Abstract:
On September 13, according to the electric vehicle information website Electric Vehicles, Tesla recently released a preview image on the social platform X and scheduled an event that has not yet been named for October 1. The image shows four streams of white air coming out of the rear of a low-slung car, which is believed to point to the second-generation Roadster, which has been delayed for nearly nine years.
Tesla captioned the picture "Ready to launch." This expression is often used in countdowns to rocket launches. The picture also shows the red light strip running through the rear of the car and the words "10.01", but Tesla did not clearly announce the model name, event location and specific time.
The report found that there is also a line of text "Where We Go" hidden between the propeller airflow and the taillight that is almost the same color as the background. This sentence comes from the movie "Back to the Future". The second half of the complete line is "We don't need roads." It is difficult to see this line of text under normal exposure, and it will only appear after the shadows of the picture are brightened.
This design further points to the SpaceX thruster kit that Musk has previewed many times. Musk has said since 2018 that the Roadster can be equipped with an optional cold-air thruster, and has proposed the idea of levitating the vehicle from 2021.
According to a previous report by "The Information", this system, codenamed A71 internally at Tesla, contains about 10 thrusters and a high-pressure gas tank, which will occupy the rear seat space. The version equipped with a complete propulsion system is not expected to be legal on the road, and Tesla also plans to launch regular models without a complete system at the same time.
The report quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Tesla had planned to conduct a demonstration at SpaceX’s rocket development base in McGregor, Texas, allowing the vehicle to lift off the ground without anyone aboard. Spectators will be kept several hundred yards away for safety reasons. However, this plan has not yet been confirmed by Tesla.
The second-generation Roadster debuted in November 2017. Tesla claimed at the time that the new car would accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 1.9 seconds, have a top speed of over 250 miles per hour, and a cruising range of 620 miles, and was scheduled to be delivered in 2020. Since then, the release time and mass production time have undergone at least eight adjustments.
Musk said in November 2025 that the new version of Roadster will be very different from the previously displayed models, and mass production will start 12 to 18 months after the official demonstration. According to this statement, even if the new car is unveiled in October this year, actual mass production may still have to wait until 2027 or 2028.
Tesla submitted two trademark applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in February this year, one of which showed a smoother vehicle silhouette with a squarer roof than the 2017 prototype. The company has also applied for a patent for single-piece composite seats and has recruited engineers responsible for the Roadster's battery manufacturing equipment.
Roadster is still available for pre-order, but Tesla has removed the price from its official website. The previously announced price of the car is US$200,000 for the basic version and US$250,000 for the Founder Series, with a reservation deposit of US$50,000.
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