Tesla has dropped another teaser for its long-awaited second-generation Roadster, with the company now pointing toward an October 1 reveal after nearly nine years of waiting. Shown at the close of Tesla’s latest Semi event, the few-second clip depicts what appears to be shipping container doors opening around an extremely low-slung vehicle, with a thin light bar and fast-cut graphics lending it a cyberpunk, almost Back to the Future feel. A distorted SpaceX logo also flashes briefly across the screen before the ‘Roadster’ name appears.
The timing feels appropriate because Tesla’s own story effectively began with the original Lotus-based Roadster back in the late 2000s. Tesla later described that car’s proprietary electric powertrain as the foundation of its business, with the technology helping form the basis of the Model S. Since then, the company has increasingly embraced unconventional ideas, from the Model X’s Falcon Wing doors and minimalist cabins to the Cybertruck, Semi, and more recently Robotaxi.
That history makes a major evolution from designer Franz von Holzhausen’s 2017 Roadster concept increasingly plausible. CEO Elon Musk said back in 2024 that Tesla had “radically increased the design goals” for the car.
The original performance targets were already extraordinary, with Tesla claiming a 1.9-second 0-60 mph time, a top speed above 250 mph, and 620 miles of range, as we noted in our coverage of the 2017 reveal.
However, Tesla’s now-discontinued Model S Plaid carries a claimed 1.99-second 0-60 mph time, meaning straight-line acceleration alone would no longer deliver the shock value it did back in 2017, and Musk tweeted back in 2024 that the upcoming Roadster will have a 0-60 mph time of under one second.
That brings the long-rumored SpaceX package sharply back into focus. Musk has previously described the system in unusually specific terms, telling Jay Leno that the Roadster would use ultra-high-pressure compressed air through cold-gas thrusters developed with SpaceX, including a primary rear thruster concealed behind the license plate.
More recently, Reuters reported that Tesla could demonstrate a limited-edition version equipped with those thrusters at SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas test facility. Tesla-focused outlets have also reported that the FAA issued a temporary flight restriction over the McGregor facility through October 2, although the restriction itself does not identify the Roadster or specify the reason for the closure.
In terms of cars featuring unconventional technology around the rear, a few notable examples already exist. The GMA T.50 employs a rear-mounted fan to manage airflow, while the McMurtry Spéirling relies on fan-assisted downforce to effectively suck itself to the road. More extreme still, the Nebula NEXT 01 Jet Edition concept has proposed dual solid-fuel rocket boosters. The Roadster will also provide another reference point against the EV hypercars, and we’re curious to see where it will land on our list of the world’s most powerful production cars.
Tesla has meanwhile reopened Roadster reservations at $50,000. The original 2017 pricing stood at $200,000 for the standard car and $250,000 for the Founder Series, although final pricing for the production version has yet to be confirmed. Nine years after the original prototype appeared, the October 1 unveiling now looks increasingly like the debut of something far more ambitious than the Roadster Tesla first showed in 2017.
Images: Tesla Motors
