Tesla Roadster 2 production update tips imminent launch

It's been a while since there was any official word on the Tesla Roadster 2 that was announced as far back as 2017, putting it even behind the much-maligned and -delayed Cybertruck in terms of long development processes. Now, thanks to a question posed at Tesla's recent 2024 Q2 earnings call, there is finally some news about the new Roadster — even if it is somewhat vague and likely not particularly comforting to those that have paid the $50,000 deposit. 

After the official Tesla Q2 2024 earnings call (listen via YouTube below), a listener posed a question to CEO, Elon Musk, about the next-gen Roadster. In response, Musk indicated that Tesla had basically completed the development of the Roadster 2, although there are still a few upgrades that were being worked on. 

“With respect to Roadster, we’ve completed most of the engineering. And I think there are still some upgrades we want to make to it, but we expect to be in production with Roadster next year. It will be something special. Like the whole thing might be.”

This isn't the first time Musk promised that the next-gen Roadster would enter production in the near future, however. The Roadster 2 was originally promised for 2021 and then later pushed back several times, with production delays leading some to assume the new Roadster was silently cancelled. 

When Roadster 2 was initially announced, Musk promised a range of 620 miles (ca. 998 km) and 0–60 mph times of 1.9 seconds. The outlandish claims only grew from there, with an early 2024 post from Musk on X boasting 0–60 mph acceleration of under a second and claiming that Tesla was working with SpaceX to make the next-gen Roadster fly using rocket propulsion. 

Comically, those exaggerated acceleration claims were subsequently debunked by Mate Rimac, CEO of the company behind the mind-bendingly fast Rimac Nevera, who found in tests that acceleration of that sort would only be possible using thrusters, which present their own problems. The 620-mile range claim has also been called into question by many online, with the main issues being the excessive size and weight of the battery pack required for the long range.