In July 2015, when announcing updates to the Tesla Model S, Elon Musk said a new roadster model would be coming in four years, complete with a Maximum Plaid mode. Earlier this year, when he posted his Master Plan, Part Deux on the Tesla blog, one key point was to “expand the electric vehicle product line to address all major segments.” However, there was no specific mention of a roadster, a new version of Tesla’s first car. Now, a new tweet confirms that it is still in the works.
Musk has been generous lately in answering questions posed via Twitter, and when @JellePrins (incidentally, Uber’s design manager) recently asked about a successor to the original roadster, Musk replied, “Some years away, but yes.” That’s not a major flood of new information, but it’s good to know that Tesla’s chief still includes sports cars in his definition of serving “all market segments.”
Musk and his team already have quite a To Do list: the upcoming release of the mass-market Model 3; plans to build a crossover, a bus, and a pickup truck; finishing the Gigafactory; and further development of the Model S, Model X, and Autopilot, the company’s autonomous-driving software. With so much on Tesla’s plate, and considering that a roadster probably won’t be a huge money maker for the company, it’s not likely to be a top priority.
“Some years” could mean a lot of different things, but don’t expect the new Roadster to be rushed out like some of the other Tesla products. After all, he doesn’t want another mess like the one the first model created.
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