Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the second-generation Roadster will enter the production stage in 2022 and the rollout will follow soon after. But before the supercar's commercial debut, Musk said a release candidate design will be unveiled likely before the end of summer this year.
Tesla introduced the new Roadster in late 2017 and the company promised then a 2020 release date, which obviously turned out as another missed target for Musk. But the Tesla boss has an explanation for the delay - the engineering work took a longer time than expected and it will be finalized in the next few months.
"Tri-motor drive system and advanced battery work were important precursors," said Musk in a Twitter post.
The wait, however, should be worth the trouble as Tesla said the Roadster will still scream of the incredible specs first revealed by Musk more than three years ago. CNET said the 620 miles of range per charge remains part of the package and most importantly, the Tesla supercar will easily accelerate from zero to 60mph in under two seconds as originally advertised.
The latest update should assure those who paid $50,000 to be on the priority list of when the Roadster becomes available that the sports car is still a go. Musk previously stated that the pushback was due to other ongoing projects deemed more pressing.
The Tesla Cybertruck, for instance, distracted the attention away from the Roadster but with the electric pickup now geared to start minimal delivery before the end of 2021, the automaker has more time to focus on the supercar's development.
Electrek said the adjusted Roadster timeline shared by Musk is encouraging. The likelihood of a drivable prototype becoming public in the second half of 2021 signaled that Tesla is ready for mass production in the early months of the following year.
If no further delays will pop up in between, it should be fair to assume that a Tesla release date is happening at around the same time.
In any case, Musk is putting emphasis on the anticipated high-performance capabilities. This is in line with the newly revealed Model S Plaid variant, which according to Tesla will boast of insane performance specs.
Being the Tesla supercar, the Roadster will be several levels better and as confirmed by Musk, the electric sports car will benefit from the company's "SpaceX package" technology. To best describe how the Roadster will essentially behave when on the road, Musk said the EV will be "part rocket."
