Hot Tesla Roadster Coming Next Year, No Longer A Price On Website
Tesla has continued taking pre-orders for its next-generation Roadster, a fully electric supercar reboot of its first-ever EV. The automaker had closed the reservations for Founders Series versions in December 2021.
An interesting tidbit about the new pre-orders is that Tesla’s online reservation page only shows the amount a customer has to pay instantly ($5,000) and the remaining $45,000 in the next 10 days. The total price of a Tesla Roadster isn’t communicated anymore on Tesla’s site.
Originally, the price of a Tesla Roadster was $200,000, and for a Founders Series Signature version, it was $250,000. With inflation and a worldwide chip shortage, Tesla might not want to bind itself to a price that does not match the cost of a car being produced next year.
The Founders Series in Tesla terminology refers to cars that have a low VIN — these are the first-produced priority deliveries. They also tend to have a Founders Series badge showcased on the rear of the vehicle.
My favorite, the Roadster! The wheels are huge! @Tesla #GigaTexas #CyberRodeo pic.twitter.com/XJiA0Q13K1
— Stargazer!! (@StargazerPlaid) April 8, 2022
Next-gen Tesla Roadster prototype on display at Giga Texas during Cyber Rodeo (Source: @StargazerPlaid / Twitter / posted with permission)
The latest reservations page set up by Tesla does not offer a Founders Series Tesla Roadster. This might be due to the fact that there are already enough reservations for this particular version — it’s likely “sold out” at this stage.
At the recent Cyber Rodeo party, Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla will be starting next-gen Tesla Roadster production next year as well. It’s likely that Roadster production starts a little later in 2023 (following the Cybertruck) at Giga Texas.
Tesla unveiled the next-gen Roadster on November 16, 2017, at the Tesla Semi unveil event. Elon Musk had promised that the Tesla Roadster would be the fastest production car ever made, with a 0–60 mph time of 1.9 seconds. But with the launch of the Tesla Model S Plaid, this milestone has almost been achieved, with a 0–60 mph time of 1.99 seconds.
A close-up look at the Tesla Roadster recently showcased during the Cyber Rodeo event at Giga Texas (YouTube: Cyber Owners)
With current technology and battery advancements, the base variant of the Tesla Roadster should be able to do even better than 1.9 seconds. However, a Tesla Roadster will also be upgradable to a 1.1-second car with the SpaceX rocket thrusters package. This will likely redefine what it means to be a “supercar” forever.
An earlier version of this article was originally published by Tesla Oracle. Revised update edited by EVANNEX.
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