The second-generation Tesla Roadster: the all-electric sports car that made a striking and stunning debut at November 2017 – “Hopefully” it will go into production next year, Chief Executive Elon Musk said Tuesday at the company’s meeting. annual meeting of shareholders in Austin, Texas.
Emphasis on hopefully.
The Roadster, which was originally supposed to hit the market in 2020, has repeatedly been delayed over the years as the high-priced sports car took a backseat to other Tesla products, including Model 3 vehicles. and Model Y.
Musk said, in response to a question from a shareholder, that the company expects to complete engineering and design for the Roadster in 2023.
“This is not a commitment, but hopefully we will start production next year,” Musk said, calling the Roadster the “icing on the cake.”
“It’s definitely not going to be a huge contributor to revenue,” he added. “He will be a modest contributor to profitability, but he will be sick.”
Image Credits: Darrell Etherington
The original Tesla Roadster, the company’s first EV, debuted in 2006 and went into production in 2008. About 2,400 of the low-volume, high-priced EVs were sold. While the Roadster put Tesla on the map, it would be the Tesla Model S, a higher-volume luxury vehicle that went into production in 2012, that would become a bestseller.
The second-generation Tesla Roadster made a surprise debut during the company’s Tesla Semi event in November 2017. At the time, the company said the Roadster could go from 0-60 miles per hour in 1.9 seconds and have a starting price. . of $200,000. The first 1,000 Founder series models were expected to start at $250,000.
Tesla offered attendees of the 2017 event a ride in the Roadster if they deposited $50,000, money that would be used as a deposit. Not a few accepted the company’s offer.
Musk has since upped the ante, or the specs, on the Roadster yet to be produced. In 2018, he tweeted that the Roadster would be offered with an optional package from SpaceX that will include 10 small rocket boosters.
Two years later, he brought up the SpaceX option again after someone visiting the Peterson Museum in Los Angeles noticed a plaque under the next-generation Roadster that read “0-60 mph in 1.1 seconds.” At the time, Musk tweeted that “it will be safe, but very intense. It’s probably not advisable for people with a medical condition, the same as an extreme roller coaster.”
The SpaceX option came up again during the 2023 shareholders’ meeting.
“You know, there’s some value to me running two companies because the next-generation Roadster will have SpaceX’s option package that will make it truly next-level,” he said.
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