The second-generation Tesla Roadster — the all-electric sports activities automobile that made a splashy and shock debut in November 2017 — will “hopefully” go into manufacturing subsequent yr, CEO Elon Musk stated Tuesday on the firm’s annual shareholder assembly in Austin, Texas.
Emphasis on hopefully.
The Roadster, which initially was supposed to return to market in 2020, has been repeatedly delayed through the years because the high-priced sports activities automobile took a backseat to different Tesla merchandise, together with the Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y automobiles.
Musk stated, in response to a query from a shareholder, that the corporate expects to finish the engineering and design of the Roadster in 2023.
“This isn’t a dedication, however hopefully we’ll begin manufacturing subsequent yr,” Musk stated, calling the Roadster the “cherry on the icing on the cake.”
“It’s positively not going to be an enormous contributor to income,” he added. “It is going to be a modest contributor to profitability, however it will likely be sick.”
Picture Credit: Darrell Etherington
The unique Tesla Roadster, the corporate’s first EV, debuted in 2006 and went into manufacturing in 2008. About 2,400 of the low quantity, high-priced EVs had been bought. Whereas the Roadster put Tesla on the map, it might be Tesla Mannequin S, the next quantity luxurious automobile that went into manufacturing in 2012, that may change into a prime vendor.
The second-generation Tesla Roadster made a shock debut through the firm’s Tesla Semi occasion in November 2017. On the time, the corporate stated the Roadster would be capable of journey from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 1.9-second and have a beginning worth of $200,000. The primary 1,000 Founder’s Collection fashions had been anticipated to start out at $250,000.
Tesla supplied attendees on the 2017 occasion a trip within the Roadster in the event that they dropped $50,000, cash that may be used as a deposit. Various took the corporate up on the supply.
Since then, Musk has upped the ante — or the specs — on the yet-to-be produced Roadster. In 2018, he tweeted that the Roadster can be supplied with a SpaceX choice bundle that may embrace 10 small rocket thrusters.
SpaceX choice bundle for brand spanking new Tesla Roadster will embrace ~10 small rocket thrusters organized seamlessly round automobile. These rocket engines dramatically enhance acceleration, prime velocity, braking & cornering. Perhaps they’ll even permit a Tesla to fly …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018
Two years later, he talked about the SpaceX choice once more after somebody visiting the Peterson Museum in Los Angeles seen a plaque underneath the next-gen Roadster that said “0-60 mph in 1.1 seconds.” On the time, Musk tweeted that “it will likely be secure, however very intense. In all probability not sensible for these with a medical situation – similar as a hardcore curler coaster.”
SpaceX choice got here up once more through the 2023 shareholder’s assembly.
“You recognize, there’s some worth to me operating two firms as a result of the subsequent gen Roadster may have the SpaceX choice bundle that may make it actually subsequent stage,” he stated.