Elon Musk has been dropping hints that Tesla is about to unveil a major update on its long-awaited Roadster — and behind the scenes, the automaker intensified efforts around the electric sports car this summer, Business Insider has learned.
It marks the first instance of substantial activity on the program in more than a year, people with knowledge of the project said. Designs for the vehicle seen by insiders as recently as this year showed it as a two-seater with butterfly doors, which would be a departure from the four-seater prototype Musk unveiled in 2017. The original concept featured traditional doors and a typical sports car profile.
One of the people said that based on the current status of the project, the company is at least two to three years from production.
The design process for a new vehicle is often fluid, and it's unclear what the final product will look like. Tesla's design team has been known to experiment with a variety of options, the people said.
Between June and August, the company also hired at least five engineers to work on "aerodynamic prototypes" in California, according to a review of LinkedIn data.
A representative for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
Tesla mostly paused work on the Roadster after layoffs in April 2024, insiders said. The manager of the program, David Zhang, left the company that July, according to his LinkedIn profile.
"We'd all love to work on the Tesla Roadster soon," Musk said during an earnings call in October 2024. "We are working on it, but it has to come behind the more — things that have a more serious impact on the good of the world."
He also thanked Tesla's "long-suffering deposit-holders." Recently, reservation holders like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and tech influencer Marques Brownlee have said they canceled reservations for the vehicle and requested a refund on their $50,000 deposits. (Musk said that Altman received his money back within 24 hours.)
Built off the skeleton of a Lotus Elise, the original Roadster — Tesla's first-ever vehicle — was released in 2008. Musk announced a second-generation version of the sports car in 2017, promising a release date of 2020. The deadline has been repeatedly pushed back.
Over the past few months, Tesla has been dropping breadcrumbs about developments with the vehicle.
During a recent appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast, Musk said that the next-generation Roadster "has a shot at being the most memorable product unveil ever." Tesla will demo the vehicle "hopefully before the end of the year," he added.
Musk previously said the vehicle would be part of a collaboration with SpaceX. He has also said it would be able to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than a second, and he hinted at the possibility of a flying car.
During the podcast, he again nodded to the idea. "My friend Peter Thiel once reflected that the future is supposed to have flying cars, but we don't have flying cars. I think if Peter wants a flying car, he should be able to buy one," he said.
Tesla design boss Franz von Holzhausen said last month that the Roadster demo was on track for later in 2025. The carmaker also posted a California-based role that would work on manufacturing for the vehicle.
In August, the carmaker was granted a patent for an aerodynamic system that could allow a vehicle to stick to the road at high speeds.
The patent design could be used for any Tesla vehicle, said Jae Wook Kim, a professor of aerodynamics and aeroacoustics at the University of Southampton. But, Kim added, the cost of adding the device makes it more likely that it would be installed on more premium vehicles.
Earnings decks dating back to January 2020 have said that the vehicle is in design "development."
Do you work for Tesla or have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at gkay@jkmperu.com or Signal at 248-894-6012. Use a personal email address, a nonwork device, and nonwork WiFi; here's our guide to sharing information securely.
