'Success is not guaranteed, but excitement is' — Tesla wants your money for the Roadster it hasn’t unveiled yetTechRadarLeon PoultneyMon, September 21, 2026 at 1:14 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleWhen you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.Credit: Tesla RoadsterTesla has re-opened the order books for its long-awaited RoadsterIt is asking buyers for a $50,000 depositSome customers have been waiting since 2017 for news of their carsTesla has announced that it will finally reveal the next generation Roadster in October during a glitzy event in Waco, Texas... although we still really don't know what to expect.AdvertisementAdvertisementReports suggest the high-performance EV could use cold-gas thrusters, developed by SpaceX, to produce previously unseen levels of acceleration, while others have stated that the car itself has received a 'Cyber' redesign since the 2017 car was first unveiled.What we do know is that Tesla wants your money. It has re-opened the reservations list to be among the first allocated build slots of the electric sports car when (or if) it eventually goes on sale.Similarly to the 2017 launch, the EV company is asking for a $5,000 "fully-refundable" instant credit or debit card payment, followed by a $45,000 wire transfer due within 10 days to reserve a build slot.While we are still firmly left in the dark about the final cost of the upcoming Roadster, it was previously stated that customers would have to hand over a further $250,000 for a "Founders Series" vehicle, which was initially claimed to have been promised for the year 2020.AdvertisementAdvertisementBack then, Tesla customers were backing a promise of a 600+ mile electric range, a sub-2 second 0-60mph sprint time and a top speed in excess of 250mph.Fast-forward nine years and the speculation has been blown up to sci-fi proportions, but more importantly, all of those original customers are yet to receive a new vehicle.Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that the October demonstration will be a "banger" and that the company needed to invite an audience to "vouch for the fact that this is not AI," but those who placed deposits are likely just hoping a real vehicle arrives on stage.Analysis: all speculation?Credit: TeslaWe can spend hours theorizing about what we might see during Tesla's October Roadster event, whether that's a vehicle that hovers for a brief time or the use of banned F1 aero tech that creates massive amounts of downforce... it's all up for discussion.AdvertisementAdvertisementAlas, it's worth noting that Tesla hasn't launched an all-new model since the Cybertruck, which wasn't exactly the success story that the company had hoped. In fact, sales of that model have been in steep decline since its initial reveal in 2023.The Cybertruck program also proved that it pays to take Tesla's facts with a pinch of salt, as everything from its off-road abilities, electric range, build quality and even price have been brought into question during its lifetime.October 1 will hopefully reveal all. But those queuing to place a deposit should proceed with caution.
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