Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) unveiled its next-generation Roadster Thursday at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, nearly nine years after Elon Musk first showed a prototype. No prices have been announced yet, and Musk said production will start in 2028.
In the demo, the car drove up a ramp, hung upside down, and used thrusters to flip and land. It clocked 0.81 seconds from 0 to 60 mph, and Musk later claimed they “anticipate being able to do better than that.”
Tesla lists three versions. The Performance model is the one built for public roads, and the $50,000 reservations dating to 2017 apply to it. Reservations reopened at $50,000, with $5,000 due immediately and $45,000 within 10 days, according to Electrek. The Thrust model carries cold-gas thrusters at the rear and takes a $250,000 down payment. The Rocket model, which adds a ring of thrusters around the car, is invite-only.
The carmaker claims 0-60 mph in under 1.6 seconds for Performance, under 0.9 for Thrust, and under 0.59 for Rocket, plus a top speed above 230 mph on Rocket. Tesla now puts the range above 300 miles, about half the 620 miles Musk promised in 2017, and the Performance and Thrust models seat two.
The car debuted as a prototype in November 2017 with a 2020 production target, but there have been six or more production delays, and seven unveil dates since. Tesla was supposed to do this event on October 1st but ended up scrapping it, blaming the weather.
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Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein expects about 2,000 Roadster sales a year, Reuters reports, against 1.6 million vehicles Tesla sold last year. Past reveals have hurt the stock, with drops of 6% after the 2019 Cybertruck and 8.3% after the 2024 Cybercab. Friday is the first trading session since the Roadster event.
Tesla shares closed Thursday at $362.44, down about 5% on the week.
