Tesla schedules October 1 Roadster reveal in Waco, Texas
Tesla has invited reservation holders to an October 1 event in Waco, Texas, to unveil its next-generation Roadster and demonstrate the SpaceX-developed thruster package.
Tesla posted an image on X on Saturday showing its upcoming Roadster on a launch-pad-like platform with the date “10.01” and the caption “Go for launch.” A countdown timer on the Roadster order page now points to the same day, which falls on a Thursday. Formal invitations shared on X indicate the event will be held in Waco, Texas, about 90 minutes north of the company’s Austin headquarters, and will begin at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. Reservations must be confirmed by midnight on September 16, and attendance is limited to guests 21 years of age or older; invitations are non-transferable.
The reveal is expected to focus on the SpaceX-developed thruster system, internally codenamed A71, which uses cold-gas thrusters fed by a composite overwrapped pressure vessel similar to those on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets. Elon Musk has said a thruster-equipped Roadster could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 1.1 seconds, a performance that would not be street-legal and may be offered as a limited, track-only version.
Tesla’s standard Roadster will retain the pricing announced in 2017, with a $200,000 base model and a $250,000 Founders Series. Production is slated for Gigafactory Texas, with Lars Moravy, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, indicating a target launch window of 2027-2028, roughly a year and a half after the upcoming demonstration.
“We are excited to share the next chapter of the Roadster with our reservation holders,” a Tesla spokesperson said in the invitation.
Separately, Tesla has not issued an official comment on a recent Manhattan crash involving a Model Y; Elon Musk responded on X, stating the incident was unrelated to the vehicle’s Autopilot system.