Tesla Roadster delayed again, this time until 2023 … possibly
Looking forward to the new Tesla Roadster?
Best settle in with a few good books and an overseas holiday (or three) … because the latest Tesla to be delayed is the Roadster.
The tri-motor two-door four-seater was supposed to mark the return of the model that started it all for Tesla way back in 2008, the second generation of the car that proved EVs could be fast and fun.
Unveiled in 2017 with a promise it would be on sale in 2020, Tesla boss (and spokesperson) Elon Musk has now pushed the launch of the all-new Roadster back until at least 2023.
That’s a big departure from the “we’re making it now” claim he made when revealing the car in 2017.
On his Twitter account – effectively the communications mouthpiece for Tesla now that it does not have a media or communications department – Musk referenced supply chain issues as pushing the anticipated delivery date of the Roadster back.
When asked for an update on the Roadster, he said: “2021 has been the year of super crazy supply chain shortages, so it wouldn’t matter if we had 17 new products, as none would ship. Assuming 2022 is not mega drama, new Roadster should ship in 2023.”
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All of which sounds like 2023 – a full six years after the car was unveiled – is a best-case scenario for the much-hyped Roadster and that there’s every chance it’ll be pushed back beyond that.
Some in the Twitter-sphere have already unleashed on Tesla, with one apparent reservation holder who claims to have paid for the car up front saying “no ROI or interest for years is DISAPPOINTING” while others are questioning whether the Roadster will ever make it to production.
In some ways the latest Roadster delay hardly surprising.
Remember, the Roadster is a plaything for Tesla, a way to pay homage to the original Roadster and stick a stake in the heart of performance car makers such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche.
It’s certainly not the main game – that’d be the Model 3, soon-to-arrive-in-Australia Model Y and the promised Model 2 small car.
That’s because it’s not the sort of car that will sell in big volumes – no expensive sports car ever does – and it is volume that makes car companies successful and profitable.
You could argue Tesla has bigger things to worry about, such as getting the (delayed) Cybertruck to market, getting the (delayed) Semi to market and working on the US$25K Tesla Model 2 small car that really could be very serious volume. There’s also some factories it is working on, such as those in Berlin and Texas.
But then again, the Roadster is a way to showcase the latest and greatest, including the (delayed) new battery technology while utilising the already-in-production three-motor setup in the Model S Plaid, which doesn’t arrive in Australia until late 2022 at the earliest, according to Tesla.
Two of those motors are planned to drive the rear wheels and the third looking after the front, giving an all-wheel drive setup. The 0-100km/h claim is 2.1 seconds, although that includes “rollout”, which basically means the car is already moving when the stopwatch starts.
Would-be Australian owners of the Roadster are being asked to stump up a $66,000 deposit for the car. If you want the limited-edition Founders Series (just 1000 will be made, apparently) then you need to pay the full $326,000 up front.
And start hoping that one day the car will turn up…
The good news is that deposit – which secures “the approximate priority for taking delivery of your Tesla Roadster” – is fully refundable and can be cancelled at any time.
There are also some other issues for those who popped down their deposits early on.
The car they might one day get will not be what was promised.
When he unveiled the Roadster prototype in 2017 Musk claimed it would be the fastest production car “period”.
He said it would hit 60 miles per hour in 1.9 seconds and cover the benchmark quarter mile in 8.9 seconds, making it “the first time that any production car has broken nine seconds in the quarter mile”.
“These are all world records.”
Err, except that they’re not.
Firstly, the Roadster isn’t a production car yet. And secondly, at least one other car has gone quicker, with others lining up.
The Rimac Nevera – by a tiny Croatian EV startup known for its tech and now the owner of Bugatti – is faster than the claims for the Tesla Roadster.
And the Pininfarina Battista is also set to be quicker.
And with another three years before it (might) finally be available there’s every chance there will be more cars out-accelerating the Roadster.
Looking at how Porsche does business we’d be stunned if there wasn’t a quicker version of the Taycan out by then. Plus Porsche is reportedly working on an EV hypercar.
Lamborghini and Ferrari also have a long history of making faster cars, and with each turning to electric motors we can only expect that to increase.
Even the promised Dodge EV muscle car is a fair chance to beat the Tesla Roadster down the drag strip.
Then again, with another three years of development – possibly longer – Tesla may be able to step things up a bit.
Here’s hoping for those owners who stumped up their cash early.
