- Tesla will reveal the Roadster in Waco, Texas on October 1, 2026 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern.
- Reservation holders must RSVP by midnight on September 16, 2026.
- Tesla targets production at Gigafactory Texas in 2027 or 2028.
Tesla has finally put a date on the Roadster reveal that has been promised since 2017. The company confirmed an October 1 event in Waco, Texas and backed up the "Go for launch" teaser it posted on X earlier this week.
Invitations are already landing in inboxes, and they come with rules attached. The invites are non-transferable and limited to Roadster reservation holders, which keeps the guest list tied to years-old deposits rather than open sign-ups.
Tesla Roadster Reveal Date And Time
The event takes place at 8:30 p.m. local time in Waco on October 1, 2026 and lines up with evening viewing hours for anyone expecting a livestream. Waco sits roughly 90 minutes north of Tesla's Austin headquarters and within driving range of SpaceX's McGregor engine test facility.
That McGregor link has helped revive talk around the long-teased SpaceX thruster package for the Roadster. Musk has floated the idea before and claimed "a thruster equipped Roadster could hit 60 mph in about 1.1 seconds under roughly 2.75 g of launch force."
Go for launch pic.twitter.com/Khu03eiZ04
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 12, 2026
None of that is confirmed for October 1 itself. The teaser image showing four bright plumes behind the car lines up neatly with the spaceflight-inspired branding, but Tesla has not detailed what kind of demonstration it plans.
The Roadster first showed up under a semi-truck's trailer during Tesla's 2017 Semi event and production has been pushed back repeatedly since. Recent comments from Musk and company executives point to a new target of 2027 or 2028 for actual builds with the car expected to be produced in Texas, so this fall's gathering is still a preview rather than a launch.
What The Invitation Actually Says
Reservation holders' invites read simply "ROADSTER. October 1, 2026. Waco, Texas. Join us." Public descriptions of the invitation frame it as an in-person event for those reservation holders in Waco rather than a broadcast-only announcement.
The non-transferable clause is the key detail. Tesla is limiting attendance to the people who actually hold reservations instead of open invitations passed around online, which keeps the guest list tied to years of old deposits going back to the car's original announcement.
Gallery: Tesla Roadster
Pricing has been public for a while, and a standard Roadster is expected to start around $200,000, with a Founders Series variant around $250,000. Neither figure has changed as part of this announcement, and Tesla has not hinted at new trims.
Performance claims include a 0-to-60-mph run under two seconds and a top speed above 250 mph, numbers Tesla has repeated since the car's earliest teasers. Whether October 1 brings updated specs or just confirms the old ones remains the open question heading into the event.
Motor1's Take: Tesla will use the event to manage expectations more than confirm production. If the company provides firm build timing or updated specs, the Roadster moves closer to reality.
Watch whether a thruster demo is live or simulated and how regulators react. With reservation-only access, on-the-ground reports will drive the early narrative.
