Tesla reopens $50,000 Roadster reservations ahead of October 1 unveil — SkimNews
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- Tesla reopened Roadster reservations this week with a $5,000 credit card charge now plus a $45,000 wire transfer due within 10 days — and is collecting the money before the production version has been shown at all.
- The October 1 reveal near Waco, Texas is expected to disclose pricing, specs, and production targets; Elon Musk has spent months teasing a demo car using SpaceX-designed cold-gas thrusters that he says will let it "fly," expected to be remote-operated and not street legal.
- Tesla's first Roadster reservation round opened in November 2017 ($50,000 standard, $250,000 Founders Series) and promised 2020 production; the car has been delayed at least eight times with zero units delivered, and holders including Marques Brownlee and Sam Altman reportedly struggled to get deposits back.
- The 2017 prototype promised a 620-mile range, sub-1.9-second 0-60 mph, a 250+ mph top speed, and a $200,000 base price — while the latest teasers point to a redesign borrowing Tesla's angular "Cyber" styling and a full-width light bar from the robotaxi/Cybertruck line.
- Polymarket contracts price the Roadster reaching customers by end of 2026 at under 5%, though a separate 2027 contract sits around 61%; Musk told the All-In Summit that "success is not guaranteed, but excitement is" and that Tesla needs a live audience "to vouch for the fact that this is not AI."
Why it matters: Tesla is asking buyers to wire $45,000 before showing a production car — a step beyond 2017, when at least a prototype was on stage. With the original 2017 reservation cohort still waiting nine years and eight delays later, and Polymarket pricing 2026 delivery below 5%, new depositors are absorbing all the risk of a pattern Tesla has yet to break.
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