The Tesla story
Tesla’s Roadster name spans an early production sports car and a much later announced high-performance programme. The second-generation proposal has a different scale of ambition, and its published targets should be read as targets until supported by the appropriate production and test evidence. An announcement page is not the same thing as a completed customer-car history.
The name is interesting because it connects electric sports-car beginnings with the expectations of the modern hypercar market. We would like to see the discussion move beyond launch figures towards mass, repeatable performance and the practical compromises of the complete vehicle. This profile keeps the announced programme separate from cars already established in the archive.
The original Roadster’s significance does not depend on whether a later car fulfils every announced target. They belong to different moments in electric-car development. We think a successor would be most interesting if its overall design creates a distinctive sports-car experience, rather than merely demonstrating another acceleration figure. Controls, proportion and the confidence of repeatable operation would be just as important to that assessment.
Current lineup & programmes
Performance and specialist model families are listed below. Programme status describes the manufacturer’s published range or announcement, rather than stock or an available allocation. Open-top and special derivatives are grouped where they share a family; follow the model link for the distinctions.
Tesla Roadster second generation
Announced programme · 2010s
Past models
Past performance-car families relevant to our 1996–2026 archive. A surviving product page or conversion catalogue does not mean the original donor car remains in production.
Original Tesla Roadster
Completed sports-car programme
The SuperCarNews view
Tesla's current Roadster page continues to present an announced electric sports-car proposition with performance claims and a reservation invitation. The page alone does not establish a completed customer production programme. We therefore label the second-generation Roadster as announced rather than present it as a readily available new car.
The concept remains relevant because it helped frame expectations around electric supercar performance. However, a target becomes meaningful in a different way once it is attached to a final specification, homologated car and documented test. We would update the status when that evidence is available rather than allow an old promised date to silently become a fact.