Tesla ‘Cannot Guarantee’ Roadster Reservation Holders Will Ever Get a Car

Tesla unveiled its second-generation Roadster for a second time Thursday night, nearly 10 years after the last big shindig. It made even bigger promises to help customers forget that it never delivered that car, despite taking deposits worth up to $250,000 (the full price of the top Founders Series version at the time). Now it appears Tesla is preparing to do the same thing again.

InsideEVs noticed that the reservation agreement for the new new Roadster on Tesla’s website states that “Roadster is still under development and so we cannot guarantee when your vehicle will actually be delivered or if it will be delivered.” And while Tesla is, again, asking for up to $250,000 up front, the reservation agreement also states that it is just that. Customers are only getting an “approximate” place in line if the Roadster enters production, not a confirmed build slot.

Because the Roadster is still under development, any purchase price discussed is also just an estimate, and features or specs could change on the way to production. Tesla says as much in the reservation agreement. The automaker notes that it’s “still working on what options, features, and hardware will have and so cannot confirm the exact price just yet.” Full pricing will be available when customers are invited to configure their cars, the automaker claims. Right now, Tesla is estimating that production will start in 2028, but nearly every new product from the company has been delayed, and the previous version of the Roadster never made it to production at all.

The (somewhat) good news this time is that, while reservations are non-transferable, Tesla isn’t including a no-resale clause as it did with the Cybertruck Foundation Series and Model S Signature Edition rollout specials. So if Tesla can’t deliver on CEO Elon Musk’s lofty promises of zero to 60 mph in 0.81 seconds and built-in rocket thrusters, customers will at least be able to unload their cars quickly. Reservations are also fully refundable, which, given Tesla’s track record with the previous Roadster, is an option customers should definitely keep in mind.

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