Tesla will unveil its long-delayed second-generation Roadster on Oct 1, giving the electric sports car a firm reveal date after years of shifting timelines.
The company posted “Go for launch” on its official X account alongside a graphic showing the date 10.01. A countdown pointing to Oct 1 has also appeared on Tesla’s website.
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk subsequently confirmed what the date meant, saying on X that the new Roadster would be unveiled on Oct 1.
The announcement refers to an unveiling, not the start of production or customer deliveries. Tesla has yet to give a firm date for either.
The second-generation Roadster was first shown in November 2017. Tesla originally said deliveries would begin in 2020, but the programme has since faced repeated delays.
Tesla’s Roadster website continues to display performance figures associated with the earlier car. Its Singapore site lists a claimed 0-100kph time of 2.1 seconds, a top speed above 400kph and range of 1,000km.
Tesla has not announced a final production specification, price or delivery schedule for the latest version.
There has also been persistent interest in a potential SpaceX-linked version.
Reuters, citing an earlier report by The Information, said the unveiling could include a demonstration of a limited-edition Roadster fitted with cold-gas thrusters developed in collaboration with SpaceX.
The same report said such a demonstration was expected at SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas. Tesla has not confirmed either the thruster-equipped version or the venue in its latest announcement.
The Oct 1 unveiling should therefore provide the first clear look at how far the Roadster has changed since Tesla displayed the original second-generation prototype almost nine years ago.
