Tesla delays reveal of production Roadster 2 to April Fools’ Day
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Thursday the company will reveal the production version of its second-generation Roadster supercar on April 1, 2026 — nearly nine years after he first revealed the project.
Musk, who is famous for missing deadlines, said during Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting that he chose April Fools’ Day in part because it affords “some deniability.”
“Like, I could say I was just kidding” if it happens to be later, he said.
Revealing the production version of the new Roadster next year is in itself a delay. Just one week ago he appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and repeated his claim that he wanted to show off the car by year’s end.
Musk stressed Thursday the car “will be very different from what was shown previously,” and again teased that the demo will be the “most exciting, whether it works or not, demo ever of any product” — a not-so-sly nod to the fact that he’s spent years trying to make the new Roadster fly in some fashion, possibly with SpaceX-built thrusters.
Musk went on to say that he believes the second-generation Roadster won’t go into production until 12 to 18 months after the April reveal.
During the Q&A portion of the meeting, one shareholder asked Musk if customers who preordered the “Founders Series” version of the new Roadsters could be invited to the reveal event. Those were the customers who plopped down $250,000 to secure special versions of the car in 2017.
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“Sure, absolutely,” Musk answered. “It’s the least we can do for our long-suffering Roadster reservation holders.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was one of those long-time sufferers who recently attempted to cancel the reservation — and initially failed to get a refund — for the long-promised EV.
Earlier this month, Altman posted on X a “tale in three acts,” which was comprised of several screenshots showing his initial reservation, a request for a refund of the $50,000 reservation fee, and his email bouncing back.
“I really was excited for the car!” Altman wrote. “And I understand delays. But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait.”
Musk, who has openly sparred with Altman for years, went on the attack. “And you forgot to mention act 4, where this issue was fixed and you received a refund within 24 hours,” Musk wrote. “But that is in your nature.”
Sean O’Kane is a reporter who has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the transportation industry, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News where he helped break stories about some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted many short- and long-form videos, performed product and editorial photography, and once nearly passed out in a Red Bull Air Race plane.
You can contact or verify outreach from Sean by emailing sean.okane@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at okane.01 on Signal.
