Roadster: Tesla Delays Demo Until At Least August; SpaceX Prepares A71 Thrusters

The long-awaited demonstration event for the new Tesla Roadster has been delayed once again: sources cited by The Information and reported by Electrek place the date in August 2026 or later, after missing targets for April, May, and "a month or so" after Q1 earnings.

Eight Years of Broken Promises

The prototype was shown in November 2017 with production promised for 2020. Musk has pushed back the date at least eight times. In October 2025, he set April 1, 2026 — April Fools' Day — admitting it gave him "deniability." Mass production is being pushed to 2027–2028.

SpaceX Thrusters (Code A71)

The demo would not just be a car: it would showcase the Tesla–SpaceX collaboration on a cold-gas thruster system internally codenamed A71, designed for extreme acceleration and, as Musk has historically stated, to allow the vehicle to briefly lift off the ground.

Tesla plans a limited SpaceX edition with the thruster package and a "reduced" version of the vehicle. Musk has spoken of ~10 thrusters that would replace the rear seats, achieving 0–60 mph in 1.1 seconds and the ability to "float."

Context of the Musk Ecosystem

The delay comes the same week as SpaceX's (SPCX) IPO debut and as Tesla redirects capacity from Fremont towards Optimus. The Roadster is competing for engineering attention with FSD, Robotaxi, and the Model S/X transition.

Source: Electrek, June 5, 2026. Teslarios is not affiliated with Tesla, Inc. or SpaceX.