After a two-week delay, the Tesla (TSLA) Roadster event is back on — for now.
This week, Tesla added a countdown clock to its Tesla Roadster website, stating that the reveal would occur at 7:55 p.m. CDT on Oct. 15, two weeks after the initial Oct. 1 reveal date. Tesla said the reveal was pushed back due to weather conditions at the demo site, SpaceX’s (SPCX) Rocket Development and Testing facility in Waco, Texas. The event will be streamed on Tesla’s X account.
Stormy weather would’ve likely hampered the Roadster’s rumored hovering or flying ability. The Information reported several weeks ago that the reveal event on Oct. 1 could include a demonstration of a limited-edition version of the Roadster equipped with cold-gas thrusters developed in collaboration with SpaceX (SPCX), possibly including airborne flight.
Tesla is asking prospective buyers to put down a $5,000 deposit, followed by a $45,000 wire transfer due within 10 days of the initial deposit.
Tesla has not said how much the new Roadster will cost, though it is expected to exceed $250,000. However, when Tesla announced the 7:55 p.m. CDT reveal time on X.com, CEO Elon Musk replied, “Timing is everything,” suggesting the digits may have some meaning.
Longtime analyst and Tesla bull Pierre Ferragu suggested it could have something to do with the price, then coyly threw out the number $75,990. He later followed up with the idea that the Roadster event should start at “7:59:90.” Some have suggested this could refer to the starting price of the car’s base model or to a particular track time the Roadster achieved.
The original Roadster, released in 2008 and on sale until 2012, was Tesla’s first-ever EV and used a Lotus Elise chassis.
Tesla announced its successor way back in 2017, took in reservations with those high deposits, and originally said deliveries would begin in 2020. Those initial reservation holders have been waiting for quite a long time.
During his appearance on the All-In Summit, Musk brought up the Tesla Roadster.
“It’ll be a banger. Excitement guaranteed. Success is not guaranteed, but excitement is,” he added, with All-In host Jason Calacanis claiming he had seen a preview of the event, and that the demo would “blow people’s minds.”
Pras Subramanian is Lead Auto Reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
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Source: finance.yahoo.com
