Elon Musk confirmed that the new Tesla Roadster has been delayed to 2022 – a good two years behind the original schedule.
Tesla Roadster timeline
When first unveiling the next-generation Tesla Roadster in 2017, Musk said that it will come to market in 2020.
Tesla started taking reservations for the impressive electric supercar with a 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds and over 600 miles of range at the unveiling event.
People who wanted to be first in line to get the vehicle had to put down between $50,000 and $250,000 in deposits.
The vehicle program was later delayed as the CEO said that it wasn’t a priority for Tesla.
Last year, Musk hinted at Tesla Roadster being delayed all the way to 2022 as the automaker focuses on the Cybertruck.
Now the CEO confirmed that the production of Tesla’s new Roadster won’t start until next year:
Musk wrote on Twitter today:
Finishing engineering [of the new Tesla Roadster] this year, production starts next year. Aiming to have release candidate design drivable late summer. Tri-motor drive system and advanced battery work were important precursors.
That’s about two years later than the original timeline, though with a release candidate on the road this summer, it could mean that the new Roadster could be coming early in 2022.
Model S Plaid is pushing performance higher
With Tesla now launching the Model Plaid with already insane capacity like 0-60 mph in less than 2 seconds and a quarter-mile in less than 10 seconds, Tesla is going to have to push the Roadster to higher performance.
Tesla has already been teasing insane new capacity with something called the “SpaceX package,” which consists of a bunch of cold air thrusters around the car, and is expected to result in even better performance.
When discussing how Model S Plaid’s new performance specs play into the new Roadster, Musk said that the Roadster is “part rocket,” likely referring to the SpaceX package.
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