On Thursday, Elon Musk confirmed in a Twitter response that production for Tesla’s Roadster is expected to start in 2022, with engineering wrapping up later this year. The tweet was in reply to a user asking, “what happened to the roadster?”
“Finishing engineering this year, production starts next year. Aiming to have release candidate design drivable late summer. Tri-motor drive system & advanced battery work were important precursors,” said Musk.
The Roadster, a luxury sports car and one of Tesla’s most highly-anticipated releases to come, was originally built in 2008, then re-announced as a concept in November 2017.
At the time, Musk shared that the vehicle would be able to go 0-60 in just 1.9 seconds, with a top speed of over 250 mph – feats, as of yet, unheard of for any electric vehicle (EV).
What happened to the roadster?
— 🐶 Earl of FrunkPuppy 🐶 (@28delayslater) January 28, 2021
Finishing engineering this year, production starts next year. Aiming to have release candidate design drivable late summer. Tri-motor drive system & advanced battery work were important precursors.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2021
Last year, Musk also shared that the Roadster would include its own special colors, mirroring the original 2008 Roadster which offered 13 different exterior options: arctic white, brilliant yellow metallic, electric blue, fusion red, glacier blue metallic, jet black, obsidian black metallic, racing green, radiant red metallic, sterling silver metallic, thunder gray, twilight blue metallic, and very orange.
It isn’t clear whether the new Roadster will offer the same color options, even if it’s likely to offer several options in general.
Tesla’s Model S Plaid and Plaid+, another highly-anticipated luxury sports vehicle, will begin deliveries in March and later this year respectively. Still, the Model S Plaid will be no match for the Roadster, according to Musk, and that’s definitely saying something.
