Tesla says it will finally show the next-generation Roadster on October 1, 2026, ending nearly nine years of delays since the car was first previewed alongside the original Semi in November 2017.
How Tesla announced it
On September 12, Tesla’s official account posted a teaser image of the car on a launch pad captioned “Go for launch,” with the date “10.01” over the graphic, and TechCrunch reports the company simultaneously updated its Roadster page with a live countdown clock. The teaser leans on the SpaceX-developed cold gas thruster package Tesla has said will let the car briefly hover, and Electrek notes the demonstration vehicle is expected to run without a driver, with onlookers kept a few hundred yards back because of the thrusters’ noise.
A long history of missed dates
Tesla has pushed back the Roadster’s timeline at least eight times since that first 2017 preview, sliding from an original 2020 production target through 2022, 2023, 2024, and a vague “2025-2026” window before Tesla warned last year it could slip to “2027 or 2028.” Two demo dates earlier in 2026, in April and August, were also postponed. That track record is why this announcement is only a reveal date, not a delivery date — TechCrunch reports production isn’t expected to start until 12 to 18 months after whatever car appears on October 1.
What’s still unconfirmed
Tesla has not confirmed pricing, specs, or even whether the car unveiled will match the original 2017 prototype’s numbers — a sub-two-second 0-60 time, a 620-mile range estimate, and a $200,000 base price for the Founders Series. Some reporting cited by TechCrunch suggests Tesla may have moved on from that original design entirely, but Tesla itself hasn’t said so.
None of this changes anything for a Model 3, Model Y, or Cybertruck owner today. But if you put down a Roadster reservation years ago, October 1 is the first real signal in a long time that Tesla intends to show something, not just tease a date.
Photo by Erik Mclean.