Tesla Prepares to Unveil Next-Gen Roadster After Nine Years of Delays

Countdown to the Reveal

Tesla is scheduled to unveil its second-generation Roadster on October 15, 2026, at 8:55 PM ET, if the company does not delay the event again. The livestream is drawing a mix of EV enthusiasts, long-time deposit holders and skeptics, with some customers having paid $50,000 deposits for the vehicle back in 2017.

Nine Years of Delays and Bold Promises

Tesla first introduced the updated Roadster in 2017, saying it would be ready in 2020. Years of repeated delays followed. The company has promised a 620-mile range and a zero to 60 mph time of 1.9 seconds. CEO Elon Musk has been posting about the vehicle on X, calling it a candidate for the greatest product demo of all time and saying the demo will be a banger, probably metaphorically, though some chance literally.

Thrusters, Downforce and Flying Car Talk

Images on Tesla's website teasing the new Roadster appear to hint at cold-gas thrusters, and reports have suggested the car might have the ability to fly. Commenters speculated the vehicle could generate enough downforce to drive on a ceiling, or be dropped from a plane and land on stage like Starship. An easter egg on the website shows that flipping the Roadster upside down reveals a message reading THIS SIDE UP.

SpaceX Merger Speculation

On the day of the reveal, analysts at Barclays wrote a note indicating they believed an announcement about a Tesla-SpaceX merger could come as soon as later this month, noting that the true value would be in vertical integration. Musk himself posted on X that the new Roadster is beyond movies, beyond imagination, beyond human, yet still made by humans on Earth.

Sources: Engadget