Tesla plans to introduce its long-delayed next-generation Roadster on Thursday, nearly a decade after Elon Musk’s company began accepting deposits for the electric sports car.
The event will be broadcast live from a EspaceX testing site in McGregor, Texas, near Waco. It is scheduled to begin at 7:55 a.m. local time (8:55 a.m. ET).
Tesla’s original Roadster, designed and manufactured by a team led by founding CEO Martin Eberhard, used a Lotus Elise chassis and was first delivered in 2008, selling for around $100,000 in small volumes until 2012.
The next-generation Roadster is expected to be a low-volume, premium model that relies on SpaceX technology, such as cold gas thrusters, to allow it to hover. Musk fanatics are gearing up for the protest, expressing their enthusiasm on social media, but the Roadster likely won’t have a material financial impact on the company.
Tesla reopened reservations for the refreshed Roadster in recent weeks, accepting deposits of $50,000 from potential buyers in the United States, Canada and China. Executives are expected to disclose specific prices, details and production targets.
Musk first promoted the updated Roadster concept at an event in November 2017, and then the following June in a series of tweets. He wrote at the time: “The SpaceX options package for the new Tesla Roadster will include approximately 10 small rocket boosters arranged seamlessly around the car. » The motors would improve speed and braking, and could “even allow a Tesla to fly.”
Tesla began accepting $50,000 deposits in 2017, but has since missed every targeted delivery date. As recently as last October, Musk was promoting a demo of the Roadster that he hoped would happen before the end of 2025. That didn’t happen either.
Musk’s former friend and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman mocked the Tesla CEO in posts on X last year about extreme delays, showing screenshots of his own reservation and refund requests.
“I was really excited about the car! And I understand the delays,” Altman wrote. “But 7.5 years seemed like a long wait.”
Altman got his refund, and the two men ended up in court for a separate case earlier this year related to OpenAI’s governance and ownership structure.
According to documents filed with the Federal Aviation Administration, Tesla has established a no-fly zone around SpaceX facilities where it plans to show off the vehicle. The company had to abandon a demo on October 1 due to weather issues.
Tesla is expected to report its third-quarter results Wednesday after the bell.
WATCH: The Tesla Roadster will be revealed Thursday evening.
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