Sam Altman, the chief of OpenAI, has decided to cancel his Tesla Roadster reservation. He said, “I really was excited for the car! And I understand delays. But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait.” On X, Altman posted email screenshots under the title “A tale in three acts.”
The first screenshot was a reservation confirmation dated July 11, 2018.
The second was his message requesting a refund and the bounce-back message, Tesla’s email address listed was not working now.
Why Tesla Roadster is still delayed
Tesla first revealed the new Roadster in 2017. The car had bold promises, 0 to 60 mph in under two seconds and over 620 miles per charge. Yet, Tesla has pushed production back several times. In October, Tesla’s Chief Designer, Franz von Holzhausen, spoke on the Ride the Lightning podcast. He said Tesla will hold a live demo of the Roadster before 2025 ends. When asked about first deliveries, he promised those will start “definitely within two years,” which means end of 2027 is possible. Tesla says the car is in the “design development” stage.
Besides, Tesla put up a job ad on October 28 and it’s for a “Roadster Manufacturing Process Engineer” at the Fremont, California plant. So the company seems busy with hiring.
OpenAI vs Musk rivalry
Sam Altman and Elon Musk launched OpenAI as partners in 2015, but broke up in 2018. Their falling out turned into lawsuits and public comments against each other. Musk tried to buy OpenAI for over $97 billion earlier this year, but a court blocked it. After that, OpenAI countersued Musk. Musk’s new startup, xAI, then sued OpenAI back, claiming OpenAI stole company secrets. Now, Altman and Musk compete with new projects like AI, Self-driving cars, and space tech are all arenas both lead.
Customer doubts remain
Tesla still tells buyers they plan to hold a demo for the car, but after eight years, most remain wary of these updates. A number of people with long-standing Roadster reservations have struggled to get clear answers or money back. There is hope from Tesla’s hiring moves and updates. However, The Roadster stays in design, not production, after nearly eight years of waiting.
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