New Tesla Roadster: Everything We Know

The upcoming Tesla Roadster is a mind-blowing electric car on paper, but will it ever make it to production?

By: Iulian Dnistran

Updated: Oct 13, at 10:12am ET

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It's finally happening. The perpetually delayed second-generation Tesla Roadster is finally shaping up to become reality in October 2026, nearly a decade after CEO Elon Musk unveiled a working prototype of the red two-door sports car, seemingly like a magic trick at the end of the Semi reveal event.

The original Roadster, which went on sale in 2008, put Tesla on the map as a serious player in the car industry, despite what big names were saying at the time. The first-gen Roadster eventually led to the Model S, and the rest is history. A history where the big names that mocked Tesla at the beginning are now still trying to catch up to the American company's advanced EVs and manufacturing techniques.

Tesla Roadster Prototype

The new Tesla Roadster is not exactly needed, but it would be a big statement. Tesla is already doing very well, and a new Roadster wouldn't be a high-volume car, so it's likely not going to make a big impact on its financials. But as an engineering exercise, it's definitely worth a try. But after so many delays and broken promises, there's a huge question mark floating above the car's future.

What Tesla Promised In 2017

The Roadster 2.0 made a surprise appearance in November 2017, as a "one more thing" at the end of the Semi reveal. The bright red sports car drove onto the stage, and some wild technical specifications appeared on the screen:

7,376 pound-feet of torque;
0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds (with optional SpaceX thrusters);
0-100 mph in 4.2 seconds;
Quarter mile in 8.9 seconds;
250+ mph top speed;
200 kWh battery capacity;
620 miles of range;
Three electric motors.

If these would turn out to be true, they would make the Roadster one of the fastest cars on the planet, faster than the multi-million-dollar Bugatti Tourbillon, which is powered by a naturally aspirated V16 engine and three electric motors.

Here's the original reveal from 2017:

The Claims Get Even Bolder

As time went by, the already ludicrous specs became even harder to believe. Somewhere along the way, Elon Musk suggested that the second-gen Roadster would be capable of accelerating from zero to 60 mph in less than one second, making it the fastest car in the world, even faster than the 1.55-second McMurtry Speirling, which uses a big fan to suck the car onto the ground.

Another fairytale-like claim is that the new Roadster would be able to fly, helped by some sort of miniature SpaceX thrusters.

A claimed battery capacity of 200 kilowatt-hours was mentioned, as well as a real-world range of 620 miles. Both of these claims are quite hard to achieve with today's technology, as the Roadster is simply too small to have enough space for such a large battery.

More recently, Tesla patented a fan system that could, in theory, increase an EV's downforce by directing the airflow from underneath the car toward the rear diffuser, thus reducing aerodynamic drag. One of the patent images shows what seems like a bunch of PC case fans bolted inside the rear bumper.

Gallery: 2020 Tesla Roadster

What Will The New Tesla Roadster Look Like?

Everybody knows the 2017 concept. It was featured in many videos and was on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum. That said, Tesla might redesign the Roadster in the same vein as its current lineup. The Semi, Model Y, and Model 3 got a cyber-inspired makeover recently, and the Roadster is likely going to go through the same procedure.

A new teaser posted on Tesla's website appears to show an upside-down image of the rear of the car. There's a full-width LED light bar and what looks like a huge wing, along with a stream of air blowing out from below.

Tesla Roadster Teaser

Photo by: Tesla

Price

Tesla never said how much the new Roadster would cost, though that didn't stop it from taking $50,000 and even $250,000 deposits. The latter figure was reserved for the Founder's Series model, which never actually materialized, but the price is believed to be what Tesla had in mind for the Roadster.

Reveal Date And Production Start

The original intention was to put the second-generation Roadster into production by 2020. The world got a little crazy by that time, though, so that didn't happen. The date was then moved again and again, and Tesla seemed to have given up on the project altogether.

Now, though, we have a new reveal date: October 15, 2026. We'll keep our eyes peeled for what Tesla has in store, so make sure to check back to find out everything there is to know about the new Roadster.

What do you think?

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Comments

All things considered, nobody knows when the new Roadster will make it into production. If that eventually happens, the production volume will likely be quite low, at least compared to the Model 3 and Model Y.

Does Tesla Even Need A New Roadster?

Not really, but it would be really cool if it happened, especially with all of these wild claims. By now, though, expectations have gone down significantly, and another puff piece would just erode the company's image even further. Let's just hope that doesn't happen.