Tesla-stans have had to wait nine long years for the new Tesla Roadster. The car is finally getting ready for its close-up, but you’ll need to plop down $50K to reserve one.
Tesla just reopened Roadster reservations, asking buyers to put down $5,000 upfront by credit card, described as fully refundable, then wire an additional $45,000 within 10 days to lock in their spot, according to Fox Business News.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because Tesla first opened $50,000 Roadster reservations back in November 2017, promising production by 2020. Nearly nine years later, that original batch of buyers still hasn’t received a single car. Some have also struggled just to get their deposits back after canceling, including YouTuber Marques Brownlee and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, both of whom went public with refund frustrations this year.
This time, deposits are opening before anyone’s even seen the car. Tesla plans to reveal pricing, specs and production targets at an event Oct. 1 near Waco, Texas. Elon Musk has spent months teasing the reveal, including a demo built around SpaceX-designed cold gas thrusters that he claims will let the car “fly,” or at least hover. “It’ll be a banger,” he said at the All-In Summit this month. “Excitement guaranteed. Success is not guaranteed, but excitement is.”
Prediction markets aren’t exactly convinced. On Polymarket, bettors currently give a Roadster delivery by the end of 2026 just a 4.5% chance.
Tesla-stans have had to wait nine long years for the new Tesla Roadster. The car is finally getting ready for its close-up, but you’ll need to plop down $50K to reserve one.
Tesla just reopened Roadster reservations, asking buyers to put down $5,000 upfront by credit card, described as fully refundable, then wire an additional $45,000 within 10 days to lock in their spot, according to Fox Business News.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because Tesla first opened $50,000 Roadster reservations back in November 2017, promising production by 2020. Nearly nine years later, that original batch of buyers still hasn’t received a single car. Some have also struggled just to get their deposits back after canceling, including YouTuber Marques Brownlee and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, both of whom went public with refund frustrations this year.
This time, deposits are opening before anyone’s even seen the car. Tesla plans to reveal pricing, specs and production targets at an event Oct. 1 near Waco, Texas. Elon Musk has spent months teasing the reveal, including a demo built around SpaceX-designed cold gas thrusters that he claims will let the car “fly,” or at least hover. “It’ll be a banger,” he said at the All-In Summit this month. “Excitement guaranteed. Success is not guaranteed, but excitement is.”
Prediction markets aren’t exactly convinced. On Polymarket, bettors currently give a Roadster delivery by the end of 2026 just a 4.5% chance.
