A red backdrop, a barely legible silhouette, a cryptic date “10.01” and a message “Go for launch“. In a few blurry pixels posted on X, Tesla has reignited one of its most infamous long-promised projects: the return of the second-generation Roadster, promised for nearly a decade and repeatedly delayed.
Behind this simple visual, one detail changes everything for enthusiasts: the countdown displayed on the official Tesla Roadster page now points to October 1, 2026. On that day, the brand plans a major reveal event around its electric supercar, with a teaser that already hints at a SpaceX-style thruster pack. And the more you study the image, the more you feel Tesla is hiding something enormous beneath that still-virtual body.
A ‘Go for launch’ teaser puts Roadster 2 in the media spotlight
The new signal came from X (the former Twitter) with a dark red image, the text “10.01” and the note “Go for launch”, pointing directly to the Roadster page on Tesla.com. The message does not name the model, but the link leaves no doubt: Tesla is gearing up for a major update around its four-seat coupe, long teased and then out of sight. On the official site, a countdown also leads to October 1, confirming the date without offering further details.
According to several invitations sent to a carefully curated guest list, the event is set to take place near Waco, Texas, just a short drive from SpaceX’s test site in McGregor. The image itself clearly leans into space imagery: a very low rear, launch-pad vibes, vertical beams of light that evoke jets of gas beneath the chassis. Some observers even speculate the car is shown upside down, as if strapped to thrusters. Others say they can spot, in a dark stripe, the words “Where we’re going”, a wink that fuels the notion of an extraordinary technology demonstrator rather than a plain production model.
Roadster 2.0: Extreme promises, SpaceX pack, and a string of delays
To gauge the hype, you have to go back to November 16, 2017. That evening, during the Tesla Semi reveal, the company surprised everyone by unveiling the prototype of the second-generation Roadster. Elon Musk announced a 0 to 60 mph time of 1.9 seconds (about 0 to 96 km/h), a top speed exceeding 250 mph (just over 400 km/h), a 200 kWh battery, and an estimated range of 620 miles, roughly 1,000 kilometers. The car was to offer four seats and carried a base price of $200,000 (about €185,000), rising to $250,000 (around €230,000) for the special Founders Series. Production was promised for 2020.
Those timelines slipped year after year: 2020, then 2021, 2022, 2023, each time pushed back at shareholder meetings, with ever more ambitious performance promises along the way. As early as 2018, Elon Musk spoke of a package dubbed the “SpaceX option package”, made up of about ten small thrusters distributed around the car. According to him, this SpaceX-developed pack would allow the new Roadster to go from 0 to 60 mph in under a second—less than a second to reach about 96 km/h. He even labeled that performance “the least interesting part”, he told MotorTrend, hinting that the car could “fly a little”. He spoke then of unveiling a production-ready design before the end of 2024 and first deliveries in 2025. The fact that Tesla is now focusing attention on October 1, 2026 shows the timetable has moved again.
According to specialist outlets that have parsed the invitation, the Waco event will primarily be a demonstration and a full unveiling of the model, not the start of deliveries. The countdown on the official site mentions neither a dedicated factory nor production dates or targeted markets. No details are provided on this subject, including any potential European rollout or the certification of a potential SpaceX pack with cold-gas thrusters for open-road use.
For French enthusiasts, the Roadster remains, at this stage, a showcase of extreme technology more than a practical daily vehicle. The numbers and price tag would put it in the hypercar realm, well above the Model 3 or Model Y. That said, the October 1 event should finally show a near-production version, clarify whether the famed thrusters will truly be part of the equation… and answer whether Tesla’s most anticipated electric coupe will do more than fly a little in the specs.
