Tesla’s New Roadster To Be Unveiled on April Fools’ — Or Maybe Not: Musk Admits He Chose Date For 'Deniability'

Production is now expected to begin in the first half of 2027, extending the wait for the high-performance EV to nearly a decade.

• Tesla has postponed the unveiling of its next-generation Roadster to April 1, 2026, marking another delay for the long-running project first announced in 2017.
• Production is now expected to begin in the first half of 2027, extending the wait for the high-performance EV to nearly a decade.
• Musk said the Roadster will be “worth the wait,” describing the upcoming demo as “unforgettable” and hinting at SpaceX-inspired features.

Tesla Inc. has pushed back the long-awaited unveiling and product demo of its next-generation Roadster to April 1, 2026, with CEO Elon Musk confirming at the company’s annual shareholder meeting that production will now begin in 2027, nearly a decade after the model’s initial announcement.

Roadster Unveiling Pushed Back

The April Fools’ date is a sharp departure from Musk’s previous commitments that the “epic” and “mind-blowing” demonstration would occur before the end of this year, a promise he also reiterated several times in 2025.

Production is now also moved out by just under a year, with the first Roadsters expected to roll out of Tesla’s factories in the first half of 2027. The new timeline means that, by the time the new Roadster is in production, nearly a decade will have passed since it was originally announced in 2017.

Despite the delays, Musk said the supercar will be “worth the wait.” At Thursday’s shareholder meeting, however, he playfully admitted he picked April 1 because he could claim “deniability” and say, “I was just kidding” in case the launch does not happen.

Roadster’s Long Journey

The Roadster was Tesla’s first vehicle, with around 2,450 units sold between 2008 and 2012 before the automaker turned its focus to mass-market EVs such as the Model S. Musk revived the Roadster concept in 2017, promising a 620-mile range and 0–60 mph acceleration in 1.9 seconds.

Priced at $200,000 for the standard version and $250,000 for the “Founder Series,” the model was originally scheduled for production in 2020. However, multiple delays have pushed it back repeatedly, and Tesla’s latest annual report still lists the Roadster under “design development.”

Earlier this year, a job posting for a “Manufacturing Engineer, Roadster” reignited speculation that the program might finally be progressing.

Sam Altman’s Preorder Cancellation Highlights Fan Fatigue

In a viral post last month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared screenshots on X showing he had canceled his 2018 Roadster preorder. “I really was excited for the car! And I understand delays. But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait,” Altman wrote.

His post, captioned “A tale in three acts,” included a bounced email to Tesla’s reservations team and drew over 2.7 million views, underscoring growing impatience among Tesla fans after years of shifting timelines.

Stocktwits Mood Turns Bullish

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Tesla was ‘bullish’ amid ‘high’ message volume, as the retail trading community actively discussed the stock’s prospects based on Musk's range of promises at the shareholder event.

Tesla’s stock has risen 10% so far in 2025.

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