[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong] Tesla will unveil a new Roadster on Oct. 1. With the model’s mass production delayed for more than 8 years since its first reveal in 2017, the biggest question this time is whether it can lead to actual production, as well as its design and performance.

Electrek, an electric-vehicle outlet, reported on Sept. 15 that Tesla recently used a teaser to announce the unveiling schedule for the new Roadster. The teaser also included a scene suggesting SpaceX cold-gas thrusters operating from the rear of the car.

The new Roadster may reflect Tesla’s recent design language. Tesla has emphasised an angular, straight-line so-called “cyber” style through the Cybertruck, Cybercab and Robovan. The teaser also captured a full-width light bar and an angular body silhouette, raising the likelihood that the new Roadster will have an exterior different from the existing model.

In contrast, the first-generation Roadster unveiled in 2017 highlighted a low, sleek body proportion and the image of a high-performance electric sports car. With the design already seen as highly complete at the time, some point out that ending the long launch delay and entering mass production is a more important issue than showing a new design.

Tesla is expected to highlight the SpaceX package as a key feature at the unveiling event. The package works by briefly spraying cryogenic, high-pressure gas to boost the car’s instantaneous acceleration.

Elon Musk (일론 머스크), Tesla’s chief executive officer, has stressed the performance of a thruster-equipped Roadster. Musk says it can reach 60 miles per hour from a standstill in under 2 seconds without thrusters, and under 1 second with thrusters.

Musk has said such acceleration is not the most interesting part of the new Roadster. Interest is focused on how far special functions using the thrusters can be implemented and how practically they can be used on normal roads.

Several constraints apply to the thrusters’ practical use. The scope has been scaled back from Tesla’s initial concept closer to a “flying car” to demonstrations of hovering that lift the vehicle into the air for a short time.

It has also been raised that the demonstration vehicle may have difficulty obtaining approval for normal road use. Because of noise generated by the thrusters, there has been talk of operating the vehicle remotely without a driver.

Cold-gas thrusters also have the limitation of needing to be recharged once the gas stored in the tank is fully consumed. There may be few situations to use them in normal driving, and adding separate tanks and propulsion equipment could increase weight, structural complexity and costs.

Above all, the problem Tesla must solve is the Roadster’s long-delayed launch. When Tesla unveiled the second-generation Roadster in 2017, it presented a 620-mile range, 1.9 seconds from a standstill to 60 miles per hour, a top speed of more than 250 miles per hour, and a four-seat layout. The base price was stated as $200,000, and reservation holders were required to deposit $50,000. A $250,000 Founders Series also sold out.

But the mass production schedule has been repeatedly delayed. Tesla initially presented a plan to start production in 2020, but the launch timing has been pushed back repeatedly since then. With the unveiling schedule counted as being delayed at least 8 times, the wait for reservation holders has also lengthened. Some reservation holders, including well-known tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, are reported to have cancelled their Roadster reservations.

For this reason, market attention on the Oct. 1 unveiling event differs from a simple new-car reveal. The key is how specifically it presents an actual mass production schedule, production plans and the vehicle’s final specifications, rather than flashy features such as a new design or SpaceX thrusters.

Tesla has repeatedly promised radical design changes and strong performance for the Roadster. But with production delayed for more than 8 years, securing a production system that can actually deliver cars to customers has become a more important task than adding new features.