Live event
Tesla Roadster unveiling
Watch it with us: live updates, the stream and what it all means.
Tesla rolls the new Roadster out tonight at 8:55 p.m. Eastern, and a good many of the people watching have been waiting for this evening for a very long time. The first prototype appeared in November 2017, when Tesla said the car would be in production by 2020, and the date has moved so often since then that some reservation holders have probably stopped checking.
There is little doubt the car will be quick, since electric motors deliver their full pull the moment the pedal goes down, and even ordinary electric family cars now leave older sports cars behind at a stoplight. The 2017 prototype was promised at 0 to 60 miles an hour in 1.9 seconds, and it would be a surprise if tonight's figure were any slower. Speed sells cars, and for anyone who wants a Roadster it is a large part of the appeal, but after nine years the people holding reservations are likely to care at least as much about when one will finally sit in their own garage.
That comes down to three questions, and we will be listening for a straight answer to each of them.
The first is money. Tesla put the price at $200,000 back when the car was a promise and a pretty shape. Steel, batteries and wages have all gone up since. A higher price would surprise no one. No price at all would surprise no one either, and that is the trouble.
The second is the date. People paid $50,000 to hold a place in line, or $250,000 for the Founders Series, and the car has now had seven unveil dates. A season and a year, the name of the factory that will build it, and a simple way to get a deposit back for anyone who has run out of patience would go a long way tonight.
The third is how much of the show car reaches the street. The car on stage is a demonstration and may not be legal on a public road, which is common enough at a reveal, but buyers will want to know how close the production version will be, and whether much discussed extras such as thrusters are real options or something that stays on the stage.
If Tesla answers those questions, tonight may be remembered as the night the Roadster became a real product. If the evening is mostly launch runs and lights, with the details promised for later, it will feel a lot like the last few years, and that matters at a time when carmakers in Europe and China are already selling quick, well made electric cars that people can drive home this week.
We will be watching with you on our front page, with the countdown set to your own time zone, and we will report back after the show on what Tesla actually said.
That's wattsup, and here's wattsnext.
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Sources
- 1.Roadster livestream · Tesla
- 2.Tesla is unveiling the new Roadster for real this time, promise · Electrek
Reported by the WattsUpNext desk from the sources linked below. Spot an error? Tell us at corrections@wattsupnext.com.
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