Due out way back in 2020, the Tesla Roadster is now expected in 2026; here’s all we know so far. Whatever happened to the second-generation Tesla Roadster? It’s a question the automotive world has pondered for years now, but which we suspect comes up far more frequently in the homes of Tesla fans who stumped up a $50,000 deposit way back in 2017, yet are still waiting to receive their car.
![[The car is now expected to arrive with customers in 2026]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/31/15/0x0-Roadster_09.jpg)
The Roadster was revealed as a surprise after the launch of the Tesla Semi electric truck all the way back in November 2017. A successor to Tesla’s first ever car, also called the Roadster and launched in 2008, company boss Elon Musk said the new Roadster would arrive in 2020.
![[The car carries a price tag of $250,000]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/31/15/0x0-Roadster_01.jpg)
Now expected to land in 2026, the Roadster is an electric convertible sports car with 2+2 seating, making it a rival for the Polestar 6, also due out next year. Will we see anything of the Roadster in 2025? Or is Tesla’s focus now on the autonomous Cybercab and cut-price Model Q instead? Here’s everything we know so far, and we’ll add updates when fresh Tesla Roadster news comes to light.
At the 2017 reveal, a 2020 release date for the Roadster felt fairly conservative, even by Tesla’s lax timekeeping standards. But despite a few high-profile public outings for a Roadster prototype, and a stint in the world-famous Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, Elon Musk said in the spring of 2020 that production would start in 12 to 18 months’ time.
This was followed by a tweet from Musk in early 2021 saying production had been pushed back again, this time to 2022. The Tesla boss claimed engineering for the car would be completed in 2021, but by September that year he said production had been delayed again, this time until 2023.
