Elon Musk is again backing Tesla’s long-delayed Roadster. The Tesla chief replied on X to tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, after Brownlee reacted to news that Tesla will end the Model S and Model X. Brownlee wrote, “Oh Roadster is so cooked,” quoting a report on the decision. Musk answered a short time later: “New Roadster will be incredible.”
Longtime supporter turns skeptic
Brownlee’s remark did not come out of nowhere. He has followed the second-generation Roadster project closely and has money history with it. In 2017 he placed a $50,000 paid reservation and also earned a free Founders Series car through Tesla’s referral program, giving him two spots in line.
Over time his patience ran thin. In September 2025 he canceled the paid booking after about eight years of waiting. At first, he says Tesla told him he would receive only $45,000 back and lose a $5,000 portion of the deposit. Later, after a series of calls and delays, he says the company sent the full $50,000. His free Founders Series reservation remains, yet his tone toward the project has grown sharper.
The cancellation experience has become part of the story. Brownlee has described how there was no online cancel button and how he had to leave repeated voicemails and speak with staff more than once before the refund went through. On his podcast, co-hosts calculated that the same $50,000 parked in Tesla stock from 2017 could now be worth around $747,000.
Tesla retires Model S and X for robots
The social media exchange followed Tesla’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, where Musk said the company will wind down the Model S and Model X next quarter. He called the move an “honorable discharge” for the premium sedan and SUV, which helped define the brand but have seen weaker demand.
Many Roadster buyers have waited through several schedule changes. The car was first announced in 2017 with a 2020 delivery goal. That target moved to 2021, then further into the decade as Tesla focused on mass-market cars and the Cybertruck.
Musk now says Tesla plans to debut the updated Roadster on April 1, 2026. He has admitted he picked April Fools’ Day partly so he can claim he was joking if plans slip again. Even so, he has raised expectations, calling the planned event “something out of this world” and hinting that it could be the most dramatic product demo yet.
During the latest earnings call, Musk described the future Tesla lineup as fully autonomous apart from the Roadster. He called it a special case and suggested it would stand as a final tribute to human‑driven sports cars before the company moves fully toward driverless transport.
Now, buyers, fans and critics are watching the calendar again. Musk says the April 1 event will prove that the Roadster “will be incredible.”
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