Elon Musk, the visionary CEO of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, is resurrecting plans for the highly-anticipated Tesla Roadster. In a series of posts on social media, Musk announced that the next-generation Roadster will be a collaborative effort between Tesla and SpaceX. The car is set to be unveiled later this year, with plans to ship the vehicle in the following year.
This revival comes several years after Musk first unveiled the prototype of the second-generation Roadster back in 2017. At that time, Musk promised delivery of the car within three years. Tesla began accepting reservations for the Roadster, charging up to $250,000 per reservation as the company faced financial challenges and worked on ramping up production of their Model 3 sedans.
In his recent social media posts, Musk hyped up the Roadster and revisited his past statements. He mentioned a previous post from June 2018 where he alluded to the possibility of offering a SpaceX rocket thruster option package for the Roadster. In that post, Musk shared that he had to choose between buying a house or a McLaren after selling his first company, and he opted for the car. Reflecting on his previous comment, he provocatively wrote, "You will love the new Roadster more than your house."
Interestingly, Musk did not mention the recent high-performance electric car unveiled by BYD Co., one of Tesla's top competitors in the electric vehicle market. BYD's Yangwang U9 is a supercar priced at 1.68 million yuan ($233,400) that aims to compete with gas-guzzlers from renowned brands like Ferrari and Lamborghini. The U9 boasts an impressive acceleration time of 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in just 2.36 seconds, but Musk is setting an even more ambitious goal for the Roadster with a target of less than 1 second zero-to-60 mph time.
The original Tesla Roadster, which was based on the Lotus Elise chassis, went out of production in 2012 as Tesla shifted focus to the Model S sedan. Musk famously launched his personal cherry red Roadster into orbit around the sun aboard a SpaceX rocket in February 2018, capturing the world's attention.
Now, with the renewed excitement and collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk is aiming to deliver a groundbreaking and highly-anticipated sports car to the market. The Tesla Roadster has the potential to redefine performance standards, solidifying Tesla's position as a leader in the electric vehicle industry. As we eagerly await its unveiling later this year, anticipation is building for what Musk and his teams have in store for automotive enthusiasts around the world.