The Tesla Roadster reveal is finally set for October 1. Tesla posted “Go for launch” on X on September 12, and its Roadster page now counts down to that date. In other words, the hypercar gets its unveiling nearly nine years after Tesla first showed the prototype.
Elon Musk replied to the post a day later with three words that set the tone for the event.
It’s out of this world
Elon Musk, September 13
The event details
Tesla has not published a venue or a stream time. The invitations sent to reservation holders do. Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt posted his digital ticket on X, and Not a Tesla App reported the details. The event runs in Waco, Texas at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on October 1. In addition, guests must RSVP before midnight on September 16. Entry, meanwhile, is non-transferable and limited to people 21 and older.
Waco matters for what sits next door: SpaceX tests rockets at McGregor, about 20 minutes away.
What “Go for launch” hints at
The teaser graphic bathes the red Roadster in vertical launch-pad lighting and stamps the date 10.01 across it. That framing points to the SpaceX thruster package Tesla teased with the original prototype. Musk has claimed those cold-gas thrusters could let the car hit 60 mph in under a second, or even lift it off the ground briefly.
The Information reported in August that Tesla planned the demonstration at the McGregor site, according to Electrek’s account of that report. It said Tesla would operate the car remotely, with nobody inside. Spectators would stand several hundred yards back, because the thrusters are loud enough to damage eardrums. Electrek added that it could not learn whether Tesla would stream the stunt live or release edited footage afterward. Tesla has confirmed none of it. Either way, the reveal could be as much a stunt as a product launch.
Nine years in the making
Tesla first revealed the second-generation Roadster prototype in 2017. It promised 0-to-60 mph acceleration in under two seconds, a top speed above 250 mph, and more than 600 miles of range. The base model started at $200,000, while a Founder’s Series variant cost $250,000.
Some early reservations have since been canceled, including those of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee. Meanwhile, Tesla kept shipping other things, from the Cybercab robotaxi now carrying passengers in Austin to the range upgrade it once gave the original Roadster. On October 1, the car that started the company finally gets its turn.
