According to Musk, security plays a subordinate role
Elon Musk announces the unveiling of the Tesla Roadster for 2026 and puts safety as a secondary priority. The focus is on performance through rocketry. According to the CEO, if you’re looking for protection, it’s better to choose a different car.
Musk: Safety is secondary
Elon Musk has confirmed that the next-generation Tesla Roadster will be unveiled on April 1, 2026. The CEO of the electric car manufacturer surprised everyone by saying that safety was not the main goal of this vehicle. If you put safety first, you shouldn’t buy a roadster, but rather choose another model, said the 54-year-old. Instead, the focus is on pure performance and the experience of driving the best of the “last human-driven” cars. The vehicle is intended to represent an analogue counterpart to the increasingly autonomous future of mobility and redefine the limits of physics. The technical ambitions for the electric sports car are extremely high.
Musk promises acceleration from zero to 60 miles per hour (almost 100 km/h) in under a second. This is to be realized through an optional “SpaceX package”. This includes ten cold gas thrusters that are mounted around the vehicle and originally come from rocket technology. The top speed is said to be over 400 km/h, with a torque of supposedly 10,000 Newton meters at the wheels. However, to save weight and make room for the high-pressure tanks (COPV), buyers of this edition have to forego the rear seats.
Unveiling scheduled for April 1st
Musk made these statements in the Moonshots Podcast. As became clear in the conversation, Musk compared the radical approach to buying a traditional brand super sports car: Even with a Ferrari, safety is not the primary selling point. The goal is not to endanger anyone, but the priorities are clearly on performance and the emotional experience. Musk plans to start production around 12 to 18 months after launch, suggesting a first delivery sometime in 2027.
The history of the new Roadster is marked by years of delays and full-bodied announcements. The sports car was originally presented in November 2017 when it surprisingly drove out of the cargo area of the Tesla Semi that was presented at the time. At that time, reservations were accepted with a deposit of 50,000 dollars (around 42,885 euros). The price for the base model was estimated at around $200,000 (approximately 171,541 euros), while a limited Founders Series was offered for 250,000 dollars (approximately 214,427 euros).
Skepticism remains appropriate
The date of the unveiling – April 1st – causes skepticism among many. Musk is known for joking about this date, but given the detailed explanations in the podcast conversation, this time the appointment appears to be serious. The integration of the thrust nozzles into the driving behavior is also technically interesting.
These should not only be used for acceleration on the straight, but also drastically improve cornering and braking performance. The air for the nozzles is compressed by an electric pump that is fed directly from the massive battery pack. It remains to be seen which of the promised James Bond-like features will actually receive road approval and end up in the production version.
