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Elon Musk is breathing new life into Tesla’s second-generation Roadster. Though the electric sports car has encountered delay after delay since its late-2010s announcement, a “radical” overhaul to the vehicle’s design goals has the CEO eager to revive the Roadster’s dwindling public hype.
“Tonight, we radically increased the design goals for the new Tesla Roadster,” Musk wrote in a cryptic X post on Tuesday. “There will never be another car like this, if you could even call it a car.”
Not surprisingly, Musk’s post kicked off a whirlwind of questions. Sawyer Merritt, a Tesla investor and the co-founder of a sustainable apparel company, asked about the Roadster’s 0 to 60 mph time and release timeline. Musk replied that the Roadster would go from 0 to 60 in under one second, and that that was “the least interesting part” of the vehicle. While the EV’s complete production design will be unveiled by the end of the year, preordered units won’t ship until 2025.
We would not recommend banking on whatever the heck this is supposed to mean.
Credit: ExtremeTech
“I think it has a shot at being the most mind-blowing product demo of all time,” Musk wrote. “You will love the new Roadster more than your house.”
The audacious CEO described the Roadster’s new iteration as a “Tesla/SpaceX collab” that would enable the aerospace company to infuse rocket design with EV road maps. This aligns with Musk’s comments from 2018 regarding a SpaceX option package that “will include ~10 small rocket thrusters arranged seamlessly around [the] car. These rocket engines dramatically improve acceleration, top speed, braking & cornering.”
Musk showing off the next-generation Roadster in 2017.
Credit: Tesla
The original Roadster (manufacturing years 2008 through 2012) was the first US highway-legal, serial-production EV to rely entirely on a lithium-ion battery; it’s often said that it’s why Tesla became a household name. When Tesla showed off its plans for the next-gen Roadster in late 2017, it promised the car would be able to top 250 mph using three electric motors: one in the front and two in the back. It would also feature a removable glass roof and fit up to four passengers.
Tesla followed up its Roadster revamp announcement with reservation slots, which corresponded with 1,000 Founders Edition cars and 1,000 regular versions. At the time, the base model Roadster was expected to cost $200,000 and arrive in 2020. Since production delays have pushed the Roadster’s debut to 2021, 2023, and now 2025, its new price tag is expected to be much larger.