New Tesla Roadster now has an October unveiling date

After almost a decade of promises, delays and high expectations, the new Tesla Roadster once again has a date on the calendar. Tesla has confirmed the unveiling of the electric sports car for October 1, 2026, in what will be one of the brand’s most anticipated moments in recent years.

The event is scheduled to take place in Waco, Texas, and invitations have already started reaching customers who still hold Roadster reservations. The invitations are non-transferable and are limited to reservation holders. This time, therefore, there is more than just a promise from Elon Musk: there is a defined date and location to see the new generation of the model.

Even so, an important distinction must be made. October 1 will be dedicated to the unveiling of the new Tesla Roadster and not to the start of sales or deliveries. Production is still only expected in 2027 or 2028 at Gigafactory Texas, with no definitive date yet for the first cars to reach customers.

A wait that began in 2017

The new Tesla Roadster was first presented in November 2017. At the time, the brand showed a prototype accompanied by figures capable of placing the model among the fastest production cars in the world.

Tesla announced around 1,000 kilometres of range, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in under two seconds and a top speed of more than 400 km/h. Production was supposed to begin in 2020, but the schedule ended up suffering successive delays.

Over the years, several new forecasts emerged. The years 2022, 2023 and 2025 were mentioned, while during 2026 different dates were also put forward for a demonstration or presentation of the model. None of those forecasts ultimately materialised.

Reservations were once available with an initial payment of 50,000 dollars for the standard version. The announced price for the Roadster started at 200,000 dollars, while the Founders Series edition was priced at 250,000 dollars. These figures continue to serve as a reference, although there is still no confirmation that they will be maintained when the car actually reaches production.

SpaceX technology could be one of the major new features

One of the biggest points of interest surrounding the new Tesla Roadster is related to the possibility of integrating technology developed by SpaceX.

Since 2018, Elon Musk has spoken about using cold-gas thrusters to improve acceleration, braking and cornering performance. Over the past few years, the Tesla chief has also suggested even more ambitious capabilities, including the possibility of the Roadster temporarily lifting off the ground.

The latest teaser released by Tesla has once again fuelled that possibility. The image shows the Roadster accompanied by visual elements associated with a launch platform, in what appears to be a reference to the so-called SpaceX package.

Among the performance figures previously mentioned by Elon Musk for this configuration is acceleration from 0 to 60 mph, around 96 km/h, in approximately 1.1 seconds. However, this technology remains a promise and there is still no confirmation that it will be part of the road-going production version.

The information released even points to the possibility that the thruster-equipped version used in a potential demonstration may not be homologated for public-road use. It has also reportedly been considered that this configuration could be offered only to a restricted group of customers for track use.

For that reason, the October 1 presentation should help clarify one of the biggest questions surrounding the new Tesla Roadster: how much remains of the car presented in 2017 and how many of the promises made since then will actually reach the production model.

Almost nine years after the first presentation, the Roadster remains one of Tesla’s most anticipated projects. If the schedule is met this time, October will finally make it possible to see how the electric sports car has evolved and understand how far the brand intends to push its performance and technology.

For customers who placed a reservation several years ago, however, the most important question will still remain unanswered: when will deliveries actually begin?

Source: Notícias ao Minuto, Razão Automóvel, Sapo