The Tesla Roadster could have stayed vaporware

<figure> <img alt="Tesla Roadster" data-caption="Imagine a light bar on this 2017 Roadster concept image, and you’ll start to see it. | Image: Tesla" data-portal-copyright="Image: Tesla" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Roadster_08.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> Imagine a light bar on this 2017 Roadster concept image, and you’ll start to see it. | Image: Tesla </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">For a car that's supposed to be one of the fastest ever made, the new Tesla Roadster certainly took its sweet-ass time getting here.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">It's been nearly a decade since Elon Musk made the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/17/16669024/tesla-roadster-2017-fastest-car-world">surprise announcement</a> about plans to build a next-gen Roadster. Now, the Tesla Roadster is finally expected to make its production-ready debut at an event in Waco, Texas - and the timing couldn't be worse.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The new Roadster is set to arrive in an EV market beset by high energy prices, political turmoil, and consumer uncertainty. The tax-credit-fueled exuberance of the post-covid years has since given way to slower sales and fewer options. Automakers are <a href="https://www.theverge.com/transportation/896559/ev-cancellation-delay-hybrid-china">scalin …</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1010694/tesla-roadster-reveal-vaporware-spacex-elon-musk">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>