Tesla Roadster: Everything We Know About the 2026 Roadster, From the 2008 Original to Starman

The Tesla Roadster is really three stories under one name. The first is the original 2008–2012 sports car that launched Tesla. The second is the car Elon Musk sent into orbit around the Sun in 2018, with a mannequin called Starman at the wheel. The third is the new Tesla Roadster – promised in 2017, delayed for nine years, and finally unveiled on October 15, 2026, with SpaceX-derived thrusters and a claim that the top version can fly. This guide brings all three together: what we know today, the complete timeline from 2006 to 2028, how the 2017 promises compare with the 2026 reality, and links to eight in-depth articles on specs, price, reservations, the used market, Starman and the competition.

What we know about the new Tesla Roadster today

Here is the state of play as of October 16, 2026, based on Tesla's website, its US reservation page and reporting from Reuters, TechCrunch, Electrek, Jalopnik and Investing.com.

• It has been unveiled. Tesla showed the car on the evening of October 15, 2026, at SpaceX's test site in McGregor, near Waco, Texas. The event had been planned for October 1 and was moved because of a storm forecast.
• There are three versions. Performance ("road ready," two seats, suction fans, no thrusters), Thrust ("race ready," two seats, acceleration thrusters) and Rocket ("air ready," one seat, a "full flight system").
• The targets are extreme. Tesla quotes 0–60 mph in under 1.6, 0.9 and 0.59 seconds for the three versions, a top speed over 230 mph (370 km/h) and range over 300 miles (483 km).
• The demo was remote-controlled. Cars with nobody inside jumped a curved ramp, flipped in mid-air, landed on four wheels and hopped over parked Teslas. A 0.81-second 0–60 run was reported but not independently timed.
• There is no price. Tesla did not announce pricing for any version. The 2017 base price was $200,000.
• Reservations are open in the US. $5,000 today, labeled fully refundable, plus $45,000 within 10 days. Performance is reservable, Thrust is "Limited," Rocket is "Invite only."
• Production is planned for 2028. Musk said "2028, actually" at the event. The production site was not confirmed; Gigafactory Texas is the stated plan.
• Road legality is unsettled. Tesla says the Rocket version is "not approved for public road use." Musk's answer to whether the car is street legal: "Depends on your street."

Three Roadsters, one name

A lot of confusion online comes from mixing up the three cars that share the name. Searches for "Tesla Roadster 2008," "Tesla Roadster in space" and "Tesla Roadster 2026" are really about different vehicles, so here is a quick way to tell them apart.

	Original Roadster	Starman's Roadster	New Roadster
What it is	Tesla's first production car	Musk's personal 2010 original, used as a rocket payload	Second-generation hypercar
Years	Unveiled 2006; built 2008–2012	Launched February 6, 2018	Revealed 2017; re-unveiled October 15, 2026
Where it is now	About 2,500 sold; collector market	Orbiting the Sun	Reservations open; production planned for 2028
0–60 mph	3.9 s (3.7 s Sport)	—	Under 1.6 s to under 0.59 s (Tesla targets)
Price	From about $98,000 new; used cars at auction	Not for sale	Not announced; $50,000 reservation
Read more	Original Roadster, buying guide	Starman	Specs, price

The original car proved electric sports cars could work; the Starman car turned the Roadster into a space-age symbol; and the new car tries to merge both ideas by putting rocket hardware into a road-going Tesla. If you only need one fact: the Roadster you can buy today is the original, and the Roadster you can reserve today will not be built before 2028.

Tesla Roadster guide: all parts

Each article goes deep on one question. Start with whichever matches what you are searching for.

• Original Tesla Roadster (2008–2012) – The first Tesla: Lotus-built chassis, 245-mile EPA range, every version from 1.5 to the 3.0 upgrade, prices when new and why it matters.
• Tesla Roadster in space: where is Starman? – Elon Musk's 2010 Roadster on the first Falcon Heavy: what's on board, the orbit it reached, where it is now and how to track it.
• 2017 Roadster prototype: what Tesla promised – The 2017 Roadster 2.0 reveal, the 1.9-second and 620-mile promises, Founders Series pricing, the SpaceX thruster package and how the claims changed.
• Release date and delay timeline – Every Tesla Roadster release date promise from 2017 to 2026, why it slipped eight times and how much to trust the 2028 production target.
• 2026 Roadster specs, versions and street legality – Performance, Thrust and Rocket compared: 0–60 targets, 230+ mph, 300+ miles, how the SpaceX thrusters and suction fans work, interior, and NHTSA/FAA legality.
• Price and reservation in the US – What the Tesla Roadster costs in October 2026: no MSRP yet, the $5,000 + $45,000 reservation terms, which versions you can reserve, 2017 deposits and US taxes.
• Used original Roadster buying guide – Tesla Roadster for sale: real 2025–26 auction results, Hagerty values, which version to buy, battery repair costs and a full pre-purchase checklist.
• Roadster vs. Rimac Nevera and the fastest EVs – Tesla Roadster targets vs. measured results from the Rimac Nevera and Nevera R, Taycan Turbo GT, Lucid Air Sapphire, Yangwang U9 and McMurtry Spéirling.

Tesla Roadster timeline, 2006–2028

The full history, from the first unveiling to the planned production start. Dates for the 2017–2026 delays are covered in more detail in our release date and delay timeline.

Date	Event	Source
July 19, 2006	Original Roadster unveiled at Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Airport	Autoblog
Feb–Mar 2008	First production car goes to Musk; regular production begins March 17	Secondary sources
January 11, 2009	Roadster Sport introduced: 0–60 mph in 3.7 s, from $128,500	Tesla
July 1, 2010	Roadster 2.5 unveiled	Tesla
January 2012	Original Roadster production ends after about 2,500 cars	Tesla SEC filing
December 26, 2014	Roadster 3.0 upgrade announced (~70 kWh battery)	Bloomberg
February 2015	Roadster 3.0 test car drives about 340 miles on one charge	CleanTechnica
November 16, 2017	Second-generation Roadster revealed: 1.9 s, 620 miles, $200,000; production promised for 2020	Car and Driver
February 6, 2018	Musk's 2010 Roadster and Starman launched on the first Falcon Heavy	Orlando Sentinel, NASA JPL
June 9, 2018	Musk announces a “SpaceX package” with about 10 thrusters	Autoblog
July 22, 2020	Production said to be 12–18 months away	Electrek
October 7, 2020	Starman's closest approach to Mars	CNN
January 29, 2021	Production pushed to 2022	The Verge
Fall 2021	Production pushed to 2023, citing the chip shortage	MotorTrend
May 2023	Production “hopefully” in 2024	Teslarati
November 23, 2023	Original Roadster design and engineering declared open source	InsideEVs
February 28, 2024	Goals “radically increased”; under 1 s to 60 mph; production 2025	Musk on X, Bloomberg
November 6, 2025	Demo set for April 1, 2026; production 12–18 months later	Electrek
April 22, 2026	Demo delayed again by about a month	Earnings call, via Electrek
September 12, 2026	Tesla sets October 1 date; reservations reopen	Reuters
September 28, 2026	Event moved to October 15 because of weather	TechCrunch, Electrek
October 15, 2026	Unveiling: Performance, Thrust and Rocket; production in 2028; no price	Reuters, TechCrunch, Electrek
2028	Planned production start	Musk at the unveiling
2047 (predicted)	Starman's next close approach to Earth	CNN

2017 promises vs. 2026 reality

The 2026 car is not the 2017 car with a few tweaks. Acceleration targets have become far more aggressive thanks to thrusters, while range, top speed and seating have gone backward. All figures are Tesla's.

	2017 promise	2026 Tesla figures	Change
0–60 mph	1.9 s	Under 1.6 s / 0.9 s / 0.59 s	Much quicker (targets)
Top speed	Over 250 mph (400 km/h)	Over 230 mph (370 km/h)	Lower
Range	620 miles (998 km)	Over 300 miles (483 km)	About half
Seats	2+2	2 (Performance, Thrust) or 1 (Rocket)	Fewer
Thrusters	Optional “SpaceX package” (2018 claim)	Thrust and Rocket versions	Delivered as versions
Flight	Hinted by Musk	Rocket: “full flight system”	Short hops demonstrated
Battery	200 kWh (Musk)	Not disclosed	Unknown
Base price	$200,000	Not announced	Unknown
Reservation	$50,000 ($5,000 + $45,000)	$50,000 ($5,000 + $45,000)	Same structure
Production	2020	2028	Eight years later

The details behind every row are in what Tesla promised in 2017 and 2026 Tesla Roadster specs.

The original Roadster: where it all started

The first Tesla Roadster was unveiled in 2006 and built from 2008 to January 2012 on a chassis supplied by Lotus in England, with Tesla's electric powertrain. Tesla says it sold about 2,500 of them in more than 30 countries. The car had an EPA range of 245 miles (394 km) and could reach 60 mph in as little as 3.7 seconds in Sport form. It started at about $98,000 in 2008. A 2014 factory upgrade, the Roadster 3.0, added a battery of about 70 kWh. In 2023, Musk declared the car's design and engineering "fully open source."

Today, original Roadsters trade as collector cars. On Bring a Trailer in 2025 and 2026, sold examples brought hammer prices from the low $40,000s to $77,000, with battery condition and the 3.0 upgrade making the biggest difference. Read the original Roadster history and the used Tesla Roadster buying guide before you shop.

Starman: the Roadster in space

On February 6, 2018, SpaceX launched its first Falcon Heavy with Musk's own 2010 Roadster as the test payload, a spacesuit-wearing mannequin named Starman in the driver's seat and David Bowie's "Space Oddity" on the stereo. The car ended up in an orbit around the Sun that crosses the orbit of Mars, completing a lap roughly every 557 days. It passed closest to Mars on October 7, 2020, and its next close approach to Earth is predicted for 2047. On October 16, 2026, the whereisroadster.com tracker put it about 61.6 million miles (99 million km) from Earth. Tesla tied the new car to that moment with the line "We already put Roadster in a rocket. Now we put a rocket in Roadster." Full story: where is Starman now.

Price, reservation and street legality in the US

Price. No official price yet. The 2017 Roadster was announced at $200,000, with a 1,000-car Founders Series at $250,000. For context, the Rimac Nevera is estimated at $2.2 million by Car and Driver.

Reservation. Tesla's US page asks for $5,000 today and $45,000 within 10 days; the reservation can be canceled if the second payment is late, and "refunds for modifications will not be issued." Tesla has not explained what happens to 2017 reservations. The federal clean vehicle tax credit is not available for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025, per the IRS. Details: Tesla Roadster price and reservation.

Street legality. NHTSA does not pre-approve cars; manufacturers self-certify compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Tesla calls the Performance version road ready and says the Rocket version is not approved for public road use. We found no public NHTSA or FAA statement on the Roadster's thrusters. Details: specs and street legality.

How the Roadster compares with the fastest EVs

If Tesla hits its targets, the thruster-equipped Roadsters would be the quickest-accelerating cars ever offered to the public. But the targets are unverified, and on top speed the Roadster's "over 230 mph" trails the Rimac Nevera R (about 268 mph) and BYD's Yangwang U9 Track Edition (293.5 mph). The quickest measured road cars include the Rimac Nevera R (1.66 seconds to 60 mph) and the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT (1.89 seconds with rollout in MotorTrend testing). The full comparison: Tesla Roadster vs. Rimac Nevera and the fastest EVs.

Car	0–60 mph	Top speed	Status
Tesla Roadster Rocket	Under 0.59 s	Over 230 mph	Tesla target
Tesla Roadster Performance	Under 1.6 s	Over 230 mph	Tesla target
Rimac Nevera R	1.66 s	About 268 mph	Measured / record
Rimac Nevera	1.74 s (rollout)	About 256 mph	Manufacturer
Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Weissach	1.89 s (rollout)	—	MotorTrend test
Yangwang U9 Track Edition	—	293.5 mph	Manufacturer record run

What is still unknown

For all the attention, these questions remain open as of October 16, 2026:

• The price of each version.
• Battery capacity, weight and an EPA range rating.
• Whether the demo cars were close to production specification.
• How long, how high and how often the Rocket version can fly.
• What 2017 reservation holders and Founders Series owners will receive.
• Whether the Thrust version can be registered for public roads, and whether NHTSA or the FAA will weigh in.
• Where the car will be built, and whether 2028 will hold.

We will update this guide as Tesla answers them. Musk himself set expectations for the car's role, calling it "the best of the last of the human-driven cars" and saying he is "not sure it moves the needle massively from a revenue standpoint," as TechCrunch reported. Whether it becomes a collector icon like the original Roadster or another long-delayed promise will depend on what arrives in 2028.

How we built this guide. 77.today Editors compiled every figure here from Tesla's own website and US reservation page, Tesla's SEC filings and press releases, NASA JPL data, NHTSA and IRS publications, and reporting by Reuters, TechCrunch, Electrek, Jalopnik, MotorTrend, Car and Driver and other outlets listed in the sources. Where outlets disagree – for example on the demo's 0–60 mph time – we name each source. Where a claim could not be traced to a published source, such as unofficial price estimates or promises about specific states legalizing the flying version, we left it out. Used-car prices come only from completed auction results and valuation tools, with dates.