AUSTIN, Texas — The second-generation Tesla Roadster, an all-electric hypercar that has spent nearly a decade in development, may finally be days away from its public debut. Speaking virtually to a crowd at the Tesla Takeover Europe event in Austria, Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen said the Roadster is coming "in a few weeks," a comment that reignited excitement around what could be the most ambitious vehicle the company has ever built.
The remark, confirmed by multiple attendees and shared on June 6, points toward a late-June or early-July reveal. It arrived just days after reports suggested Tesla might push the unveiling to August, and it injected fresh energy into a project that enthusiasts have followed since 2017.
Numbers That Still Read Like Science Fiction
Tesla continues to list targets for the Roadster that would place it in a class of its own. The company points to a 0-to-60 mph time of under 1.9 seconds, a top speed beyond 250 mph, and a range of roughly 620 miles on a single charge. A tri-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain is expected to deliver well over 1,000 horsepower.
Even more striking is the much-discussed SpaceX package, which would add cold gas thrusters to help the car reach a 0-to-60 time as low as 1.1 seconds. That feature, more than any spec-sheet figure, captures how the Roadster is meant to showcase the engineering crossover between Tesla and Elon Musk's other ventures.
A Halo Car That Anchors the Lineup
The Roadster has always been more than a performance flagship. It is a statement about what Tesla engineering can achieve, and it sits at the top of a lineup that keeps expanding in both directions. The company recently set a new efficiency benchmark with the Cybercab, the most efficient car it has ever produced, proof that its ambitions span the full spectrum from frugal to ferocious.
Von Holzhausen, who has shaped Tesla's design language since 2008, framed the Roadster as a reminder of the company's performance roots even as it pours resources into autonomy and robotics. For a brand increasingly defined by Full Self-Driving and the Cybercab, the Roadster offers a different kind of halo, one built around the thrill of driving rather than the convenience of being driven.
What Comes Next
If von Holzhausen's timeline holds, customers who placed $50,000 deposits years ago could finally see the production-intent car in the flesh within weeks. Whether the event takes the form of a full unveiling, a live demonstration, or the first deliveries, it would mark a milestone for electric supercars and a long-awaited payoff for some of Tesla's most patient supporters.
The Roadster would top a lineup that keeps widening, from the three-row Model Y L nearing its U.S. launch to the affordable Model 3, giving Tesla a true flagship to match its breadth. For a car once promised in 2020, the wait now appears nearly over, and the payoff could redefine what an electric performance car can be.
