Tesla's next-generation Roadster is due on stage tonight, Oct 15, at 8:55 PM ET, streamed on Tesla's X account and livestream.tesla.com. Here's what Tesla has teased, what it promised in 2017, and what to watch for. We're updating this story live.
Tesla says the Roadster event streams live tonight, Thursday, Oct 15, 2026, at "7:55pm CST" (Tesla on X). The event is in Texas, so that's 8:55 PM ET, 6:55 PM MT and 5:55 PM PT, the same time CNBC and Car and Driver give. Tesla's own livestream page says the same: "Join us on Thursday, October 15th for the Roadster unveiling at 7:55 PM CST."
Tesla's Roadster page and livestream page use a single dark teaser image: the rear of the car with a wide wing, a glowing red full-width light bar and four bright plumes, set against a starfield. Since the event was first announced on Sep 12, the image has been shown upside down. Not a Tesla App noted at the time that flipping it reveals an angular tail, the wing and four plumes from the rear deck, and Tesla Oracle read the plumes as SpaceX-style thrusters.
Tesla added a new twist today. Tesla watcher Nic Cruz Patane posted on X that the easter egg on Tesla's website had been updated: flip the Roadster image and adjust the photo settings, and it now reads "THIS SIDE UP."
That matters because of a patent. On Sep 29 Tesla was granted US patent 12,746,987, titled "Electric fan car" (USPTO). It describes electric ducted fans that pull air from under the car and push it out of a rear diffuser to add downforce. Electrek notes the drawings show four fans on a Model S, not a Roadster. On Oct 7 Tesla Oracle pointed out that the flipped teaser, with four plumes in a row under the light bar, looks a lot like the patent's fan layout. Not a Tesla App went further and suggested Tesla might show the car driving upside down. These are readings of a teaser and a patent, not anything Tesla has confirmed.
Elon Musk's only hint today was a post Tesla reshared, calling the new Roadster "beyond movies, beyond imagination, beyond human" (Tesla on X).
Tesla first showed a second-generation Roadster in November 2017, at the end of the Tesla Semi reveal, and it began taking $50,000 deposits, according to CNBC. Teslarati says the 2017 base car was quoted at 1.9 seconds from 0 to 60 mph. Musk later promised "rocket thrusters" that could "allow a Tesla to fly," as CNBC puts it, and Teslarati reports that a SpaceX package with cold-gas thrusters could cut the 0 to 60 mph time to about one second. None of those numbers has been shown in a production car.
The timeline has slipped repeatedly. Electrek says the car was promised for 2020 and is now slated for "2027 or 2028." CNBC says Tesla has missed every delivery date it targeted. This reveal was meant to happen on Oct 1 and was pushed back two weeks because of the weather, according to Car and Driver. Teslarati reports Tesla has said tonight's event will include pricing, specifications and production targets.
The Roadster has been the most-promised, least-delivered car in the exotic segment for almost nine years. A stunt can win the night, but buyers will care about three things: a firm price, a firm production date and whether the car on stage is the car customers get. If Tesla gives all three, an EV with the performance Tesla promised in 2017 would put real pressure on the top of the EV and supercar market. If it doesn't, tonight is another teaser. We'll update this story through the evening.