Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has once again set a deadline for its second-generation Roadster. This time, the automaker says October 1 is real, and it’s accompanied by rocket-launch visuals and a technology package sourced directly from Elon Musk’s other company, SpaceX.
A Nine-Year Wait
The Roadster was first exhibited as a prototype in November 2017, with startling numbers claimed at the time: a 1.9-second 0-60 mph time, a top speed of 250+ mph, and a range of around 620 miles from a 200-kWh battery. Production was originally scheduled for 2020, with deposits ranging from $50,000 to the full $250,000 for the “Founders Series” model. That timeframe has subsequently moved repeatedly, from 2020 to 2022 to 2023 and beyond, including a widely mocked April 1 demo date Musk set at last November’s shareholder meeting, which he later revealed he chose primarily to provide “deniability” if it slipped again. It did, moving to late April, then “a month or so,” and finally in August. October 1 is the latest in at least five Roadster demo or unveiling timelines floated this year.
A More Specific Announcement This Time
This time, the announcement includes more specifics. Tesla, Inc. put “Go for Launch” on X around September 12, along with a teaser image of the car’s rear three-quarter view marked with the date “10.01.” A countdown clock appeared on Tesla’s Roadster order page at the same time, as did formal invites to a gathering in Waco, Texas, which are non-transferable and exclusive to reservation holders.
According to reports, the car has evolved significantly behind the scenes: Tesla, Inc. reportedly abandoned earlier plans to base the production Roadster on Model S Plaid components in favor of an all-new carbon-fiber hypercar platform, resulting in a more exotic and fundamentally different vehicle than what reservation holders initially put down deposits for in 2017.
The SpaceX Package
The main focus of the unveiling is expected to be what Musk has referred to as the “SpaceX package” since 2018: a set of cold-gas thrusters, small nozzles that fire compressed gas rather than burning rocket fuel, built around hardware borrowed from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 program, internally code-named A71, and using the same composite overwrapped pressure vessel tank design. Musk claims a thruster-equipped Roadster could reach 60 mph in around 1.1 seconds and that the mechanism could hypothetically lift the vehicle off the ground. Tesla originally claimed a 1.9-second 0-60 time for the 2017 Roadster prototype, although the heavily redesigned production version may carry different specifications. Notably, reports indicate that the thruster-equipped variation may not be street legal and may be sold as a limited run on the track, implying that Tesla’s headline performance claim could refer to a product that most consumers will never be able to drive on public roads.
During Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call in April, Musk touted the upcoming demonstration as potentially “one of the most epic demos of all time.” More recently, at the All-In Summit, he stated that Tesla would require “an audience there to vouch that this is not AI,” highlighting how important confirming the demo’s authenticity has become to the event itself.
Smart Money Sentiment
Hedge fund holdings of Tesla, Inc. fell from 123 in the first quarter to 116 in the second, a drop that predates the Roadster announcement but represents the same institutional caution that followed the company’s Cybercab launch’s lackluster reception.
SpaceX Tech Flex
A solid, operational thruster demonstration, even if confined to a track-only form, would provide Tesla, Inc. with a meaningful technical presentation at a time when it desperately needs one following Cybercab’s disappointing launch. The Roadster also serves as a halo product: even if most buyers never drive the thruster-equipped version, it strengthens Tesla’s brand positioning as an engineering-led company capable of borrowing aerospace technology from SpaceX, which no competition can readily copy.
Fifth Time’s A Charm?
That said, the Roadster’s history doesn’t do it any favors: this is the fifth Roadster reveal or demo timing floated and previous dates have often slipped or disappointed against expectations, including the much-derided April 1 demo. Given the Cybercab’s recent bust on September 3, another spectacle-heavy event without clear delivery schedules or pricing might do more to deepen, rather than dispel, investor pessimism about Tesla’s ability to turn flashy demos into real products.
Insider Monkey’s Bottom Line
The most important question isn’t whether Tesla, Inc. will appear on October 1, but what it will exhibit when it does. Investors should look for verifiable facts, delivery schedules, pricing clarity for the thruster package, and any indication of when reservation holders may actually receive vehicles, rather than viewing another spectacle-driven event as assurance that the car is nearing production.
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