Tesla is scheduled to re-unveil the second-generation Roadster on Thursday, October 15, 2026, nine years after the vehicle was first announced. The electric sports car, which was originally presented in November 2017 with a 600-mile range, has not yet entered production. CEO Elon Musk stated ahead of the event that the car may now feature cold-gas thrusters intended to allow it to hover temporarily.
Since the initial announcement in 2017, Tesla has collected deposits from customers to secure positions in the production queue. Those interested in the standard model paid $50,000 for a reservation, while those seeking the limited Founders Series paid the full $250,000 price upfront. During an October 2024 earnings call, Musk thanked these deposit holders, describing them as "long-suffering" and noting that the company had prioritized its robotics and autonomy projects.
The nine-year delay has led some high-profile customers to withdraw their support. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman canceled his reservation in 2025, and YouTuber Marques Brownlee canceled one of two reservations after eight years. Brownlee stated that the company had held his $50,000 deposit for eight years without delivering a product. Musk, however, wrote on the social media platform X that the upcoming presentation could be the "greatest product demo of all time."
For the Founders Series buyers who paid $250,000 upfront, the scale of the missed investment opportunity is larger. That initial payment would be worth approximately $4.3 million in Tesla stock today, reflecting a gain of about $4 million over the nine-year period. While these individuals maintain a spot in the car's queue, they have seen their purchasing power for this specific asset remain flat while the company's market valuation increased by more than 1,600%. The delay has effectively functioned as an interest-free loan from customers to the manufacturer during a period of significant stock market growth.
The outcome of this reveal sets a precedent for how Tesla manages long-term product timelines and customer loyalty. The company’s shift in focus toward autonomy and robotics, as cited by Musk in 2024, delayed the delivery of specialized hardware like the Roadster. The next step for the program is the product demonstration scheduled for the night of Thursday, October 15, 2026, which will determine if the car finally moves toward a concrete production date. Specific delivery deadlines for the thousands of reservation holders remain unconfirmed.