Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the second generation Roadster has been delayed yet a second time, with production now set to begin in early 2022; roughly two years after the car was initially set to enter production. Tesla announced its $200,000 Roadster back in 2017, when Musk said the car would start being built in 2020. The infamous sports car was revealed alongside the Tesla Semi electric truck. The release was first pushed back to 2021 a year ago, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and has now been extended again to early 2022. Given its high price and status as the halo vehicle of the range, it would be fair to say the Roadster Supercar is not a priority for Tesla, and the company’s focus will be heavily on production of its Model 3, the upcoming international rollout of the Model X, which will sell in far greater numbers than the Roadster.
In a tweet, Musk suggested that work on the car’s “Tri-motor drive system & advanced battery work” were to blame for the delay. Musk says that Tesla hopes to finish engineering this year, and to have a “release candidate design drivable in late summer.”
The hope, is that whenever it does arrive hopefully on time as stated this time around, the Roadster will be a vehicle with formidable specs. When it was announced, Musk said that Roadster would be able to hit 620 miles on a single charge, and hinted at a top speed in excess of 250 mph. He also said that its triple-motor drive system (which includes one electric motor in the front and two at the rear) will allow the car to accelerate from 0 to 60 in just 1.9 seconds, and from 0 to 100 in 4.2. This would be record breaking for a street legal car in many ways.
By: Tesla
