Elon Musk: Tesla Roadster is delayed, and a regular $25,000 car is “pointless”

Elon Musk has thanked “long-suffering” pledge holders for the long-awaited Tesla Roadster, but confirmed that the 250mph electric supercar is not a priority for the electric car company.

Speaking on an investor call, Musk said that while “funny things” are happening with the Roadster (the car Tesla claims will be able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than one second), it should happen after the other projects.

“I’d just like to thank our long-suffering deposit holders for the Tesla Roadster,” Musk said of customers who initially paid a $50,000 deposit when the car was unveiled. “The reason it hasn’t come out yet is because the Roadster isn’t just the icing on the cake, it’s the icing on the cake.

“And so our big mission is to accelerate progress towards a sustainable energy future. Try to do things that maximize the likelihood that the future will be good for humanity and the Earth. This necessarily means that these things (the roadster) are a bit of a dessert.

“We’d all love to work on the Tesla Roadster, it’s a lot of fun and we’re working on it, but it has to move away from things that have a bigger impact on the good of the world.

“So, thanks to all our long-suffering Tesla Roadster deposit holders, we have finally made progress on this matter and are close to completing the project. It will really be something impressive.”

The Roadster was first revealed back in 2017, when Tesla said it would go from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, 0 to 100 mph in 4.2 seconds, and do the quarter mile in 8.8. s, reach a top speed of 250 mph and have a range of 620 miles. Earlier this year, the 0-100 km/h time was revised again to sub-second, with a launch slated for 2025.

More recently, Musk said buyers can “expect something rocket-like” from the Roadster, and during the latest investor call he further hinted at a flying car.

Of course, there have been a number of delays since the Roadster’s launch as Tesla instead focused on the Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, Optimus robot and the new Cybercab autonomous taxi.

Speaking of which, Musk also confirmed that there won’t be an entry-level Tesla Model 2 because that space is taken by Cybercab. “We’re not building a non-robotaxi ($25,000 model),” Musk said. “We have made it very clear that the future is autonomous. I firmly believe – and I believe it’s true, and it will be very obvious in retrospect – that autonomous electric vehicles are the future.

“And autonomous gasoline cars in the future will be like riding a horse. It’s not that there are no horses, but they are unusual, niche. So everything will be electric autonomous.

“Having a regular $25,000 model is pointless. It would be stupid. This would be completely contrary to what we believe. If you try to build a car that is essentially a hybrid car with a manual transmission and an automatic transmission, it won’t be as good as a dedicated autonomous car.

“Cybercab will not have steering wheels or pedals. Its design is optimized for autonomy. It will cost about 25 thousand, so that’s is car for 25 thousand and you can buy it and own it exclusively if you want, it just won’t have a steering wheel or pedals.

– You don’t need this.