Just days after Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned that the company is heading into “a few tough quarters,” Tesla execs appear to be shifting the spotlight with a flashy distraction: a possible sneak peek at the long-delayed next-gen Roadster. The name is becoming almost a legend.
According to Teslarati, Tesla’s Senior VP of Powertrain Engineering, Lars Moravy, recently hinted that the automaker is gearing up for “a super cool demo” of the long-awaited electric sports car. This comes shortly after Musk teased what he called “the most epic demo ever” to happen before the end of the year.
The next-gen Roadster was first revealed in 2018 alongside Tesla’s semi-truck, making bold promises of industry-defining performance: 0 to 60 mph in under two seconds, a 500-mile range and record-breaking speed. But in the years since, the car has remained vaporware, nothing more than hype and concepts, with some buyers having placed $50,000 deposits and still waiting.
Elon Musk has continued to stoke excitement with wild claims, including a “SpaceX package” featuring cold gas thrusters that could allegedly provide lateral acceleration, or even brief hovering. In true Musk fashion, he once told Joe Rogan he wanted the Roadster to “hover,” though he admitted he wasn’t quite sure how to do that without “killing people”.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s lineup has lost some of its shine. The Cybertruck, once hyped as revolutionary, has faced technical issues and underwhelming sales. Some Reddit users have grown cynical, asking whether a car concept introduced nearly a decade ago can still be relevant in a rapidly evolving market.
With declining global sales, an aging vehicle lineup, and Musk increasingly focused on robotaxis and humanoid robots, Tesla seems to be banking on nostalgia and spectacle to regain momentum. Whether this Roadster reveal is the spark Tesla needs is anyone’s guess.
