Tesla delays reveal of production Roadster 2 to April Fools’ Day

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday that the company will unveil the production version of the second generation of its Roadster supercar on April 1, 2026, nearly nine years after the project was first revealed.

Musk, famous for not meeting deadlines, said during Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting that he chose April Fool’s Day in part because it provides “some deniability.”

“I could tell I was just kidding” if it happened later, he said.

Unveiling the production version of the new Roadster next year is in itself a delay. Just a week ago he appeared on Joe Rogan’s show and repeated his claim that he wanted to show off the car by the end of the year.

Musk confirmed on Thursday that the car “will be very different from what has been shown previously,” and once again teased that the demo would be “the most exciting, whether it works or not, demo ever for any product” — a not-so-subtle reference to the fact that he has spent years trying to get the new Roadster to somehow fly, perhaps using propulsion engines built by SpaceX.

Musk went on to say that he believes the second generation Roadster will not go into production for another 12 to 18 months. after April revealed.

During the Q&A portion of the meeting, a shareholder asked Musk if customers who pre-ordered the Founders Series edition of the new Roadsters could be invited to the reveal event. These are the customers who spent $250,000 to secure special editions of the car in 2017.

“Sure, sure,” Musk replied. “This is the least we can do for our long-suffering Roadster reservation holders.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was one of those long-suffering sufferers who recently tried to cancel — and initially failed to get a refund of — their long-promised electric car.

Earlier this month, Altman posted on

“I was really excited about the car!” “I understand the delay,” Altman wrote. But 7.5 years was a long time to wait.”

Musk, who has publicly sparred with Altman for years, continued the attack. “You forgot to mention Chapter 4. This issue was fixed and your money was refunded within 24 hours,” Musk wrote. “But it’s in your nature.”