Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Thursday that the production version of the company’s second-generation Roadster supercar will be revealed on April 1, 2026. This date marks nearly nine years since Musk first introduced the project.
During Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting, Musk, known for his history of missed deadlines, mentioned that he picked April Fools’ Day partly for “some deniability.” He joked, “Like, I could say I was just kidding” if the reveal gets pushed back again.
Interestingly, this upcoming reveal is itself a delay. Just last week, Musk appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and reiterated his wish to showcase the car by the end of this year.
Musk emphasized that the new Roadster “will be very different from what was shown previously.” He also teased that the demo will be the “most exciting, whether it works or not, demo ever of any product.” This comment alludes to his ambition to make the new Roadster capable of flying, possibly using thrusters developed by SpaceX.
He added that the second-generation Roadster might not actually go into production until 12 to 18 months after the reveal in April.
During the Q&A session, a shareholder asked if customers who preordered the “Founders Series” version of the Roadster would be invited to the reveal event. These are the folks who put down $250,000 back in 2017 for special editions of the car.
“Sure, absolutely,” Musk replied. “It’s the least we can do for our long-suffering Roadster reservation holders.”
One of those long-time reservation holders is OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who recently tried to cancel his order—and initially struggled to get a refund—after waiting so long for the much-anticipated electric vehicle.
Earlier this month, Altman shared a humorous “tale in three acts” on X, featuring screenshots of his initial reservation, a request to refund the $50,000 deposit, and a response that bounced back.
“I really was excited for the car!” Altman expressed. “And I understand delays. But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait.”
In a twist, Musk didn’t hold back in his response. “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.”
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