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Tesla Roadster gen-2: ‘rocket-boosted’ electric hypercar delayed by two weeks, now six years late

 
Declan Steele

The second coming of trillionaire Elon Musk’s flying/sailing automotive moonshot has been pushed back by the weather


The unveiling of the second-generation Tesla Roadster has been delayed yet again.

Scheduled for tomorrow in the Texan city of Waco, Tesla announced a two-week delay due to severe weather. The American EV pioneer claims the event cannot be held indoors.

The teaser image on Tesla’s website

This is at least the seventh time Elon Musk’s halo car has been delayed. 

Unveiled as a concept in 2017, production was initially slated for 2020. In July 2020 this was delayed to 2021. In January 2021, this was delayed to 2022. In September 2021, this was delayed until 2023. In May 2023, this was delayed to 2024. In February 2024, this was delayed to 2025… 

In November 2025, Elon Musk announced the Roadster would break cover on 1 April this year, which came and went. A countdown page on Tesla’s website, giving a date of 1 October, has now had 14 days added to it.

Tesla Roadster 2023 side

The Roadster will, allegedly, be unveiled on Thursday 15 October.

Specs for the second generation of the car that pioneered modern EVs have varied wildly in the nine years since its announcement, and have often been difficult to believe.

Initial claims included a 200kWh battery (nearly double the capacity of the largest batteries on the market, even today), range approaching 1000km, and a 0-100km/h time of roughly two seconds.

Tesla Roadster 2023 rear 3/4

Rocket boosters have repeatedly been mooted as an option that could, it’s been proposed, shorten the 0-100km/h time to about a second. These rockets might be the plumes visible above the car on the Roadster’s countdown website.

Elon Musk has also claimed the Roadster Mk2 can “fly a little”, and Autocar reports it’s able to hover or float across water.

The Roadster could cost around AU$300,000 or more if and when it arrives in Australia.