Tesla has announced that it will officially unveil the second generation of its Roadster electric sports car on October 10, 2026. The company has already started a countdown to the reveal on its website.
The car has been a long time coming. Tesla first showed a prototype of the new-generation Roadster back in 2017, but the production launch has been pushed back repeatedly in the years since, leaving the model waiting in the wings for almost a decade.
Tesla has previously said the Roadster would accelerate from 0 to 96 km/h in under two seconds, reach a top speed of more than 400 km/h, and offer a range of around 965 km on a single charge.
A car that can fly?
According to preliminary information, the new Roadster could come with an unusual feature: the ability to lift off the ground. Tesla is reportedly considering using technology from SpaceX, the rocket company also run by Elon Musk, involving gas thrusters to achieve this. Tesla has not yet disclosed details of how such a system would work.
SpaceX, founded by Musk, builds rockets and spacecraft, including the Falcon 9 and Starship vehicles, and its thruster technology is normally associated with maneuvering spacecraft rather than road cars.
Price and cancelled orders
At launch, Tesla priced the base version of the Roadster at $200,000, with a Founder's Edition priced at $250,000. Buyers could reserve a car with a $50,000 deposit.
However, because of the years of delays, some customers have since cancelled their reservations. Among those who pulled out are OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and technology reviewer Marques Brownlee.
Tesla is the electric car and clean energy company led by Elon Musk. The Roadster is intended to serve as the halo model at the top of its lineup, positioned above the Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y as a showcase for the company's performance technology.
Tesla has set October 10, 2026, as the date for the official presentation, according to the countdown now running on the company's website.
