After years of delays and speculation, Tesla executives shared new details about the next-generation Roadster. In a special episode of the Ride the Lightning podcast focused on saying goodbye to Model S and Model X, chief designer Franz von Holzhausen and engineering vice-president Lars Moravy discussed the electric sports car’s development.
The comments covered both its intended manufacturing location and the progress of development, showing that Tesla was continuing to work on the project.
Texas is the planned home of the new Roadster
Since the Roadster’s first presentation in 2017, Tesla had not clearly identified its manufacturing site. In the interview, von Holzhausen named Gigafactory Texas in Austin as the planned production location.
According to the designer, the factory had space for a dedicated line and Tesla had started planning the manufacturing layout. The site’s scale and available space made it a plausible location for a technically ambitious car intended for relatively low volumes. A location announcement did not mean series production had begun.
Alpha prototypes are already being tested
Moravy said Roadster alpha prototypes were active in testing and validation. That offered a more concrete indication of development work on a project whose repeated delays had led many observers to question its progress.
He also said cancelling the planned Model S Plaid Plus had allowed the team to concentrate its performance-development resources on Roadster.
A focus on performance
Tesla had not disclosed the final technical specifications. When host Ryan McCaffrey suggested a four-motor powertrain, Moravy declined to confirm it. He did, however, describe new solutions developed specifically to maximise performance.
Moravy said the team could approach some components with a focus on performance rather than the compromises required by mass production. That raised expectations, but did not establish acceleration, power or other final performance figures.
Another unveiling could be approaching
A major question was the proposed re-reveal of the updated Roadster. Musk had repeatedly hinted at unusual features and ambitious performance over the years, without a firm launch timetable.
Von Holzhausen suggested that more work would start to become visible over the following months. The comments pointed towards further information, but did not amount to a dated unveiling announcement.
Is the Roadster closer to market?
The executives described a planned manufacturing site, active prototypes and a development team focused on the car. Those were meaningful signs of continuing work.
No official start-of-production date was given. The interview suggested progress after a long development period, while the remaining path from prototypes to customer cars was still uncertain.
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