Still Waiting On The Next-Gen Tesla Roadster? It May Arrive Next Year

The Roadster debuted in 2017 and was planned for a 2020 launch. Now, reservations are reopened with a 2023 production target.

By: EVANNEX

May 6, 2022 at 8:01am ET

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Posted on EVANNEX on May 06, 2022, by Iqtidar Ali

Tesla has continued taking pre-orders for its next-generation Roadster, a fully electric supercar reboot of its first-ever EV. The automaker had closed the reservations for Founders Series versions in December 2021.

Above: Next-gen Tesla Roadster in red color (Source: Tesla)

An interesting tidbit about the new pre-orders is that Tesla’s online reservation page only shows the amount a customer has to pay instantly ($5,000) and the remaining $45,000 in the next 10 days. The total price of a Tesla Roadster isn't available anymore on Tesla's site.

Originally, the price of a Tesla Roadster was $200,000, and for a Founders Series Signature version, it was $250,000. With inflation and a worldwide chip shortage, Tesla might not want to bind themselves to a price that does not match the cost of a car being produced next year.

The Founders Series in Tesla terminology refers to the cars that have a low VIN — these are the first-produced priority deliveries. They also tend to have a Founders Series badge showcased on the rear of the vehicle.

The latest reservations page setup by Tesla does not offer a Founders Series Tesla Roadster. This might be due to the fact that there are already enough reservations for this particular version — it's likely "sold out" at this stage.

Above: Next-gen Tesla Roadster prototype on display at Giga Texas during Cyber Rodeo (Source: @StargazerPlaid / Twitter / posted with permission)

At the recent Cyber Rodeo party, Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla will be starting next-gen Tesla Roadster production next year as well. It's likely that Roadster production starts a little later in 2023 (following the Cybertruck) at Giga Texas.

Tesla unveiled the next-gen Roadster on November 16, 2017, at the Tesla Semi unveil event. Elon Musk had promised that the Tesla Roadster will be the fastest production car ever made with a 0-60 time of 1.9 seconds. But with the launch of the Tesla Model S Plaid, this milestone has almost been achieved with a 0-60 mph time of 1.99 seconds.

So, with current technology and battery advancements, the base variant of the Tesla Roadster should be able to do even better than 1.9 seconds. However, a Tesla Roadster will also be upgradable to a 1.1-second car with the SpaceX rocket thrusters package. Without a doubt, this will likely redefine what it means to be a "supercar" forever.