Tesla Roadster Missing From Master Plan Part 3, Should Fans Worry?

The Roadster's extremely low volume is insignificant compared to Tesla's mass-market models, and that's probably why it was left out.

2017 Tesla Roadster Deck Model (Petersen Automotive Museum)

Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

Apr 6, 2023 at 1:59pm ET

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Tesla's Master Plan Part 3 white paper published on April 5 offers interesting clues regarding the automaker's future lineup.

On page 22 of the document there's a table that shows what type of battery and what pack capacities Tesla would allocate to its current and future models. The latter category includes a vehicle in the compact segment, one in the commercial/passenger van segment, and one bus - yes, you read that right.

However, there's one striking omission from the list: the next-generation Tesla Roadster. While it's true that the EV maker still has no estimated production start date for the Roadster, the fact the electric supercar has been left out of the Tesla Master Plan Part 3 may alarm some fans. Are they reading too much into this?

Well, the truth is Roadster was always going to be a niche product for Tesla, and niche cars usually translate into low production volumes.

And since the Master Plan Part 3 focuses on Tesla's long-term objectives and how it can help the world achieve a sustainable future, the fact the Roadster was left out may simply indicate that the expected volumes for it will be negligible in the grand scheme of things.

The Roadster will be extremely low-volume, which why is Tesla has prioritized production of other models like the Semi and Cybertruck over it. Priced at $250,000, including a whopping $50,000 reservation fee, the Tesla Roadster will be the company's most expensive model when it (eventually) launches.

It's anyone's guess when that will happen, though. Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen said recently that Tesla is in the process of developing the Roadster, but it won't reach the production phases this year.

"We're developing the car. I think you know we have priorities as a company, and the priorities are mass electrification. And Roadster is not a mass product. So unfortunately, you know it takes its kind of position, but we are working on it in earnest."

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He also said that Tesla has been using the time since the Roadster 2.0 prototype was first unveiled in 2017 to "really improve on basically every metric that we set out to establish when we first debuted that (car)."

That's obviously good to hear, but learning when the Roadster will actually enter production would be even more exciting.