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What happened to the Tesla Roadster? Here’s what we know.

(Credit: @dami_kolz/Twitter)

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The second edition of the Tesla Roadster was initially slated for production and delivery in 2020, but two years later, the car still has not been produced, and details are still slim. Here’s what we know about the next-gen Tesla Roadster.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the next-gen Tesla Roadster in 2017 during the reveal event of the Tesla Semi. It was not expected, and Musk surprised everyone in the room when the new design was released to spectators. Since then, various details have been released but it still remains unclear when the vehicle will actually enter production.

The Roadster might be able to hover

Musk unveiled a potential SpaceX package for the Roadster in 2018, which would utilize SpaceX cold-gas thrusters to enable short-term hovering abilities. Tesla has reiterated this potential on several occasions, describing a potential 1.1-second 0-60 MPH acceleration time. It is still unclear whether the FAA will have anything to say about the vehicle’s potential hovering capability, but the 1.1-second 0-60 time would be Tesla’s fastest by a considerable margin, and one of the fastest on Earth.

You can still reserve a Tesla Roadster

Tesla Roadster reservations are still available on Tesla.com. “Roadster reservations require an initial $5,000 credit card payment, plus a $45,000 wire transfer payment due in 10 days. Reservations are not final until the wire transfer payment is received,” Tesla describes. Founders Series Roadster reservations are closed.

Credit: Tesla

Production of the Tesla Roadster was expected to start in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and now 2023

Production dates of the Tesla Roadster have shifted several times in the vehicle’s history. After production was expected to begin in 2019 with deliveries in 2020, Tesla shifted production to “the next 12 to 18 months” during the Q2 2020 Earnings Call. This pushed production to mid-2021 as the pandemic raged on and limited production output across the industry.

In January 2021, Musk once again delayed production to 2022, stating engineering on the vehicle was set to be completed late last year.

In late 2021, Musk once again delayed production to 2023 as long as Tesla could avoid “mega drama” with the supply chain in 2022. It is relatively unknown if 2022’s supply chain was “mega drama,” as the description is objective. However, there are a lot of indications Tesla could be ready to introduce some new products to its lineup next year.

The Cybertruck is ready to begin production early next year, and a low-volume vehicle like the Roadster could be a great test of Tesla’s resilience and supply chain health if it can begin manufacturing the supercar in 2023.

The Tesla Roadster will likely be built in California

Tesla will likely build the vehicle in California.

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“We think, probably, also the Tesla Roadster, a future program, would also make sense in California,” Musk said during the company’s Q2 2020 Earnings Call.

Fremont is the only plant that currently builds all four Tesla models, and it continues to manufacture low-volume vehicles like the Model S and Model X, which only make up a small percentage of the company’s overall deliveries each quarter. Fremont is space-confined, but filings and other plans have indicated Tesla is expanding the plant to make room for more projects.

Unexpectedly, the automaker will produce Cybertruck battery packs at the Fremont factory, and the 4680 battery is built down the street at Tesla’s Kato Road facility.

Gigafactory Texas will be reserved for mass Model Y, Cybertruck, and potentially Semi production in the future.

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If you want to see the Roadster today, it is currently on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles as part of the “Inside Tesla: Supercharging the Electric Revolution” exhibit.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles

The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles.

The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.

Tesla has long emphasized that large-scale real-world data is central to improving its neural network-based approach to autonomy. Each mile driven with FSD (Supervised) engaged contributes additional edge cases and scenario training for the system.

Credit: Tesla

The milestone also brings Tesla closer to a benchmark previously outlined by CEO Elon Musk. Musk has stated that roughly 10 billion miles of training data may be needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving at scale, citing the “long tail” of rare but complex driving situations that must be learned through experience.

The growth curve of FSD Supervised’s cumulative miles over the past five years has been notable. 

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As noted in data shared by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt, annual FSD (Supervised) miles have increased from roughly 6 million in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and 4.25 billion in 2025. In just the first 50 days of 2026, Tesla owners logged another 1 billion miles.

At the current pace, the fleet is trending towards hitting about 10 billion FSD Supervised miles this year. The increase has been driven by Tesla’s growing vehicle fleet, periodic free trials, and expanding Robotaxi operations, among others.

With the fleet now past 8.4 billion cumulative miles, Tesla’s supervised system is approaching that threshold, even as regulatory approval for fully unsupervised deployment remains subject to further validation and oversight.

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Elon Musk fires back after Wikipedia co-founder claims neutrality and dubs Grokipedia “ridiculous”

Musk’s response to Wales’ comments, which were posted on social media platform X, was short and direct: “Famous last words.”

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UK Government, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Elon Musk fired back at Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales after the longtime online encyclopedia leader dismissed xAI’s new AI-powered alternative, Grokipedia, as a “ridiculous” idea that is bound to fail.

Musk’s response to Wales’ comments, which were posted on social media platform X, was short and direct: “Famous last words.”

Wales made the comments while answering questions about Wikipedia’s neutrality. According to Wales, Wikipedia prides itself on neutrality. 

“One of our core values at Wikipedia is neutrality. A neutral point of view is non-negotiable. It’s in the community, unquestioned… The idea that we’ve become somehow ‘Wokepidea’ is just not true,” Wales said.

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When asked about potential competition from Grokipedia, Wales downplayed the situation. “There is no competition. I don’t know if anyone uses Grokipedia. I think it is a ridiculous idea that will never work,” Wales wrote.

After Grokipedia went live, Larry Sanger, also a co-founder of Wikipedia, wrote on X that his initial impression of the AI-powered Wikipedia alternative was “very OK.”

“My initial impression, looking at my own article and poking around here and there, is that Grokipedia is very OK. The jury’s still out as to whether it’s actually better than Wikipedia. But at this point I would have to say ‘maybe!’” Sanger stated.

Musk responded to Sanger’s assessment by saying it was “accurate.” In a separate post, he added that even in its V0.1 form, Grokipedia was already better than Wikipedia.

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During a past appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show, Sanger argued that Wikipedia has drifted from its original vision, citing concerns about how its “Reliable sources/Perennial sources” framework categorizes publications by perceived credibility. As per Sanger, Wikipedia’s “Reliable sources/Perennial sources” list leans heavily left, with conservative publications getting effectively blacklisted in favor of their more liberal counterparts.

As of writing, Grokipedia has reportedly surpassed 80% of English Wikipedia’s article count.

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Tesla Sweden appeals after grid company refuses to restore existing Supercharger due to union strike

The charging site was previously functioning before it was temporarily disconnected in April last year for electrical safety reasons.

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Credit: Tesla Charging

Tesla Sweden is seeking regulatory intervention after a Swedish power grid company refused to reconnect an already operational Supercharger station in Åre due to ongoing union sympathy actions.

The charging site was previously functioning before it was temporarily disconnected in April last year for electrical safety reasons. A temporary construction power cabinet supplying the station had fallen over, described by Tesla as occurring “under unclear circumstances.” The power was then cut at the request of Tesla’s installation contractor to allow safe repair work.

While the safety issue was resolved, the station has not been brought back online. Stefan Sedin, CEO of Jämtkraft elnät, told Dagens Arbete (DA) that power will not be restored to the existing Supercharger station as long as the electric vehicle maker’s union issues are ongoing. 

“One of our installers noticed that the construction power had been backed up and was on the ground. We asked Tesla to fix the system, and their installation company in turn asked us to cut the power so that they could do the work safely. 

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“When everything was restored, the question arose: ‘Wait a minute, can we reconnect the station to the electricity grid? Or what does the notice actually say?’ We consulted with our employer organization, who were clear that as long as sympathy measures are in place, we cannot reconnect this facility,” Sedin said. 

The union’s sympathy actions, which began in March 2024, apply to work involving “planning, preparation, new connections, grid expansion, service, maintenance and repairs” of Tesla’s charging infrastructure in Sweden.

Tesla Sweden has argued that reconnecting an existing facility is not equivalent to establishing a new grid connection. In a filing to the Swedish Energy Market Inspectorate, the company stated that reconnecting the installation “is therefore not covered by the sympathy measures and cannot therefore constitute a reason for not reconnecting the facility to the electricity grid.”

Sedin, for his part, noted that Tesla’s issue with the Supercharger is quite unique. And while Jämtkraft elnät itself has no issue with Tesla, its actions are based on the unions’ sympathy measures against the electric vehicle maker. 

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“This is absolutely the first time that I have been involved in matters relating to union conflicts or sympathy measures. That is why we have relied entirely on the assessment of our employer organization. This is not something that we have made any decisions about ourselves at all. 

“It is not that Jämtkraft elnät has a conflict with Tesla, but our actions are based on these sympathy measures. Should it turn out that we have made an incorrect assessment, we will correct ourselves. It is no more difficult than that for us,” the executive said. 

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