Tesla’s new Roadster teaser hints at a ‘Cyber’ redesign it doesn’t need — SkimNews
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- Tesla will finally unveil the production Roadster on October 1 near Waco, Texas, over eight years after first showing the car in 2017, with a weekend teaser hinting at the company's "Cyber" design language, including a full-width light bar and angular styling matching the robotaxi.
- Elon Musk has promised "radical design changes" and the SpaceX package — cold gas thrusters that Musk says will push 0-60 mph under one second, though the source notes the car hits under two seconds without them.
- The Roadster demo has been scaled back from "the car can fly" to a brief hover, and the demo car reportedly won't be street-legal, with Tesla planning to run it remotely because the thrusters are a noise hazard.
- Tesla's Roadster reveal has slipped at least eight times since the promised 2020 production start, and high-profile reservation holders including Marques Brownlee and Sam Altman have already canceled.
- The 2017 Roadster was originally promised at a 620-mile range, 0-60 in 1.9 seconds, 250+ mph top speed, four seats, and a $200,000 base price, with the $250,000 Founders Series selling out on $50,000 deposits.
- A former Tesla president suggested the delays are really about tying the Roadster's story to SpaceX ahead of a possible merger, which the article argues fits Tesla's habit of re-launching decade-old products for a stock pump.
- The source argues the 2017 Roadster design still looks better than most supercars on sale today, and that Tesla should deliver the originally promised car without thrusters, hover mode, or a "cyber" makeover.
Why it matters: Tesla has slipped the Roadster's production start at least eight times in eight years, and high-profile reservation holders like Marques Brownlee and Sam Altman have already canceled their $50,000 deposits — meaning tens of thousands of customers who wired Tesla money for a 2017-spec car may end up receiving a redesigned, more expensive product they never asked for.
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