Tesla has reopened reservations for the next-generation Roadster, asking buyers to deposit $50,000 about two weeks before the car is revealed.
See also: Tesla files new trademarks for Roadster ahead of launch
The reservation page went live this week ahead of the Oct. 1 unveiling near Waco, Texas. It's the second time Tesla has raised $50,000 for the Roadster. The first group of depositors is still waiting, nearly nine years later.
The page asks for $5,000 via credit card today, which is described as “fully refundable,” followed by a $45,000 transfer via bank transfer that must be completed within 10 days. The reservation is not final until the transfer is completed.
Tesla began accepting deposits for the Roadster in November 2017, when it showed a prototype on stage during the Semi event. The terms were the same then, $50,000 for a standard reservation, plus $250,000 for the “Founders Series” which required the full amount up front. Production was promised for 2020.
That never happened. The 2017 Roadster has been delayed at least eight times, and not a single unit has been delivered. Reservation holders, including Marques Brownlee (who waited eight years), have even struggled to get their deposits back, with Tesla initially holding back $5,000. Sam Altman says he was ignored when he tried to cancel his reservation.
So the new reservations pose a familiar question: give Tesla $50,000 now and trust it to build the car later. Except this time, buyers are putting down the money before Tesla even shows the production version.
Tesla says the Oct. 1 event will reveal pricing, specifications and production targets. Elon Musk has spent months teasing a demonstration based on cold-gas thrusters designed by SpaceX that he says will allow the car to “fly,” or at least hover. The demonstration car is expected to be remote-controlled, will not be street-legal and could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars on its own.
See also: Tesla is expected to reveal the new Tesla Roadster after years
Musk is not hiding his expectations. “It’s going to be spectacular. The thrill is guaranteed. The success is not guaranteed, but the thrill is,” he said at the All-In Summit this month. He added that Tesla needs a live audience “to confirm that this is not AI.”
The 2017 car promised a 620-mile range, a 0-60 mph time under 1.9 seconds, and a top speed in excess of 250 mph for a base price of $200,000. The latest teasers show a redesign with Tesla’s angular “Cyber” aesthetic and a full-width light bar borrowed from the robo-taxi/Cybertruck line. The Roadster didn’t need a redesign, it needed to deliver.
The prediction markets aren’t buying it either. At Polymarket, a contract for the Roadster to reach customers by the end of 2026 is priced at under 5%, though that market is thinly traded. A separate contract for 2027 is priced at around 61%.
Full disclosure: I'm one of the people waiting. I own two Founders Series Roadster referral rewards from Tesla's old referral program, and this week Tesla quietly replaced the temporary art on my account with the new teaser image, the same one that's now on the reservations page.
We’ve seen this movie before. In 2017, Tesla took $50,000 in deposits, promised delivery in 2020, and then spent the better part of a decade without building the car. Those buyers still don’t own a Roadster. Now Tesla is following the same strategy and collecting the money before anyone sees the production version.
See also: Newly discovered asteroid is finally a Tesla Roadster
The October 1st event may finally give us a production-intent Roadster, with a real price and a real timeline. But I won't trust that to happen until the cars are actually in customers' hands.
