The Tesla Roadster is once again available for reservations on the company's website after Elon Musk announced that production of the second-generation electric sports car would begin in 2023.
Customers interested in securing a new Tesla Roadster must put down a $5,000 deposit via credit card due on the spot, followed by a $45,000 wire transfer within ten days. The $5,000 credit card payment is fully refundable but Tesla does not specify whether the $45,000 wire transfer is also refundable.
Mind you, Tesla says that reservations are not final until the wire transfer payment is received. Also, total vehicle prices are not listed. Previously, the Roadster had a base price of $200,000, while the Founders Edition cost $250,000.
The Tesla Roadster's launch is long overdue, as the electric sports car was first unveiled more than four years ago in November 2017.
On the Roadster product page on Tesla's official website, the vehicle is described as "the quickest car in the world, with record-setting acceleration, range and performance." The base specs listed on the website are unchanged from 2017.
Gallery: Tesla Roadster
Those include a 0-60 mph acceleration in 1.9 seconds, 0-100 mph in 4.2 seconds, an 8.8-second quarter-mile time, and a top speed of over 250 mph (402 km/h). Tesla also lists 10,000 Nm (7,374 lb-ft) of wheel torque, all-wheel drive, a 620-mile range (1,000 km), and four seats.
Recently, Tesla chief engineer Franz von Holzhausen told Spike's Car Radio podcast that the company is working "feverishly" on the Roadster.
"We are working on the Roadster. I wish we were working faster, but I'd like to also say that, in the time that we have been developing it, we have also been learning a lot. Plaid is a great learning platform. All those experiences will, you know, make their way back into a much better Roadster than had we launched right after when we debuted it."
The design boss also said the Roadster would be "an amazing, exciting flying machine with the SpaceX package." The latter will add cold air thrusters around the vehicle to improve performance.
At the Cyber Rodeo event held last week at Gigafactory Texas, Elon Musk confirmed that the Cybertruck, Roadster, and Semi would all enter production in 2023.
