Elon Musk made a rare comment about the Tesla Roadster production, which had been delayed several times, and hinted at the start of production in California within 12 to 18 months.
When Tesla first introduced the new Roadster in 2017, Musk said it would arrive in 2020. While Tesla never officially delayed the Roadster, Musk said last year that it was not a priority, hinting that production has likely exceeded 2020.
Earlier this year, Musk hinted that Tesla Roadster was delayed until 2022 when the automaker focuses on the Cybertruck. However, the CEO has now made some rare new comments about the production of the next-generation Tesla Roadster.
During the conference call that followed the release of Tesla’s second-quarter 2020 financial results, Musk tentatively confirmed that Tesla plans to build the Roadster in California, and mentioned the new vehicle as part of Tesla’s updated product roadmap for reach production in the next 12 to 18 months.
It would position the start of production in mid to late 2021, around the same time that Tesla plans to launch the new Cybertruck, to be built in Austin, Texas.
While the CEO was using tentative language when speaking about the product roadmap, this is the clearest timeline for the new Roadster that Tesla has communicated to date.
In previous comments, Musk stated that the new Roadster is more of a “dessert” for Tesla, and while it won’t have much of an impact on electrification due to its price, it serves as a “knock” for the combustion engine by becoming a Car. “halo” that dominates the supercar segment.
Upon first introducing the vehicle, Musk claimed a list of incredibly impressive specs for the new Roadster, which includes 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, 620 miles of range, and more.
At the time, the CEO said those were the specifications for the Roadster’s “base version,” and the CEO reiterated that during the new interview, without confirming the specifications for the high-end version.
Additionally, Musk confirmed that the “SpaceX package” is still in the plans for the new Tesla Roadster. According to his previous comments, the “SpaceX package” consists of a group of cold air thrusters around the car to improve performance.
Earlier this year, the CEO said Tesla could give an update on the new Roadster and Tesla Semi later this year. The latter was most prominently discussed during the earnings call with Jerome Guillén, the Tesla executive behind the show, saying the company is making progress to bring the vehicle into production next year.
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