We definitely will, maybe, sort of see an all-new Tesla Roadster in a few months!
Tesla has a well-documented history of delaying launches and updates, but one that bubbles up to the top is the elusive Roadster. Remember, the one from 2017? We were supposedly going to see it by the end of the year, but CEO Elon Musk shared during yesterday’s shareholder meeting that it is “tentatively” aiming to debut a completely new Roadster on April 1, 2026. So, mark your calendars, and take in the irony while you’re at it.
This new Roadster, Musk claims, “will be very different from what was shown previously”. That’s what you’re seeing here, because it’s the only real “evidence” (if you can call it that) of a new Tesla Roadster actually being in the works. He also said this new Roadster will be “the most exciting, whether it works or not, demo ever of any product.” Um…right.
And if Tesla does actually premiere this new and exciting and maybe-or-maybe-not-functional Roadster to the masses, we still have to wait about 12 to 18 months to see it actually hit the streets. If you’re keeping score, that means it would actually roll out to Tesla showrooms, the company’s website and American streets by mid-to-late 2027 — a full decade after the first next-gen Roadster reveal happened.
All that, and we also have to take in Musk’s claim (as pointed out by InsideEVs) that the new model will bring “crazier” tech than all Bond cars put together. So, giving the world’s richest man, who coincidentally got a $1 trillion payday from shareholders, the benefit of the doubt, it will almost certainly cost more than even the last car’s $250,000 price tag, if the new Roadster makes it to production.
If it sounds like my words and those of my colleagues in the business are dripping with skepticism, it’s because they are. TL;DR version just taking Tesla’s plans at face value: Expect a new Roadster reveal sometime around April 1, 2026. Dialing that healthy dose of skepticism back in…just don’t hold your breath for the next five months or you may be a nice shade of purpose if (and perhaps when) it doesn’t happen.
The Tesla Semi was delayed, the updated Model X and S have been delayed, the Cybertruck was delayed, the “cheap” Tesla — ultimately a stripped down Model Y — was delayed, and indeed the Tesla Roadster has been delayed. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with giving a new product a little more time in the oven to get it right, but on the back of 10 years worth of bold claims and broken promises, we’ll have to wait and see whether this pans out. (Hey, I’ll be happy to come back and eat crow for you guys if it does.)
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