Franz von Holzhausen (프란츠 폰 홀츠하우젠), Tesla's head of design, again said the next-generation Roadster will come out "soon". He did not present a specific launch schedule or specifications.

Electrek, an electric vehicle outlet, reported on Aug. 10 that the remarks were made in a recently released episode of the TV program and YouTube channel 'Jay Leno's Garage'.

Jay Leno (제이 레노) said he is waiting for the new Roadster to be released, and von Holzhausen replied, "Yes, really soon." When Leno asked back skeptically, "Really soon?" he repeated the same phrase. Leno responded, "10 years, a little less than 10 years." No specific date was given, and there was no new explanation about performance or production plans.

Skeptical reactions have emerged because the Roadster delay has already become prolonged. Tesla unveiled a prototype in November 2017 and promised production in 2020. The schedule then kept slipping to 12 to 18 months later, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Elon Musk mentioned a year-end unveiling of a production version in February 2024 and delivery in early 2025, but he did not keep that either.

The schedule continued to change until recently. In November last year, Musk set the public demonstration date as April 1, 2026, April Fools' Day, and said the date gave him "room to back out". The date was then pushed back once to late April, and during a first-quarter earnings conference call it changed again to "about a month" before being moved to August. But as of now in August, a public demonstration has not taken place.

A key variable behind the current delay is a SpaceX 'cold gas thruster' package. It is a feature that Musk has been previewing for years and is internally called 'A71'. Tesla and SpaceX showed Musk an early prototype in late April, but it did not reach a level suitable for a public demonstration, and the schedule was pushed back to August.

When it was first unveiled, the Roadster was presented as reaching 60 miles per hour (about 96 km) from a standstill in 1.9 seconds, with a top speed of 250 miles per hour (about 402 km) and a range of 620 miles (about 998 km) on a single charge. The starting price was $200,000. Founders Series reservation holders put down $250,000 about 10 years ago but have yet to receive a vehicle.

The setting where the remarks were made also drew attention. Von Holzhausen did not appear to introduce a Tesla vehicle, but brought a 400-horsepower internal-combustion car: a Pontiac Solstice he designed at General Motors (GM) in the past and converted with a V8 engine. He said, "I'm a Tesla guy, but this sounds pretty good."

In the end, the remarks only amounted to again previewing the Roadster's appearance. Even if "soon" matches the actual schedule, what is immediately possible is likely a demonstration event rather than production. Since even a second demonstration has not been held since the first unveiling in 2017, actual production could be pushed back further to 2027 to 2028. The next point to watch is whether Tesla will put out a demonstration schedule and a mass-production plan together this time.