1,000 km of range and over 400 km/h: the new Tesla Roadster will have to wait a little longer due to bad weather

The long-awaited return of the Tesla Roadster will have to wait a little longer. With just two days left before the originally announced date, Tesla has decided to reschedule its unveiling once again. This time, it’s not another change due to lunar calendars, but rather for a quite unique reason: the expected weather conditions at the event location.

This delay comes after 9 years of anticipation and several missed dates, though the company assures that this is merely a postponement of the unveiling rather than a change to the project itself.

The company announced in early September that it would finally unveil the final version of the Roadster on October 1, 2026, nearly nine years after the prototype was presented unexpectedly. Now, the event will take place on October 15, two weeks later than planned. Tesla explains that it has been monitoring weather conditions alongside local meteorologists, and the severe weather expected has forced this decision.

The explanation includes a particularly striking detail. Tesla claims that the event can only take place outdoors, which has once again fueled speculation about the demonstration it is preparing for the Roadster. The event is scheduled in the Waco area of Texas, near SpaceX’s facilities in McGregor, and everything suggests that one of the major highlights will indeed be the demonstration of the propulsion technology that Elon Musk has been promising for this model for years.

The location chosen has also sparked speculation about a possible water demonstration. The Roadster prototype has been linked for years to the possibility of incorporating thrusters developed using SpaceX’s technology, which could lift the car into the air for a few moments. Tesla has not publicly confirmed all the details of the demonstration, nor has it yet explained whether it will use exactly the same setup for the new event on October 15.

A Roadster that has changed a lot since 2017

The second-generation Tesla Roadster was unveiled in November 2017 during the launch of the Tesla Semi. At that time, it impressed with figures that remain extraordinary even today: Tesla claimed 0 to 60 miles per hour in 1.9 seconds, a top speed over 250 miles per hour, and a range of 620 miles. Converted to the standard units used in Europe, this meant around 3.1 seconds to reach 100 km/h, a top speed of over 402 km/h, and a range of nearly 998 kilometers.

The initial proposal was for a four-seater sports car with a removable roof and performance far exceeding that of any other Tesla production model. The vehicle was meant to serve as the company’s technological showcase while also proving that an electric car could compete directly with the fastest supercars in the world.

However, the timeline kept changing. The originally planned release for 2020 was pushed to 2022, then to 2023, and later to 2024. After several years with no significant progress, the project was put on hold as Tesla focused its resources and attention on other programs, including Cybercab. Now, almost nine years after that presentation, the Roadster is once again in the spotlight.

And there’s an important detail: the Roadster that Tesla currently displays on its official website no longer has exactly the same specifications as in 2017. The company’s Spanish website now lists a 0 to 100 km/h acceleration time of 2.1 seconds, a top speed of over 400 km/h, and a range of 1,000 kilometers. Tesla still describes it as a four-seater electric sports car and retains the removable glass roof that can be stored in the trunk.

The big question will be to see how much of all this makes it into the production model. The Roadster has undergone enough changes and delays that its final debut holds much more interest than a simple update to the prototype shown almost a decade ago.

One of the elements generating the most excitement is precisely the thrusters developed using SpaceX’s technology. Musk has stated in the past that they would allow for even further improvements in the vehicle’s acceleration, suggesting a time of 1.1 seconds to reach 60 miles per hour. Tesla’s new campaign, with the slogan “Go for launch,” seems to refer directly to this technology.

The only image released by Tesla so far also doesn’t reveal much about the final design. It does show the exhaust gases from the thrusters and some elements that appear quite different from the original prototype, including a large rear aerodynamic surface and a light strip running across the entire width of the vehicle. The final design could therefore be much more radical than that sleek sports car introduced in 2017.

Regarding the price, initial estimates placed the Roadster at around 150,000 pounds for the standard version and about 185,000 pounds for the Founders Series edition. At today’s exchange rate, these amounts correspond approximately to 174,825 euros and 215,618 euros, respectively. The final price still needs to be confirmed by Tesla and may vary from those initial figures.

Tesla has also invited Roadster reservation holders to the event, although the company has never officially disclosed how many units have been reserved. Moreover, the invitations were non-transferable, so they do not reveal the actual number of potential customers for this model.