Over three years have passed since the all-new Tesla Roadster was revealed. At the time, it was promised that production would start in 2020, which as keen calendar enthusiasts will tell you, is a year that has been and gone.
It turns out Tesla won’t be building it in 2021 either. We know this not through an official announcement, but in typical Tesla fashion, via CEO Elon Musk replying to a Tweet.
As Musk wrote, engineering only finished this year, as the “tri-motor drive system & advanced battery work were important precursors” to getting the design nailed down, apparently. Those will be key to the Roadster’s predicted acceleration of 0-60 MPH in 1.9 seconds, 250 MPH top speed and 600 mile range.
The Roadster price was $200,000 at launch, and folks who wanted to get one first were invited to put down $50,000 to make a reservation, or $250,000 for the “Founder’s Edition” model. Musk did say that Tesla is aiming to have a release candidate model hit the road this year, so hopefully we’ll get a look at the final model, performance and price sometime in 2021.
The Roadster will support over-the-air software updates, meaning performance, autonomous features and safety systems can be boosted even after a car has been purchased. Recent examples of Tesla updates have enabled quicker 0-60mph times and enhanced Autopilot functionality.
