Tesla to unveil second-generation Roadster on October 1QuartzCris TolomiaMon, September 14, 2026 at 12:20 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleTesla to unveil second-generation Roadster on October 1Tesla set an October 1 reveal date for its second-generation Roadster, posting "Go for launch" on X alongside a graphic displaying "10.01." CEO Elon Musk later replied to the post, writing, "New Tesla Roadster Unveil 10.01."The demonstration is expected to take place at SpaceX's rocket test facility in McGregor, Texas, according to Reuters. The graphic accompanying Tesla's post appears to reference the cold gas thrusters developed by SpaceX that are associated with the vehicle, according to TechCrunch.Tesla debuted the next-generation Roadster in November 2017, with the company anticipating at the time that customers would receive vehicles starting in 2020. Years of setbacks have followed. According to Reuters, Tesla scrapped a design rooted in Model S Plaid underpinnings and pivoted to an entirely new carbon fiber architecture for the Roadster.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe limited-edition model Tesla intends to demonstrate in Texas would not be road-legal and may carry a price tag in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or higher. The thrusters produce enough noise to risk hearing injury, so the car will run without anyone inside while onlookers are positioned several hundred yards away. Elon Musk has told staff that the demonstration will be difficult to execute and could go wrong.The original concept for the demonstration was more ambitious. Earlier plans had the car launching up a magnetized ramp, flipping inverted, recovering, and sustaining flight — ambitions that have since been reduced. "We started off thinking we were almost making an aircraft and ended up with something closer to hovering," one person with knowledge of the program said.According to TechCrunch, Musk has indicated that manufacturing of the Roadster remains at least a year to a year and a half away, regardless of what the October event shows.The Roadster announcement follows Tesla's introduction of rides in its two-seater Cybercab in limited areas of Austin, Texas, according to Reuters. Musk has described the Cybercab as a cornerstone of his broader vision for Tesla's future in autonomous transportation.
