned next-generation Roadster after long-awaited anticipationTesla will unveil its redesigned $200,000 Roadster on Thursday after years of delays, featuring technology built in collaboration with SpaceX.New York Post · 15 Oct, 21:12
- Tesla plans next-generation Roadster reveal after almost a decade of delaysElon Musk first debuted the Roadster refresh concept in 2017 but Tesla has since missed every targeted delivery date.CNBC · 15 Oct, 19:19
- Tesla to unveil redesigned Roadster sports EV after years of delaysTesla revealed a prototype of the $200,000 car in 2017 and said deliveries would begin in 2020Independent World · 15 Oct, 14:06
- Tesla’s Roadster 2 Is Late—and Entering a Different EV WorldNine years after its reveal, the overdue Roadster is set to debut on Thursday to an EV market that has grown skeptical of electric hypercars.Wired · 14 Oct, 10:15
In this story: Tesla · Elon Musk · SpaceX · McGregor · Texas
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